Bond liked the look of her. He felt the sexual challenge all beautiful Lesbians have for men. He was amused by the uncompromising attitude that said to Goldfinger and to the room, ‘All men are bastards and cheats. Don’t try any masculine hocus on me. I don’t go for it. I’m in a separate league.’ Bond thought she would be in her early thirties. She had pale, Rupert Brooke good looks with high cheekbones and a beautiful jawline. She had the only violet eyes Bond had ever seen. They were the true deep violet of a pansy and they looked candidly out at the world from beneath straight black brows. Her hair, which was as black as Tilly Masterton’s, was worn in an untidy urchin cut. The mouth was a decisive slash of deep vermilion. Bond thought she was superb and so, he noticed, did Tilly Masterton who was gazing at Miss Galore with worshipping eyes and lips that yearned. Bond decided that all was now clear to him about Tilly Masterton.
Goldfinger said, ‘And now I must introduce myself. My name is not Gold. My credentials are as follows. By various operations, most of them illegitimate, I have made a large sum of money in twenty years. That sum now stands at sixty million dollars.’ (A respectful hm-ing went round the table.) ‘My operations have, for the most part, been confined to Europe, but you may be interested to know that I founded and subsequently disposed of the “Golden Poppy Distributors” who operated out of Hong Kong.’ (Mr Jack Strap whistled softly.) ‘The “Happy Landings Travel Agency”, which some of you may have employed in emergency, was organized and owned by me until I disbanded it.’ (Mr Helmut Springer screwed a rimless monocle into one glazed eye so that he could examine Goldfinger more closely.) ‘I mention these minor concerns to show you that, although you may not know me, I have, in the past, acted at many removes on, I believe, all your behalfs.’ (‘Well, whaddya know!’ muttered Mr Jed Midnight with something like awe in his voice.) ‘That, gentlemen and – er – madam, is how I knew of you and how I came to invite here tonight what I have learned through my own experience to be the aristocracy, if I may so describe it, of American crime.’
Bond was impressed. Goldfinger had, in three minutes flat, got the meeting on his side. Now everyone was looking towards Goldfinger with profound attention. Even Miss Pussy Galore’s eyes were rapt. Bond knew nothing about the Golden Poppy Distributors or the Happy Landings Agency, but they must have run like clockwork from the expressions on their former customers’ faces. Now everyone was hanging on Goldfinger’s words as if he was Einstein.
Goldfinger’s face showed no emotion. He made a throwaway gesture of his right hand. He said flatly, ‘I have mentioned two projects of mine that were successful. They were small. There have been many others of a higher calibre. Not one of them has failed, and, so far as I know, my name is on the police files of no country. I say this to show you that I thoroughly understand my – our – profession. And now, gentlemen and madam, I propose to offer you partnership in an undertaking that will assuredly place in each of your treasuries, within one week, the sum of one billion dollars.’ Mr Goldfinger held up his hand. ‘We have different views in Europe and America as to what constitutes the arithmetical expression “a billion”. I use the word in the sense of one thousand million. Do I make myself clear?’
18 | CRIME DE LA CRIME
A tug hooted on the river. Another answered. A flurry of engine noises receded.
Mr Jed Midnight, on Bond’s right, cleared his throat. He said emphatically, ‘Mister Gold, or whatever your name is, don’t you worry about definitions. A billion dollars is a lot of money whichever way you say it. Keep talking.’
Mr Solo raised slow black eyes and looked across the table at Goldfinger. He said, ‘Is very moch money, yess. But how moch your cut, mister?’
‘Five billion.’
Jack Strap from Las Vegas gave a short boisterous laugh. ‘Listen fellers, what’s a few billion between friends. If Mister – er – Whoosis can lead me to a billion dollars I’ll be glad to slip him a fin or even maybe a mega-fin for his trouble. Don’t let’s be small-minded about this, huh?’
Mr Helmut Springer tapped his monocle on the gold brick in front of him. Everyone looked towards him. ‘Mister – ah – Gold.’ It was the grave voice of the family lawyer. ‘These are big figures you mention. As I understand it, a total of some eleven billion dollars is involved.’
Mr Goldfinger said with precision, ‘The exact figure will be nearer fifteen billion. For convenience I referred only to the amounts I thought it would be possible for us to carry away.’
A sharp excited giggle came from Mr Billy Ring.
