I Would Rather Stay Poor

by James Hadley Chase

  Calvin was thinking of Kit. The situation was dangerous unless she had been bluffing, but he had an uneasy feeling she hadn’t been. She had now put herself beyond his reach, but that was not all. She could walk in front of a car, fall ill, meet her death in dozens of accidental ways and this damned attorney would then open her letter and Calvin would be sunk. He must think of some way to persuade her to get the letter back from the attorney. It was intolerable to know that his life depended on her own span of life.

  He suddenly became aware of a red light flashing in the middle of the road and he hastily braked, bringing the car to a stop in front of a police car that half blocked the road.

  Two police officers approached him. He saw beyond them, two other policemen, guns in hands.

  He leaned out of the car window, his mouth turning dry. One police officer turned the beam of a flashlight on him.

  ‘Identify yourself, please,’ he said curtly.

  Calvin took out his wallet and handed it over.

  ‘What’s all this in aid of?’ he asked, forcing his voice to sound casual.

  ‘Why, it’s Mr. Calvin,’ the police officer said and suddenly grinned. ‘We’re looking for your bank robber. Every car in and out of Pittsville is being checked.’

  Calvin said, startled, ‘But he left town forty-eight hours ago, didn’t he?’

  ‘Someone thinks he didn’t,’ the police officer said, returning Calvin’s wallet. He stepped back and saluted. ‘Okay, Mr. Calvin, go right on ahead.’

  Calvin drove on. There was a set expression on his fleshy face and his eyes were uneasy. Why did they think the man they were after hadn’t left town? he wondered. Had he made a slip somewhere?

  He was in for another little jolt as he pulled up outside the sheriff’s office. He saw a big red and black Cadillac with San Francisco number plates standing in the parking lot. He knew the car well. It belonged to Henry Marthy, the general manager of the Federal & National Banking Corporation and his boss. What was he doing here at this hour? Drawing in a deep breath, Calvin walked up the flight of steps and entered the sheriff’s office.

  Marthy was talking to the sheriff. Travers was sitting at a desk, talking on the telephone. As Calvin entered the big room, he heard Travers say, ‘A standard Remington: 1959 model? Yeah, fine. Any special characteristics? The letters r and v? Right. Thanks a lot,’ and he hung up.

  Only half listening, Calvin crossed the room and shook hands with Marthy.

  ‘It’s good to see you here, sir,’ he said with his charming smile. ‘This is a terrible thing. I’m glad of your support.’

  ‘It certainly is,’ Marthy said gravely. ‘You heard Miss Craig has been murdered?’

  ‘The sheriff telephoned me,’ Calvin said and turning to the sheriff, he went on, ‘I didn’t get all the details. Where did you find her, sheriff?’

  ‘We found the get-away car in the Downside railroad parking lot. She was in the boot,’ the sheriff said. He looked at his massive gold watch. ‘Easton will be here any moment now. He should have information for us. Let’s sit down.’

  As they moved to the big table and began pulling out chairs, the door jerked open and Easton came in. He looked hot and anxious. His fat, weak face glistened with sweat and he wiped his hand on the seat of his trousers before shaking hands with Marthy.

  ‘Let’s sit down, gentlemen,’ he said. ‘I guess you want to know what’s been happening.’ He waited until Marthy was seated before sitting down himself. Calvin sat opposite Marthy with Travers at the bottom of the table and the sheriff on the other side of Marthy.

  ‘Well, there’s no doubt the girl was murdered,’ Easton said. ‘She was strangled. The M.O. puts the time of her death around two o’clock on the night of the robbery. The way I see it is this: this guy Acres persuaded the girl to help him grab the payroll. He took his time about it. We know he and she were meeting pretty regularly during the past three weeks. Finally, he persuaded her to help him. He sent her a note the day before the robbery reminding her to leave the back entrance to the bank unlocked. Then after the payroll was delivered, and after Mr. Calvin and Alice had left, he walked in, took all the light bulbs out of their sockets, cutting off the alarm system, and unlocked the safe, using Alice’s key and a duplicate she had got for him from Calvin’s key.’

