Arrive Paulton four p.m. Will cut your heart out if you haven't got Penelope.
Grayson.
I had four neat whiskies and a rare steak for lunch, and then I rode out to the Vineyard on the street-car. I sat next to a fat lady with a basket of staples from the A & P, and continued with my thinking. I had a funny feeling that I was close to something, but I was damned if I could tell what it was. I wondered if I had been right about McGee. He had tried to scare me out of town. And he'd known there'll been a robbery at the Vineyard. Yeah, I'd been right. I wondered if he had killed Oke.
“Pardon me.”
“Huh?”
“This is where I get off.”
“Oh.” I let the fat lady and the basket by.
What I'd been hired for, though, was to get Penelope Grayson out. The telegram had reminded me of that. Just thinking about her gave me a sick-empty feeling in my belly. Those damned graves! And that kid Tabith.nl And this was the night of the Ceremony of the Bride. I thought again, what a phony idea; the Ceremony of the Bride. Hut there was nothing phony about those graves. Jesus! I thought, if only there was an honest DA in the county. I wondered what I would say to Grayson. I wondered why I was so worried. I thought at heart I must be a pretty honest bastard.
I went into the Vineyard by the back way. I rolled my knuckles on the door, and the Princess let me in. She looked cool and pretty.
“Honey, did you bring the money?”
“Yes.”
“Hand it over.”
“I don't know as I ought to.”
“Yes, you had, honey. You're in trouble. They got an idea you broke into the vault.”
“So McGee told me.”
She held out a hand. “Do you want to be caught with the money on you?”
“What about you?”
“They don't suspect me, honey.”
I went over and had a drink of the brandy. Then I sat on the divan. “How'd McGee find out?”
“I told him.”
“What the hell!”
She sat down beside me and put her hand on my knee. “I had to ... he knew it anyway.”
“How?”
“Well,” she said, “one time we discussed breaking into the vault.”
“You and McGee?”
She smiled at me. I thought, well, I was right about McGee. I said: “So you worked with him?”
“I still do,” she said.
Then I got it. She didn't know he was dead! I wondered why nobody had told her. I decided to stall her.
“Are you in love with him?”
“Oh, no, honey. It's a business arrangement.”
“How much does he want?”
“Half. And you got to leave town.”
“I'm the fall guy, eh?”
“If the cops come in. But McGee will see they don't.”
“How?”
“They're in his pocket, honey. He's the business manager for the Vineyard.” She laughed. “You're not such a smart detective.”
“I guess not.”
“All you have to do is disappear. Later, when everything's quiet, I'll join you. You'll like that, won't you, dear?”
I said “Yes.”
“Now where's the money?”
I pulled the roll out of my pants pocket. She counted it. “Where's the other seven thousand?”
“In my wallet.”
“Keep it.” She put her arms around my neck and kissed me. “Oh, honey, it's not my fault. I love you, honest. McGee's just too smart, that's all.”
