Rather than embarrass her, the major remained where he was. After he heard the women he imagined to be Alice reach the head of the stairs, he turned off the lights and went upstairs himself.
The following morning, he told Kit and Miss Pearson what he had seen when Alice and Calvin had gone off together to the bank.
‘They’ll make a good-looking couple,’ the major said.
Reporting this to Calvin when they were alone together, Kit said, ‘He has no suspicions at all. I was scared, but you were right.’
‘We’ll do it once again,’ Calvin said. ‘Next time the old girl must see us. Then we don’t have to worry our heads. They’ll make convincing witnesses.’
Three nights later, it so happened there was nothing on television to interest either Miss Pearson or the major. They elected to play gin rummy together.
Calvin and Kit went through the same performance as they had staged for the major’s benefit, and they were aware as they kissed in the beam of the car’s headlights that both the major and Miss Pearson were peeping at them from behind the curtains of the window.
‘We are nearly home,’ Calvin said later. He was lying flat on his bed, a cigarette between his lips, his blue eyes staring fixedly up at the ceiling. Kit sat in the armchair, watching him. ‘We now have two witnesses that Johnny Acres exists. Next month the payroll is delivered on the last day of the month. Alice and I will be working late on that day. We have to get out the monthly statements.’ He lifted his head and looked at Kit, ‘This is the day we’ll do the job. Are you still sure you want to go through with it?’
‘And Alice?’ Kit said, staring at him.
‘Don’t think of her,’ Calvin said. ‘I’ll take care of her. I’m asking you: do you still want to go through with it?’
‘You’ll take care of her? It really means nothing more to you than that?’
Calvin’s thin lips parted in a sneering smile.
‘At least I’m honest,’ he said. ‘I’m sacrificing Alice for three hundred thousand dollars. She means no more to me than a rabbit that has to be killed. You, you’re trying to make something out of this. You want to dramatise the situation. Do you or don’t you want the money?’
Kit shuddered. Her eyes were glassy and there were sweat beads on her face.
‘You are a devil,’ she said. ‘Yes, I want the money, but I’ll never stop thinking of that girl. All right, don’t sneer at me. I couldn’t do it, but if you will, then I’ll take advantage of what it brings.’
Calvin laughed.
‘Well, that’s honest. All right, so at the end of the month, we’ll do it. Between now and then, we’ll make the happy announcement that we are engaged.’ He raised his head and looked at her. ‘Have you told your daughter yet?’
She looked away.
‘Not yet.’
‘Tell her tonight! She has to be the first to know.’
‘I’ll tell her.’
‘Let’s go through the whole plan now,’ he said. ‘If you think I’ve made a mistake anywhere, tell me.’ He let smoke drift down his nostrils while he collected his thoughts. ‘Thursday three weeks ahead falls on the last day of the month. Instead of Alice and I leaving and locking up after the payroll has been delivered, we have the legitimate excuse to stay on because we’ll have to work late getting out the monthly statements. As we will be in the bank while the money is there the sheriff or Travers will keep watch on the bank. They will know that as long as we have the lights on, the safe isn’t protected by the electronic eye. That won’t worry them because they know if anyone tries to break in to grab the money, I have an alarm button under my desk that I can set off, and besides, you can bet, they’ll be on the watch. There is a back entrance to the bank that is never used. It leads out onto a small parking lot where I have parked the Lincoln. The door to the back entrance is locked and bolted. When Alice is busy, I will unlock and unbolt the door. She has a key as well as I so when the investigation begins, it will be assumed that she unlocked the door to let Acres in.’ He paused, staring up at the ceiling for so long that Kit said sharply, ‘Well, go on… what happens next?’
‘What happens next?’ Calvin lifted his head to look at her. ‘Alice exchanges that awful hat of hers for a halo. At least, I hope it is a halo. That’s what happens next.’
Kit huddled down in the chair, her face growing paler.
