Mavis was dialling the number of the special agent at San Francisco. When she got him on the line, she handed the receiver to Easton.
Easton reported the robbery, trying to keep his voice steady. He listened to the crisp, efficient voice of his Chief, then he said, ‘Yeah… yeah… sure.’ He listened some more, then went on, ‘I’ll fix it. If I need any help, I’ll let you know. Sure… yeah… Thomson will work with me. He’s a good man. I’ll get over to Pittsville right away. I’ll report as soon as I’ve got anything.’ He replaced the receiver and taking out his handkerchief, he mopped his face and looked helplessly at Mavis who smiled at him.
‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘It’ll work out all right, honey. You see… it’ll work out all right.’
He held out his hand helplessly and she came over to him, putting her thin arms around him, cradling his balding head against her immature breasts. They remained like that for several moments, then she gave him a gentle pat on his fat shoulder and drew away.
‘You’d better go, honey. They’ll be waiting for you.’
He straightened his crumpled jacket and smoothed his thinning hair. With an effort, he got to his feet and gave her a weak grin.
‘So long, chick,’ he said and reaching around her, he let his hand slide over her flat behind. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you. Yeah… it’ll be all right.’
Two hours later, he was sitting in Sheriff Thomson’s office. The sheriff was at his desk and Ken Travers leaned against the wall, facing Easton.
Neither the sheriff not Travers had any time for Easton. They both knew he was inefficient, but there was nothing they could do about it. A bank robbery was a Federal responsibility and Easton was automatically in charge.
Easton was suffering from the nagging pain of his ulcer. His mind was only half on the robbery. He found himself thinking: this could be cancer. These quacks tell you mere is nothing to worry about, but they haven’t got this thing in their stomachs. It could be a cancer.
‘What’s the first move?’ the sheriff asked sharply, seeing Easton’s mind was wandering. ‘We’ve got to get moving if we’re going to catch these two.’
‘Yeah, sure,’ Easton said, switching his mind with an effort from the nagging pain of his ulcer. ‘I’ll talk to the S.A. It’s his job to find the girl. We’ve got to get a description of her boy-friend.’ He levered himself out of his chair. ‘I’d better talk to Mrs. Loring and these old people.’
Sheriff Thomson glanced at Travers.
‘Do you want Ken to go along with you?’ he asked. ‘He knows everyone around here and he could make things easier for you.’ He gave a sly grin. ‘Don’t worry about offending me. If you want to work on this thing alone, just say so.’
That was the last thing Easton wanted to do. He felt unnerved by the magnitude of his task. He realised he would need all the help he could get if he wasn’t to make a fool of himself.
‘Sure,’ he said with what he hoped was a wide, genial smile. ‘You come with me, pally. We’ll work on this thing together.’
Travers straightened.
‘Glad to,’ he said and exchanged glances with the sheriff.
Easton called the S.A. He reported what had been found out so far and he gave a description of Alice Craig.
‘She was last seen wearing a mustard-coloured coat with a green collar,’ he said. ‘She wears glasses. She shouldn’t be hard to turn up.’ He then mentioned the boy-friend. ‘I’m getting a description of him as soon as I can. How about getting the girl’s description on the radio and television? That coat should be a clincher.’ He listened, grunted, then said, ‘Yeah, I’ll need all the help I can get.’ He felt a knife-stab of pain in his stomach and he winced. ‘Okay, you don’t have to tell me… I know it’s important,’ and he hung up. He looked towards Travers. ‘How’s about talking to Mrs. Loring?’
‘The State Police are making inquiries along the highway,’ the sheriff said. ‘If they turn up anything, I’ll call you at Mrs. Loring’s place.’
Easton thanked him, shook hands and then went out to where he had parked his car with Travers at his heels.
As they drove down the main street, Easton said, ‘What do you think, Ken? I can call you Ken? You call me Jimmy. I like being pally when I’m working with guys. Do you think Alice took the payroll?’
‘I guess not,’ Travers said, lighting a cigarette. ‘I’ve known her some time and she just isn’t the type for a job like this. I guess it’s going to be a lot more complicated than it looks right now.’
Easton drove onto the highway.
‘I’ve been in this racket longer than I like to remember,’ he said gloomily. ‘I’ve found it’s wrong to think of anything as complicated. I’m always running up against investigators who make things complicated by thinking they are. Now, the way I see it, the girl has been handling all this dough for years. She has probably been dreaming what she could do with such a lump sum of money if ever she owned it. Then suddenly she gets herself a boy-friend and he turns her dreams into a concrete fact. He shows her how between them they can grab the money. She has the keys, she knows about this alarm system, he has the nerve, so together they grab the money. It’s not complicated… it’s human nature.’
Travers shifted impatiently.
‘That’s too easy,’ he said. ‘She just isn’t the type to steal nor is she the type ever to have a boy-friend.’
Easton blew out his fat cheeks.
‘There you go again… making things complicated,’ he said. ‘We know she had a boy-friend. Calvin said so, didn’t he? This guy has been seen by these two old people and by Mrs. Loring. What’s the point in you saying she isn’t the type to get herself a boy-friend when we know she has one?’
‘I know… I know,’ Travers said. ‘That’s what foxes me. I am sure she isn’t the type to have a boy-friend.’
Easton hissed through his teeth.
‘Look, you’re young,’ he said. ‘You haven’t the experience of people the way I have. There are girls who don’t look as if they know a thing. There are girls as sexless as hot-water bottles. A girl like Alice is made like other girls. She’s got sex like any other girl. When the right guy comes along, a smooth crook who knows his stuff, she could be a sucker for him.’
Travers saw some sense in this reasoning, but he wasn’t convinced. He thought of Alice Craig. She was so earnest, so dedicated to her work and so shy with men.
‘Well, let’s see what Mrs. Loring has to say. I’m still not sold on the idea.’
Easton glanced uneasily at him.
‘I’m just sounding off,’ he said. ‘I could be wrong. You’re young and smart. I need all the help I can get.’
‘How did you make out with Calvin?’ Travers asked.
Here, Easton felt he was on safe ground. He had talked with Calvin and had been impressed. He liked the guy.
‘He’s quite a man, isn’t he?’ he said enthusiastically. ‘He sure knows his job. That’s a thing I go for — a guy who really knows his job. I bet he plays a fine game of golf.’
‘He’s a scratch player,’ Travers said impatiently, ‘but what has that to do with his job?’
‘It’s tough on him to have this break,’ Easton said, shaking his head. ‘He hasn’t been in charge of the bank for more than six weeks when this girl has to spring this on him. It’s tough.’
Travers flicked his cigarette out of the window.
‘You take the second turning on the right,’ he said, ‘then it’s the third house on your right.’