I Would Rather Stay Poor (25 page)
Read I Would Rather Stay Poor Online
Authors: James Hadley Chase
‘She’s not ill?’ Travers asked sharply.
‘She has a headache,’ Kit said and hung up.
had
been to a movie at Downside. During the day, she had been depressed and had a premonition that something bad was going to happen. As soon as she had supervised the lunch for the old couple, she had chan
ged and had driven to Downside w
here an Alfred Hitchcock film was showing. She felt she had to escape from the house. Although the film was up to Hitchcock’s usual standard, it failed to hold her and she had to force herself to sit in the darkness, knowing that if she returned home, the feeling of depression would be there to haunt her. Finally, when the film finished, she went into the gathering dusk and crossed to a bar near where she had parked her car. She drank two double whiskies. Her tension slightly relieved, she got in the car and drove home.
she
went into
the
kitchen to
see that Flo had the supper in h
and, then satisfied, she went up to her room.
She found Calvin sprawled in an armchair, the ashtray on the table by his side crammed with butts. He stared at her, his blue eyes glittering.
‘I’ve been waiting and waiting…
where have you been?’
She closed the door and walked
over to the dressing-table. Sit
ting down, she began to tidy her hair.
‘When I want you in my room, I
’ll
invite you,’ she said,
not looking at him. ‘Get out!’
‘Where’s Iris?’
She paused, comb in hand and turned to stare at him.
‘I haven’t seen her. Why?’
Calvin rubbed his hand over his face.
‘She knows.’
The comb slipped out of Kit’s hand. It clattered on the polished boards.
‘Knows? Knows what?’
‘She knows you and I killed Alice.’
it another cigarette. His hands were unsteady.
…
either that or I’d have had to kill her.
I told her you and I
had pulled the robbery and you are as guilty as I am. That was the only way
to stop her running to her boy-
friend.’
ood looking out at the distant h
ills, her arms tightly folded across her breasts.
Calvin watched her, feeling uneasy. You never knew with an alcoholic. She might blow her top, he thought.
‘It’s all right,’ he went on, his voice soothing
. ‘She’s not going to give us away. I’ve talked her into see
ing sense.’
…
’ He stopped short as she suddenly spun around and made a quick dash to the chest of drawers. He was startled how quickly she moved, but already tense, he was on his feet in a flash a
nd had crossed the room as she w
renched open the drawer. As her hand dipped into the drawer, he caught hold of her wrist. He had a glimpse of the gun as he jerked her away. She struck at him. He caught her flying fist and flung her from him. As he scooped up the gun, she threw herself at him, panting, her eyes glittering, her face chalk-wh
i
te. Again he shoved her of
f. She was helpless against his
great strength and she went sprawling on the floor. Taking the gun, he backed to the door.
She lifted herself up on her arm, her white face was ugly with hate.
‘Give me that gun!’ she said, but she didn’t attempt to get to her feet.
.’ He slid the gun into his hip-
pocket. ‘Get up and stop
looking at me like that! Go on…
get up!’
She got slowly to her feet and crossed to a chair and sat down. She ran her fingers through her hair in a desperate, despairing gesture.
‘Has Iris been in at all?’ Calvin demanded. ‘She left the bank at half past twelve. Did she come home?’
and looked into the room which w
as empty. He went to the closet and opened it. A quick look inside,
a
quick look in the drawers of the chest told him she hadn’t taken her clothes. Where was she?
He went back to Kit’s room. Kit was still sitting motionless, her head buried in her hands.
he is,’ Ca
lvin said, ‘but if Travers tele
phones tell him she had a headache and has gone to bed. I’ve got to talk to her before she sees him unless she’s seeing him now.’
a
few seconds, Calvin shrugged and went to his room. He closed the door, then taking the gun from his hip-pocket he was about to p
ut it in a drawer of the chest w
hen he had second thoughts.
as very uneasy. Had Iris decided to give him away? He thought it was unlikely, but she was young and the decision might have been too much for her. Well, if she had told Travers and if they tried to arrest him, they would have a job on their hands. He wouldn’t be taken alive. He wasn’t going to spend weeks in jail and then be taken like an animal to be slaughtered. He put the gun back in his hip-p
oc
ket. If Tr
avers started some
thing, he’d land up with
a belly
full of lead.
en
-fifteen. He forced himself to sit down. He lit a cigarette and tried to relax, but he was too tense. He immediately got to his feet and began to prowl around the room.
a
moment, then went out and leaned over the banister rail. He heard Kit talking to Flo. He rested his thick arms on the banister rail and listened.
a
wave of hot blood up his spine. There was a delay, then he heard Kit say, ‘Iris has gone to bed. She has a headache.’ There was a pause, then she said, ‘She has a headache,’ and he heard the receiver drop back on its cradle.
Iris hadn’t contacted him. But w
here was she?
As he looked down the two fligh
ts of stairs into the hall, he s
uddenly saw Iris. She
came in silently, took off her c
oat and
hung it on the hall rack, then slowly she began to mount the stairs.
ftl
y to face him.
‘What do you want?’ she
demanded, her voice shaky. He c
ould see she had been crying. Her face was
white and drawn. ‘I don’t w
ant you in here!’
Calvin studied her, then he nodded.
…
you talk to her, but remember this: she’s as guilty as I am. Give me away and you give her away. Just remember that.’
nt out of the room and back to h
is own room.
In her room Kit took from the closet a bottle of whisky and poured hersel
f a stiff drink. She drank the w
hisky, then poured another drink. She lit a cigarette and then moved to the armchair and sat down, still holding the bottle of whisky. As she began to relax and as she was deciding to have another drink, the door opened and Iris came in.
1
as Sunday after lunch. Kit, Iris and Calvin sat in the lounge. Miss Pearson and Major Hardy had gone to their rooms for a nap. Kit and Iris were both pale and silent. Calvin was relaxed and very confident.
t’s
one of those things,’ he was saying to Iris. ‘You can’t go through life without some of the gilt being rubbed off. I admit it: we sho
uldn’t
have done this thing, but we did it, and now we have to make the best of it. Three hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money. If you think about it, you’ll realise why we were tempted. I’m sorry about Alice. She just happened to get in the way, so
…
’
‘If you scream like that,’ he sa
id, an edge to his voice, ‘the o
ld people upstairs will hear you.’
Kit stared at him, her face convulsed with hate.
‘Then stop talking
…
do something!’
’
Frisco on Monday and you’ll take the money with you. Once it is out of Pittsville, your mother will be safe. If it is found here,
she
won’t be safe. Don’t imagine I’ll let them arrest me without dragging her into it. Once I have the money in a safe deposit in
’
Frisco, your mother and I will leave here. You’ll be free to marry Travers. You can then forget about us, I expect you’ll be glad to.’
Iris looked up and stared at Kit, then she said quietly, ‘Yes.’ She got to her feet. ‘I’ll do what you want. When I go to
’
Frisco, I’m not coming back; I hope I’ll never see either of you ever again.’
