Neon Madman by John Harvey Page B

he believed that they might arrive at any moment.’
    â€˜They?’
    â€˜I don’t know and he didn’t say, but it must be something to do with those people who had a hold on him before.’
    â€˜Mancor?’
    â€˜I suppose so.’
    â€˜Anyway, what did he say you were to do?’
    â€˜He told me to get some money from the bank. Quite a lot of money. Several thousand pounds. And his passport.’
    â€˜Clothes?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜Did he say what for?’
    â€˜Yes. He’s going to leave the country. He didn’t say where to. I don’t think he wanted to implicate me more than necessary. At least, that was what he said. The less I knew about where he was and what he was doing the less I could be forced to tell anyone else.’
    Great! I thought. That means they could play pretty little games with you for hours on the assumption that you did know and were holding out on them.
    I didn’t say so. I didn’t say anything.
    She was talking again. ‘I can’t do anything until Monday, of course. Then I have to deliver the passport and money to him.’
    â€˜Where at?’
    She shook her head. He really was being cagey. ‘He wouldn’t say where he was staying. He said he would phone on Monday morning and tell me where to meet him.’
    â€˜Did he say anything about you going with him?’
    The hand on the leg made its first move. It twitched. Just once, but I saw it.
    â€˜No,’ she said.
    I didn’t understand it. It sounded as though that mattered. The last time we had talked about her husband I had got the impression that she wouldn’t have cared much if he had disappeared from her life forever. Now … I didn’t know why exactly, but she was reacting differently. It could be that his fear had communicated itself strongly to her and was getting at her in the same way. Or maybe she saw herself losing a grip on all of his money.
    I went back to my drink and rescued it from the carpet. It was nearly empty and I drained what was left in half a swallow. She got up and took the glass from me without asking; she walked out of the room and came back with it refilled. I noticed she had got herself another too and that the level was twice as high as before.
    I sat down and looked at her. She was beautiful.
    â€˜What are you going to do?’
    â€˜Just as James says. Go to the bank and draw out the cash, then take it to him with his passport.’
    â€˜Very dutiful.’
    â€˜I couldn’t refuse him.’ She ignored my sarcasm.
    â€˜What do you want me to do?’
    â€˜I’m not sure. He said I wasn’t to talk to anyone about it … ’
    â€˜But you did,’ I interrupted.
    â€˜Now you sound as though you’re reproaching me. I needed to tell someone and, besides, you are supposed to be finding him for me.’
    â€˜And now you’ve found him yourself. More or less. I’ll let you have your money back.’
    â€˜No. No.’ There was a quickness, a firmness that I neither understood nor trusted. ‘I want you to come with me. To the bank and then to wherever James wants me to meet him. You don’t have to come as far as where he actually is.’
    â€˜You’re worried about carrying all that money round?’
    She nodded her head. I still didn’t like it. She shouldn’t have been worried by toting round a cool million. The Caroline Murdoch I had talked to before wouldn’t have been.
    I took my cheque book from one pocket and my pen from another. I opened the book and started writing. I wondered how far she would let me get.
    Caroline Murdoch got up and came over to where I was sitting.
    â€˜What do you think you’re doing?’ she asked, when she could see perfectly well what I was doing.
    â€˜I’m making you out a cheque for the retainer you paid me.’
    â€˜But I’ve told you … ’
    I let the pen drop between the folds of