Iris was glad to leave the bank. She walked quickly to the bus stop, and after a few minutes wait, got on the bus that would drop her close to her home.
Leaving the bus at the road junction, she began the short walk to the rooming-house. She quickened her steps when she saw Ken’s car drawn up on the grass verge and Ken, himself, leaning against the car, a smoking cigarette between his fingers.
‘Hello there,’ he said, coming towards her. ‘I’ve just got back from Downside. I’ve got to be at the office by seven. I thought I’d wait for you. Any luck?’
Quickly she told him what had happened. He looked at her worried, distressed expression and he saw she was scared.
‘He’s smart,’ he said and put his arm around her. ‘Okay. I’ll have to think of something else. Anyway, this let’s you out. You can leave it to me from now on.’
‘No!’ Iris pulled away from him. ‘I feel the way you do now, Ken. This is something between us and him. He won’t be back until eight o’clock. I’m going to look in his room. There’s just a chance the money is there. If it isn’t, I’ll try the bank.’
Now it was Travers’s turn to look worried.
‘This guy’s a killer,’ he said. ‘If he caught you at it… no, better not. You leave this to me.’
‘I’m going to look in his room,’ Iris said quietly. ‘Tell me what to do.’
Travers hesitated, then knowing this was the one short cut to the reward, said, ‘Well, make it fast. Three hundred thousand dollars in small bills takes up a lot of space. Look under the bed, in his drawers, in any suitcase. If you find a locked suitcase, see how heavy it is. Call me if you find anything, but be careful no one hears you make the call. One more thing, take a duster with you in case he comes back unexpectedly. You can say you were dusting his room as Flo hadn’t time to get around to do it. Okay?’
A little pale, but determined, Iris nodded.
‘Yes.’ She kissed him. ‘If I find anything, I’ll call you.’
He looked at his watch.
‘I’ve got to get going. The old man is waiting for his supper.’ He put his arm around her and kissed her. ‘Don’t do it, honey, if it scares you.’
‘I’m going to do it.’
She watched him get in his car and drive away, then she walked quickly towards the rooming-house. The upper floors were in darkness. As she opened the front door, she could hear the television blaring. She paused to listen. She heard sounds coming from the kitchen. She guessed Kit was preparing dinner. She hung up her coat, then went to the closet under the stairs and found a duster. As she began to mount the stairs, the kitchen door opened abruptly and Kit stood in the doorway.
Iris paused.
‘So you’re back. Seems funny to have you back at this hour,’ Kit said, leaning against the doorway, looking up at Iris. ‘Much more respectable than coming in at two in the morning. How do you like working with my handsome fiancé?’
‘It’s all right,’ Iris said, aware blood was rising to her face.
Kit stared intently at her. Her face was white and sweat beads made a pattern on her upper lip. Iris could see she was very drunk.
‘I’m so glad. Did he touch you? He has exciting hands.’
‘Kit! Please!’
‘Don’t be so modest. You should know by now what men are like. If he ever touches you like that, tell me. I’ll kill him. I’ve told him so. Just tell me.’
Iris turned and ran up the stairs. She paused at the head of the stairs to listen. She heard Kit’s unsteady steps as she moved back into the kitchen and she shivered, then steeling herself, she went straight to Calvin’s room.
She paused for a moment outside the door, then she turned the handle, eased the door open and entered the room. Crossing the room in the semi-darkness, she pulled the blinds, then she groped her way back to the light switch and snapped it on. She tucked the duster into the belt she was wearing and looked around the room.
There were very few places of concealment. First, she looked under the bed, but there was nothing there. Standing in a corner of the room was a suitcase, well worn and travel battered. She lifted it, but it was empty. She went to the big closet, opened it and saw at a glance it only contained shirts and underwear. She moved the various articles aside, making sure there was nothing concealed under them. She opened the second drawer, working hurriedly, her heart beating with growing panic. The drawer contained handkerchiefs and ties.
Sure now the money couldn’t be concealed in this room, she turned off the light and moved cautiously into the passage. She heard heavy footfalls coming up the stairs and her heart skipped a beat. She peered over the banister rail. Calvin was coming up the stairs, humming tunelessly, moving purposefully and quickly.
She hastily stepped into Kit’s room and closed the door. She listened, hearing Calvin enter his room, hearing the light switch dick down.
She leaned against the wall, her heart slamming against her ribs, her breath coming in stifled gasps. She waited there in the darkness.
Calvin had seen the light in his window as he had driven into the garage. He had got away earlier than he had expected. Leaving the car, he had gone to the front of the house and looked up at the lighted window. He wondered who was up there. At first, he thought it might be Kit, then it flashed through his mind it was more likely to be Iris.
He came quickly up the stairs and entered his room, surprised to find the light out. He turned it on. It must have been Iris, he thought. So she was spying for Travers! Well, all right: the time was rapidly approaching for a show-down with her. This was getting too uncomfortable and too dangerous.
Deliberately heavy footed, he crossed the room to the communicating door, turned the handle and walked into Kit’s room.
Hearing him come, Iris snapped on the fight. She faced him, realising how white she had gone. Calvin regarded her with his confident smile.
‘Why, hello! Was it you in my room just now?’
He watched her hesitate, then she said in an unsteady voice, ‘Yes… Flo had forgotten to dust… I — I said I would do it.’
His smile widened.
‘How very nice of you. I thought it was Kit up here.’ He stepped back, his blue eyes jeering. ‘Well, I’d better have a wash. I expect dinner is almost ready. I got back sooner than I expected.’
Iris didn’t say anything. She wondered if he could hear the thumping of her heart.
Nodding, he closed the door. She stood listening to his tuneless humming as he moved around his room and she pressed her hands to her breasts.
CHAPTER FIVE
1
The following day was Saturday. It was a relief for Iris to know she wouldn’t have to spend the whole day in Calvin’s company. They drove together to the bank. The auditors had finished their work and had gone back to San Francisco. While Calvin went through the mail, Iris did the routine jobs Calvin had shown her how to handle. Then Calvin dictated some half-dozen letters and Iris got busy with the typewriter while Calvin looked after the odd customer who came in.
Some minutes before eleven o’clock, when Iris brought the letters in for his signature, Calvin leaned back in his chair and stared expressionlessly at her.
‘I have to go to ’Frisco this afternoon,’ he lied. ‘The old man wants to go over the audit with me. There’s a train at twelve-thirty. The next one doesn’t leave until three o’clock. If I don’t catch the twelve-thirty train, I’ll mess up my whole week-end. If I leave here at eleven-forty-five, I’ll just catch it. Do you feel capable of locking up?’