1966 - Cade by James Hadley Chase

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

chapter six

Cade walked through the main lobby of El Prado hotel where Rivera's fifty-foot-long A Dream on a Sunday Afternoon mural was being gaped at by a large gathering of American tourists.

He had had a lonely lunch in the grill room. He wasn't sure now what he was going to do with himself. The day was Sunday. He had spent the past three days talking to his Mexican lawyers who airily told him there would be no difficulty about the divorce, but kept asking him to consult with them, to sign papers, and to check and recheck the obvious evidence of Juana's adultery which he was now sick of explaining to them.

He walked to the bookstall with the idea of getting a paperback and then going to sit in the Alameda Gardens until the sun went down.

'Senor Cade!'

He looked around and was confronted by Adolfo Creel's beaming face. A great weight of loneliness lifted from him. To see this fat Mexican who had been such a good friend to him was the nicest thing he imagined could happen to him. But as he shook hands, he felt a twinge of guilt that he hadn't contacted Creel before. He knew why. Creel was too close to his past, but now they were together, Cade felt nothing but pleasure.

'This is a very special moment in my life, senor,' Creel said, his eyes moist with emotion. 'I had no idea you were here. You look wonderful! Senor Cade! I am very, very happy!'

'That makes two of us,' Cade said. 'Let's have a drink or something and talk. Have you the time?'

'Of course.' Creel went with Cade into the dimly-lit bar. 'I don't have to ask. All is well with you. I have seen your magnificent work for the Sun. Forgive a stupid, uneducated man like myself, but your photographs move me.'

Cade was glad of the dim lighting. He squeezed Creel's fat arm. It wasn't until they were sitting side by side on the padded bench and Cade had ordered a Coke for himself and a coffee for Creel, that he was able to say in a steady enough voice, 'Adolfo, for Pete's sake, stop calling me Senor Cade. I regard you as the best friend I have ever had. Call me Val, and what is all this nonsense about being stupid and uneducated?'

Creel squirmed with pleasure. 'Tell me please. Why are you here?'

Without hesitation, Cade told him about Vicki.

'This girl, Adolfo, means everything to me. I'm here for a divorce. You must meet her. She is everything that Juana isn't. I guess I was crazy getting mixed up with that woman. Now, I'm seeing sense at last. All I want is to be free of her.'

Creel put three lumps of sugar into his coffee.

'That I can understand. Juana is not for you. She has a fatal destiny. She thinks only of the body and of money. This is a disease with her.'

Cade jiggled the ice cubes in his glass.

'What has happened to her?'

'She is here,' Creel said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.