‘In other words, Alice dies,’ Calvin said. ‘At five minutes to seven, and you must be dead on time, you’ll arrive by the back entrance. You’ll put on Alice’s hat and coat and we will leave the bank together by the front entrance. While I am locking up, you will go over to where my car is parked and get in. You mustn’t hurry or loiter. This will be the most dangerous part of the plan, but the sheriff or Travers must see Alice leave the bank. I don’t see why it should come unstuck. It will be dark. You will walk under two or three street lights on the way to the car. The mustard-coloured coat should convince either the sheriff or Travers he is seeing Alice leave. How do you like it so far?’
‘Go on,’ Kit said, a rasp in her voice. ‘Then what happens?’
‘We drive back here. The old people will be watching the serial on television. You’ll hang up Alice’s hat and coat. Then we’ll stage a little scene for the benefit of the old people. You’ll go upstairs and I’ll call out, loud enough for them to hear, that you should go to bed. They’ll imagine, of course, I am talking to Alice. When they come in for dinner, I’ll tell them that Alice had a bad headache and has gone to bed. You will tell them you have been up to see her, given her aspirin and she is sleeping.’
‘What really has happened to her?’ Kit asked.
‘Her body will be left in my office,’ Calvin said.
Kit stiffened, her hands closing into fists.
‘You — you’re going to leave her there?’
‘Don’t let’s rush this,’ Calvin said. ‘Let’s go through it step by step. We will have dinner. After dinner, I’ll watch television with the old people and then go up to my room. I’ll dress up as Johnny Acres. I’ll have to walk to the bank. It’ll take me a good hour. I will have left the back entrance open. I’ll remove all the electric lamps from their sockets except the lamp in the vault, then I’ll turn on the light switches. That will put the electronic eye out of action. I’ll have Alice’s key to the vault. I’ll break open the boxes containing the payroll and transfer the money to one of the deed boxes in the vault.’
Kit leaned forward.
‘Why do that? Why not bring the money here?’
‘The safest place in which to keep money is in a bank,’ Calvin said. ‘They will never think of looking for the payroll in one of those deed boxes. I’m sure… if s a foolproof hiding place. We can’t use the money for some time and that’s where it is going to be hidden.’
She hesitated, then realising the shrewdness of this idea, she shrugged.
‘Well, go on…’
‘Now it is your turn to come to the bank. You’ll also have to walk. It would be fatal for the old people to hear a car start up. The time now will be around three o’clock. You’ll have to be careful your daughter doesn’t hear you leave. What time does she get back from Downside?’
‘Around two.’
‘Okay. I’ll have to watch out I don’t run into her. By the time you leave, she should be asleep, but be careful. At that hour no one should be around, but on the way to the bank, you’ll have to be sure no one sees you. You know where we have left the Lincoln… at the back of the bank. Go there, move the car close to the back entrance of the bank and wait. You’ll remain in the car. You will, of course, be wearing Alice’s hat and coat. I’ll bring her out and put her in the boot.’
Kit took a handkerchief from the top of her stocking and wiped her sweating face. In a voice she tried to make nonchalant, she said, ‘Why not leave her in the bank?’
‘I want to give Johnny Acres plenty of time to get away,’ Calvin said. ‘We’ll drive to Downside. There’s a filling station on the main ro
ad and we’ll stop there. I’ll buy gas and let the attendant get a look at me as Johnny, of course. You will remain in the car. You’ll shield your face, but I want him to see the coat. While he is filling the tank, you and I will start an argument about the last train out from ’Frisco. I want him to imagine that we’re going to ’Frisco.’ He stubbed out his cigarette and lit another. ‘There’s one thing I’ve forgotten to tell you. The day before we do the job, you must drive to Downside in your car and leave it in the station car park. You’ll have to come back by train. We must have your car waiting for us to come back in. Got that?’
She nodded.
‘Okay, after we have filed the tank, we drive to Downside and leave the Lincoln in the station car park. We’ll use your car to come home in. That’s the plan. What do you think?’
Kit rubbed her forehead with a shaky hand.