  ‘Just a moment,’ Marthy said sharply. ‘Explain that. I don’t understand. How could they have got hold of Calvin’s key?’

  ‘When Lamb had his stroke, Miss Craig had the two keys for some hours. That’s when we think she took an impression of Calvin’s key she later gave to Acres.’

  ‘But Lamb had his stroke more than six weeks ago,’ Marthy painted out. ‘Do you mean Acres was hanging around here for six weeks?’

  Calvin sat very still, his face expressionless. Easton shifted uneasily.

  ‘I guess so… he must have done,’ he said finally. ‘I’m not saying he was hanging around here, but he was in touch with Alice… how else could he have got at the second key? Calvin tells me once he had possession of the key, it was never out of his sight.’

  ‘That’s not exactly correct,’ Calvin said a little too quickly. ‘I guess Alice could have got at it pretty well any time after Lamb’s death. Naturally, I trusted her. I kept my key in my pocket. In hot weather, I left my jacket in the office when I worked in the vault. I guess she could have sneaked into my office and taken an impression of the key.’

  Marthy turned and looked hard at Calvin.

  ‘But if you were working in the vault, you would surely need the key to open the vault, wouldn’t you?’

  Calvin rubbed the side of his jaw, his brain racing. Somehow he managed to keep his face expressionless.

  What are you saying, you fool? he thought. Watch it! Another slip like that and you’ll be in trouble.

  ‘When the payroll isn’t in the vault, sir,’ he said, ‘we leave the vault door unlocked.’

  There was a pause, then Marthy said, ‘Well, go on,’ this to Easton.

  Calvin reached for his pack of cigarettes. He lit a cigarette and drew down a lungful of smoke.

  ‘Acres had arranged to meet Alice after he had the money,’ Easton went on. ‘She imagined they were going away together, but Acres had other ideas. As soon as he had established the fact they were going to ’Frisco by talking to the gas attendant, he drove her to some lonely spot and strangled her. He dumped her in the boot of the car, ditched the car at the railroad station and then disappeared with the payroll. It now seems pretty certain he is still in the district.’

  Calvin leaned back in his chair. His bulk made the chair creak.

  Marthy asked in his dry precise voice, ‘What makes you think that?’

  Easton felt a slight stabbing pain in his stomach. He winced, shifting in his chair.

  ‘We’re slowly building up evidence that Acres is a local man. We’ve had some luck. There’s an asylum for the criminal insane at Downside. On the night of the robbery one of the inmates escaped in a stolen car. He got away around the time Acres was driving to Downside after the robbery. The police were alerted and all roads out of Pittsville and Downside were immediately blocked. We know no one left Downside without being checked. The road blocks were so efficient, the nut was captured within half an hour. It so happened that at that time few cars were on the roads and those people checked were known to the police: they were local people. There were no strangers. We are pretty sure Acres didn’t get through so he must either be holed up in Downside or in Pittsville.’

  Calvin’s mouth turned dry. He stared at the glowing end of his cigarette, aware his heart was now thumping so violently he was scared that Travers, sitting close to him, would hear it.

  ‘What makes you think he is a local man?’ Marthy asked.

  It was Travers who said, ‘We think he could be a local man for a number of reasons. The main reason is that Downside and Pittsville are small towns and strangers get noticed. We have been hammering away on the radio and TV all day and half the night giv
ing out with Acre’s description. No one has come forward to say they’ve been sheltering him or even have seen him with the exception of the man who sold him the car and the gas attendant. None of the hotels nor the rooming-houses have had strangers with them. The people at the hotels have all been regulars. We think the black sideboards and the moustache were a disguise. All Acres had to do was to put them on and he became Acres as seen by Mrs. Loring, Major Hardy and Miss Pearson, then take them off to become X, a citizen either of Downside or Pittsville. We know the letter he wrote to Alice was written on a standard Remington typewriter. This means he couldn’t have carried the machine around with him. He either borrowed the machine which we think is unlikely or owns the machine which is more likely. The final point is he bought a car in Downside. If he had been an outsider, why should he risk buying a car locally?’

