Iris had trouble in controlling her excitement. Here was the opportunity she had been waiting for, and it had come so soon! With Calvin out of the way, she would be able to search the bank! If the money was there, she would find it!
‘Why, yes, of course,’ she said, controlling the eagerness in her voice.
Watching her, Calvin saw her reaction and could almost read what was going on in her mind. He had difficulty not to burst out laughing.
‘I shouldn’t be doing this,’ he said. ‘There’s always a chance that someone will come in at the last moment, but they never have so far. I’ll leave you a float just in case. You’d better have the keys to the vault.’ His smile widened. ‘You never know. I might have a pile-up or something.’ He slid two keys across the desk. ‘You have the key to the front entrance. Okay?’
‘Yes.’
With a hand that was far from steady, Iris picked up the two keys.
He handed her a pile of papers.
‘Would you enter this lot for me?’ He looked at his watch. ‘I’ll have a wash.’
As soon as she had returned to her desk, Calvin left his office and went down the short passage towards the men’s room. He paused in the passage and listened, then moving quickly to the back entrance to the bank, he silently unlocked the door and drew back the two heavy bolts.
Then he moved silently into the men’s room and rinsed his hands. His tuneless humming was continuous.
Iris was so strung up, she could only stare at the papers lying on her desk, trying to think where she had best start her search when Calvin had gone.
She had plenty of time, she told herself. Better not do this on her own. As soon as Calvin had left she would telephone Ken and ask him to come over. Then together, they would search every likely hiding place in the bank.
She suddenly felt Calvin close to her and she reared away, nearly toppling off her stool. A thick, muscular arm went around her shoulders, steadying her. His touch made her flesh creep, but somehow she managed not to wrench away from him.
‘Day dreaming,’ he said lightly, releasing her and moving back. ‘That’s not the way to get the work finished. Well, I must get off. Sure you can manage?’
‘Oh, yes.’ Her voice was husky.
‘Have a nice week-end. I’ll be back Sunday night. Going somewhere with Ken?’
‘I hope so… if he isn’t tied up.’
‘Of course… he is chasing the mysterious bank robber.’ Calvin stared at her. ‘You two will be sitting pretty if he collects the reward.’
Iris didn’t say anything.
‘What will you do with it when you get it?’ Calvin asked. ‘Sixty thousand… it is a lot of money.’
‘We haven’t got it yet,’ Iris said unsteadily.
Calvin’s smile was jeering and yet sympathetic.
‘Sensible girl… I also never count my chickens. All the same, I wish you luck.’
He turned abruptly away and went back into his office. A few minutes later, he came out, carrying a briefcase.
‘Well, I’m off,’ he said. ‘See you Sunday night.’ He lifted his hand in a half wave, then smiling at her, he walked out of the bank.
Iris waited a few moments, then she slid off her stool and went to the window. She watched Calvin walk across the road to where his car was parked. She watched him get into the car and drive fast up the main street. She didn’t move until she had lost sight of him, then breathing fast, her heart thumping, she went over to the telephone and dialled the sheriff’s office. There was a delay, then Sheriff Thomson came on the line.
‘This is Iris Loring,’ Iris said. ‘Can I speak to Ken, please?’
‘Hello, Iris,’ the sheriff said. ‘Sorry, but Ken’s with Easton at Downside. Anything I can do?’
Iris’s heart sank.
‘No, thanks. It’s personal. Do you know when he will be back?’
‘Can’t say I do. Not until five o’clock, if then. Shall I tell him you called?’
‘No, don’t do that. It’s nothing important. I was just wondering if he was working this afternoon.’
‘He’s working all right,’ the sheriff said, his voice suddenly gloomy. ‘So am I. We’re trying to catch this bank robber. Come to that, how are you enjoying being a bank clerk?’
‘I like it fine,’ Iris said, trying to make her voice sound as if she meant what she was saying. ‘Well, thanks.’
‘You’re welcome,’ the sheriff said and hung up.
Iris replaced the receiver. She told herself she couldn’t miss this opportunity. If Ken couldn’t help her, then she would have to search the bank on her own. What a triumph for her, she thought, as well as for Ken, if she found the money!
She looked at her watch. It was now five minutes to twelve. She got off her stool and went to the bank door. The main street as usually happened on a Saturday morning was deserted. She stood by the door waiting for the church clock to strike the hour. It seemed a long wait. When finally, the mellow notes of the bell began to strike, she quickly shut the door and locked it.
With a sudden urgent feeling of panic, she went into Calvin’s office and looked through the unlocked drawers of his desk. She found nothing to interest her. There was a steel filing cabinet against the wall. This was also unlocked and contained only papers relating to the bank’s affairs. She paused to look around the room. There was no other place of concealment so she went down the passage into the men’s washroom. A quick glance around the room told her here again there were no places of concealment.
If the money was anywhere, it had to be in the vault.
She took the keys Calvin had given her from her skirt pocket and went down the stairs to the vault door. She unlocked the two locks, pushed open the door and turned on the light.
She paused in the doorway, looking around at the deed boxes that were stacked along the three walls to the ceiling. The fourth wall was occupied by the safe. This she had no interest in as she had been with Calvin when he had opened the safe. It contained only the bank ledgers and cash taken at the end of the day.
She decided if the money was anywhere it would be in one of the deed boxes. She suddenly realised what a shrewd idea it would be to hide the money in one of these boxes. She put a stool against a pile of deed boxes and climbing onto the stool, she lifted down the top box. It was locked.
She tried the second box without moving it and found that too was locked. She remembered seeing a bunch of keys in Calvin’s desk drawer. Maybe, she thought, there was a master key among the keys which would open all the boxes.
She went back to Calvin’s office just as Calvin came silently into the bank, using the unlocked back door. He heard her in his office and he waited, breathing gently through his thick nostrils, his fleshy face hard and his blue eyes glittering. He heard her leave his office and he peered around the corner of the wall and watched her walk down into the vault. He closed the door, turned the lock and slid the bolts home. Then moving like a shadow, he entered his office, put his briefcase on the desk and took off his hat and coat. Unconsciously, he hummed softly under his breath. He stood by his desk, listening. He heard Iris moving the deed boxes, dumping them down on the floor, the clash of steel against steel coming clearly to him.
He rubbed his fleshy jaw with his thick fingers and his mouth set into a cruel, satisfied grin. This would be the showdown, he told himself. It was time. This girl was becoming a nuisance: not only a nuisance, she was dangerous.
He moved silently out of his office and headed for the vault.
In the vault, Iris had found the master key that opened the deed boxes. She had opened three of the boxes and was preparing to open the fourth. This was only full of documents and she continued with her task until she came to the last box of the stack. She turned the lock and lifted the lid and caught her breath sharply. In the box, neatly packeted, were packets of fifty-dollar bills. She had never seen so much money. As she stared at this money, she knew she had found the stolen payroll. She knelt, careless of her nylon stockings, staring down at the contents of the box, her heart beating wildly.