‘It’s complicated,’ she said, not looking at him. ‘If you think it will work, I’ll do it with you. I’m no good at making plans. I’ve got to leave all that to you. There is one thing… if Alice is supposed to be running away, shouldn’t she take some of her clothes?’
Calvin lifted his head off the pillow and he stared at her. Then he nodded.
‘Of course… I had forgotten that. That’s important. And another thing, there will have to be two suitcases: one for her clothes and the other to carry the money in. The cases will have to be on the back seat so the gas attendant will see them. She must have a suitcase. Do you know where it is?’
‘Probably in her room.’
‘Okay. That’ll be your job. You pack some of her clothes and bring the suitcases in the Lincoln. The gas attendant must report to the police he saw two suitcases.’
‘You really think this is going to work?’ Kit asked, leaning forward to stare at him.
‘It’ll work,’ be said. ‘We’ll need some luck, but that’s not worrying me. We have three weeks. We must talk about it: think about it: polish it.’
‘How long will it be before we can spend the money?’
‘You’ve certainly got that subject on your mind, haven’t you?’ he said and grinned. ‘A month after the robbery, we’ll get married. Two months after we are married and you have sold this place, I’ll resign from the bank. You’ll be able to spend some of the money in three months’ time. You’ll be able to splash around with your share in three years’ time.’
‘You really think this is going to be safe?’
He looked fixedly at her, his eyes glittering.
‘It’s got to be safe. If it isn’t, you and I will probably run into Alice again… if we are lucky.’
* * *
The following afternoon Calvin had a visitor who surprised him. He was busy at his desk When a tap came on the door and thinking it was Alice he called to come in and went on working.
‘Am I disturbing you?’
He looked up then and was startled to see Iris Loring standing before his desk. For a moment he stared fixedly at her, then his fleshy face brightened and he smiled his charming smile as he got to his feet.
‘Why, this is a surprise. Sit down.’
Iris sat down. Calvin regarded her curiously. He noted there was a worried expression in her grey-blue eyes.
‘I hear you are going to become my step-father,’ she said. ‘Kit told me this morning.’
Calvin sat back in his chair. He was thinking it would be much more amusing to have this girl for a wife. She was so much younger, so much fresher and so much more sexually exciting than Kit.
‘That’s right,’ he said. ‘I hope you approve.’
‘If it will make Kit happy, then of course, I approve,’ she said quietly.
‘I’ll make her happy,’ Calvin said, his charm very much in evidence.
She looked searchingly at him and he had an uneasy feeling that his charm wasn’t working the way it usually worked.
‘I’m worried about her,’ Iris said. ‘That’s why I’m here. She’s got something on her mind. We’ve always been very close and I can tell when something’s bothering her. I’ve asked her, but she won’t tell me. Do you know what it is?’
Calvin took out his cigarette case and offered it. Iris shook her head. He lit a cigarette and he wondered how this pretty little thing would react if he told her her mother was worried because between them they were planning to murder Alice and to steal three hundred thousand dollars from the bank.
‘Frankly, I think she’s worrying about you,’ Calvin said.
Iris looked sharply at him.
‘About me… why do you think that?’
‘We’ve talked about you. She doesn’t approve of you marrying young Travers.’ Calvin broadened his smile. ‘She is ambitious for you. She hopes you will marry a rich man.’
Iris flushed.
‘I’m going to marry Ken,’ she said. ‘I may have to wait until I’m twenty-one, but I intend to marry him.’
‘Good for you,’ Calvin said. ‘As your future step-father, I approve. I think he’s a fine boy and I think you’ll be very happy as his wife.’
He saw her relax.
‘Have you said that to Kit?’ she asked.
‘Yes. I told her you should marry him. I can’t see any objections, but I’ll talk to her again. Don’t you worry about this. When Kit and I marry, I plan to start a rooming-house in Florida. She and I will run it. I’m going to persuade her to leave you here to marry Ken. Would that suit you?’
‘Of course.’ She leaned forward, her face animated. ‘Do you think you can persuade her?’
Calvin grinned.
‘I’m pretty good at persuading people. I think I can.’