  Calvin looked down at his hands. The fine sandy hairs were glistening with sweat in the hard lamplight. He had used the typewriter at the bank to write that letter. He remembered as he had entered the room, Travers asking if the typewriter had any special characteristics. He remembered Travers saying something about the letters r and v.

  ‘Right now,’ Travers was saying, ‘we are checking where every Remington in Pittsville and Downside is located. We have lists from the local dealers. Then we’ll have to check every machine. This is going to take time, but when we find the machine, we’ll be pretty close to Mr. Acres.’

  ‘So you think this man is still here and the money also?’ Marthy asked.

  ‘That’s what we think,’ Sheriff Thomson said. ‘We’ve got him in a trap and we’re taking good care he doesn’t get out of it. The road blocks are going to remain in position and every car will be checked. We have men at the railroad station who’ll check every piece of luggage as it leaves. We have men at the mail-sorting office who will check every parcel leaving. It’s a big job, but it’s being done. As I see it there is no way for him to get the money out. Sooner or later, we’ll catch up with him, but it’s going to take time.’

  ‘I have a pretty good incentive for you all to work on this job,’ Marthy said ‘My directors have decided to offer a reward for this man’s arrest. This is the usual bank procedure, but since one of our own staff is involved, we are offering a much higher reward. Anyone, and that includes members of the police, who gives information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of this man will receive the bank reward of sixty thousand dollars. I would be glad if you would arrange to circulate this information as widely as possible.’

  Travers stiffened. He drew in a long, deep breath. He was aware of Easton’s reaction. Easton was staring at Marthy as if he couldn’t believe his ears. Both men were thinking: sixty thousand dollars! Both men were thinking what they could do with the money. Easton was thinking he could afford to get a divorce and marry Mavis Hart. He could retire and buy a little cottage somewhere. Mavis would look after him in his old age.

  Travers was thinking, here at last was the chance he had often dreamed about of laying his bands on a large slice of money to provide Iris with a decent home, to get out of Pittsville and buy a partnership in that mink farm Max was always writing to him about.

  As Travers sat there, his mind alive with the prospects of winning such a reward, he suddenly became aware that Calvin, sitting close to him, was humming tunelessly under his breath.

  2

  Ten minutes after the last performance, Iris left the darkened movie house and started the short walk to the bus stop. It was now raining heavily and she walked with her head bent against the driving rain.

  A familiar voice called, ‘Hey! Iris!’

  She looked up and saw Ken Travers leaning out of his car window, waving to her. As she ran towards him, he opened the off-side door.

  ‘Why, Ken,’ she said as she scrambled in, ‘what are you doing here? What a surprise!’

  They kissed. She was immediately aware how tense he was and she drew away to look sharply at him.

  ‘Is there something wrong? It’s not Kit…?’

  ‘Nothing’s wrong,’ he said and put his arm around her, holding her against him. ‘I had to see you, honey. I’ve taken time off and came over. The sheriff and Easton are holding the fort, but I’ve got to get back within an hour.’ He looked at her, his face alight with excitement. ‘Something’s come up that could affect us both… something pretty good.’

  ‘What is it? Something’s come up with me, too, that’s pretty good. I’m so glad you came. I wanted to talk to you about it.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘No, you tell me first.’

  ‘The bank is offering a reward for the bank robber,’ Ken said. ‘Sixty thousand dollars! Can you imagine! Sixty thousand dollars and I’m pretty sure I’m going to get it!’

  Iris gasped.

  ‘Oh, Ken. You really think you’ll get it?’

  ‘I guess so.’ Travers tightened his grip on her. ‘If I got all that money, your mother wouldn’t object to us marrying, would she? I mean the only thing she has against me is that I’m not earning enough. That’s the only thing, isn’t it?’

  ‘She has nothing against you,’ Iris said. ‘It’s just that she has had such a rough time, she doesn’t want me to live the way she did. Yes, of course, if we had all that money, Kit would be wild with joy. I’m sure she would!’

