1953 - The Sucker Punch by James Hadley Chase

Author:James Hadley Chase
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

chapter eleven

Thinking about the setup now, I find it distinctly funny, although, of course, at the time, I didn't think so.

Vestal was madly in love with me and terrified she was going to lose me. I was madly in love with Eve, and now I was terrified I was going to lose her.

Yes, it was funny. I was making Vestal suffer, and Eve was making me suffer.

But I had more guts than Vestal. When I got over the first shock of finding out that Eve was cheating me, I became viciously angry. I had no intentions of begging Eve not to give me up. I was determined to find out who this man was, how long this affair had been going on or if it were something that hadn't yet become an affair. I was determined to stop it, and get Eve back by force if necessary.

She was to meet this Larry at the Atlantic Hotel at seven o'clock on Thursday. Her story that she had to be with her mother was obviously a lie. If she could make a date with Larry, she could have made one with me.

I made up my mind I would be at the hotel when they met. What I did after that remained to be seen. First, I wanted to look at this man who made Eve count the hours until they met.

On Thursday morning, I told Vestal I might be a little late back from the office, but I would be in good time for the party. At twenty past six, I called her from the office.

"Vestal, I'm sorry, but I can't make the party until much later."

"Oh Chad! Why not?"

"A guy I knew in my army days has just blown into town. I haven't seen him in years. We have a lot to say to each other. You can get on all right without me."

"But, Chad, bring him to the party. You—you can't leave me to…"

"Of course you can manage. This guy wouldn't fit in. He was a top sergeant, and he's a rough tough. You wouldn't want him among your friends. I'll see you around eleven. If I can get rid of him before then, I'll be back earlier. So long for now," and I hurriedly hung up as she began to protest.

I had taken her Rolls to the office as my Cadillac was receiving attention from Joe.

The Atlantic Hotel was out at Eden End, some twelve miles from Little Eden, and I had to have transport.

Eden End was a playground for tourists. It was a jumble of auto-camps, beach huts and this one hotel.

The hotel was a typical love nest. All kinds of couples stayed there, and no awkward questions were asked. So long as you paid in advance you could have a room, with or without luggage, with or without marriage lines, for an hour or for a year: the management wasn't fussy.

I had been there myself from time to time with Glorie, and I knew the setup pretty well.

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