‘I didn’t know you planned to go to Florida. Kit said nothing about that. What’s going to happen to Miss Pearson and Major Hardy?’
‘Perhaps the new owner will take them on. Kit is going to sell the house.’
‘When it’s sold then I can get married?’ Iris asked.
‘That’s the idea. Don’t worry about it. I’ll fix it. I’m good at fixing things.’
She was now looking admiringly at him and this pleased him.
‘Yes… I’m sure you are. I’m so glad I came to see you.’ She paused, hesitated, then said, ‘There’s one other thing… I don’t know if I should tell you.’
Calvin stubbed out his cigarette.
‘That’s up to you. I’d like to think you had confidence in me. What is it?’
‘You do love Kit, don’t you?’
Calvin frowned.
‘That’s an odd question. I’m going to marry her. Of course I love her. What is it?’
‘I think you should know that she is an ex-alcoholic,’ Iris said. ‘She’s all right now, but she mustn’t ever drink alcohol. If she does, the doctor tells me, she will become an alcoholic again. So please don’t ever ask her to join you in a drink. I don’t know if you like a drink, but if it means little to you, it would be much safer and much better if you never had alcohol in your home when you marry and settle down.’
Calvin stared at her for several long moments. He began to hum tunelessly under his breath. Judas! he was thinking, so that’s it! I’ve gone into partnership for murder and robbery with an ex-alcoholic and she’s already hitting the bottle again. Judas!
‘You know it is a disease,’ Iris said, a little shocked to see a sudden glaring flash light up Calvin’s staring eyes. It was gone in a brief moment, but his fleshy face was now expressionless, his almost lipless mouth like a pencil line. ‘It’s like diabetes. So long as she doesn’t touch alcohol she’ll be perfectly all right. I — I thought I should tell you.’
‘Yes… thank you.’ With an effort he relaxed and smiled at her. ‘I’m glad to know. Poor Kit! I had no idea. Well, now you’ve told me I’ll watch out. I don’t drink much myself. I can easily do without and I will.’
Iris looked curiously at him. That brief flash in his eyes had frightened her, but now the charm was back again and she wondered if she had imagined the vicious, frightening glare.
<
br /> He got to his feet.
‘Well, as far as your affairs are concerned,’ he said, ‘just be patient. As soon as we leave Pittsville, you can marry your nice young sheriff.’
When she had gone, he sat behind his desk and lit a cigarette.
An alcoholic! The most unreliable, dangerous partner he could have chosen! And as the days dragged on towards the end of the month, he became aware that he was going to have trouble with it. She began to avoid him, and he guessed she was not only drinking, but losing her nerve. Whenever he ran into her, and he made a point of searching her out, he saw the obvious signs of her slow deterioration. He could see she hadn’t been sleeping. She was losing weight and her complexion was becoming like wax.
As soon as he had convinced himself she was drinking heavily, he left her alone. Alice and the old couple had already been told of their engagement. Calvin now spent much of his time in his room. From time to time, he would creep downstairs and remove Alice’s hat and coat to keep up the illusion that she was still seeing her boy-friend. Since he now seldom joined the old couple to watch television, they believed he and Kit were together upstairs, double romance pleased them.
Four nights before the date set for the bank robbery, Calvin was sitting in his room, smoking and turning the pages of a golfing magazine. The communicating door abruptly opened and Kit came in. She looked distracted and ill. She closed the door and leaned against it, her breasts heaving with her heavy breathing.
Calvin waited.
‘I’m not going through with it!’ Kit said, her voice shrill. ‘I was crazy to have agreed to do it in the first place! I’m not doing it! Do you hear me? I’m not doing it!’
‘Well, all right,’ Calvin said in a deceptively mild voice. ‘Don’t get so worked up about it. What’s the trouble?’
She stared at him, her eyes glittering.
‘Trouble? Do you call murdering that girl just trouble? I won’t let you kill her! Do you hear me?’
‘Yes… I hear you. If you don’t keep your voice down, she’ll hear you, too.’
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