  ‘That’s what I hoped you would say,’ Travers said, staring through the rain-drenched windshield. ‘You remember Max Heldon? The guy I went to school with and who started that mink farm out at Westfields? You remember I told you he wanted me to go in as partner, but I hadn’t the money? Well, he wrote to me last week. He’s doing fine, but he still wants a partner: someone who will put up twenty thousand dollars for expansion. How would it be if we went out there and worked with him on the farm? With the forty thousand we have over, we could build a pretty nice house and furnish it the way we want and still have something over. How would you like that… bringing up baby mink.’

  Iris closed her eyes, then opening them, she sighed with ecstasy.

  ‘I’d love it! But what makes you think you can get the reward? I mean… there’s the sheriff and Easton… wouldn’t they want to share it with you?’

  ‘The terms are that anyone giving information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the murderer gets the reward,’ Travers said. ‘I’m practically certain I know who killed Alice although I have still to get proof. Neither Easton nor the sheriff are on to him, and that gives me more than a head start. If I work fast and get the proof, then I’m entitled to the reward.’

  ‘You know who did it?’ Iris said, staring at him. ‘You mean you know where this man Acres is hiding?’

  ‘Acres doesn’t exist. He never has existed,’ Travers said quietly. ‘He is a dummy figure in sideboards and a moustache. After he showed himself to a few people, got the money and murdered Alice, he took off the sideboards and the moustache and returned to his apparently respectable self.’

  ‘You mean it is someone living in Pittsville.’

  ‘Either Pittsville or Downside.’

  ‘You know who he is?’

  ‘I’m pretty sure, although I can’t actually prove it, but I will.’

  ‘Who is he? Anyone I know?’

  Travers hesitated.

  ‘This is going to be a shock to you, honey. It’ll take a bit of believing, but I’m sure I’m right.’ He paused, then went on, ‘It’s Calvin.’

  Iris stared incredulously at him.

  ‘Mr. Calvin? You think he killed Alice? Why, Ken, what are you saying? How can you possibly say such a thing?’

  ‘I know it’s pretty hard to take,’ Travers said, ‘but when you know all the facts and put two and two together, it’s the only possible solution to the mysterious Johnny Acres.’

  ‘But, Ken! You can’t say things like this! Kit’s in love with him… they are getting married! How can you!’

  ‘I haven’t forgotten your mother. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve come h
ere tonight to talk it over with you. She wouldn’t want to be trapped into marrying a killer, would she? Isn’t it better for her to know now than when it’s too late?’

  ‘I don’t believe it! You’re just guessing. You said you haven’t any proof!’

  ‘I know… I haven’t yet. I only realised it was Calvin about an hour ago. But I’ll get proof. I’m sure of that. Look, let me tell you just why I’m so sure it is Calvin.’

  ‘I don’t want to hear!’ Iris said, white and tense. ‘I’m sure you’re wrong…’

  ‘How can you be sure unless you hear what I’ve got to tell you?’ Travers said patiently. ‘Now, listen, for more than five years, week after week, the payroll has been delivered to the bank and has been safe. Then Calvin becomes manager: six weeks later the payroll vanishes.’

  ‘But that doesn’t mean anything! It could have vanished when Mr. Lamb was there!’

  ‘It could have, but it didn’t. I’m pretty sure Calvin made up his mind to steal the payroll almost as soon as he got here. He knew if the payroll vanished only two people would be suspected… himself or Alice. It had to be an inside job. No outsider would know how to put the alarm system out of order nor get at the keys to the vault. He was smart enough to know this so he decided to pin the blame on Alice. During the first three weeks he was at the bank, he worked on Alice. He has a way with women. You have only to look at him to realise it. No man has ever bothered to look at Alice, now Calvin turns on all his charm and after a while she falls for him hook, line and sinker.’

  ‘You’re wrong!’ Iris said, thumping her clenched fists on her knees. ‘I know you’re wrong! Alice wouldn’t…’

  ‘I know… I know… I said just that when Easton said he thought Alice had fallen for Acres. I could see that couldn’t jell, but Calvin had eight hours a day for three weeks to work on her more or less alone. Of course, in that time, he could do it… and he did it!’

  Iris hesitated, realising what Travers had said made sense, then thinking of Kit, she said, ‘I don’t believe it!’