'I wonder what goes on.'
Alice moved her head closer. 'I started to tell you. He says he's afraid of Gertrude. He says it's his fault she's bhnd. And she'd like to hurt him. That's what he said. It's crazy, isn't it?'
'Gertrude's a queer bird,' he said, 'and I wouldn't put anything past any of them. They've been holed up here too long.'
Alice shivered. The old house was rotten. All around her she felt the atmosphere of decay. Not so much decay of Uie walls or the ceilings, which still held and would hold. But decay in the air, accumulated rubbish in the minds, imaired, unsunned, unclean.
'You don't think he's right to be scared?'
'Tm scared,' said Fred.
Alice felt warm gratitude. 'Well, thank God you're human.' They laughed and she shoved her shoulder
closer. 'What are we so scared of?' she asked him.
Fred said slowly, 'Innes has got a million bucks.''
'Yes?''
'Well, the girls could use it.''
'But for heaven's sake . . .'
'It's you,'' Fred said.
'Me!''
'I wouldn't be surprised.'
'Oh, I see what you're thinking,' Alice said slowly. 'You think I'm a blow, is that it? Because if I marry Innes, then they won't get so much if he should die.'
'Sure,'' said Fred. 'And I betcha.' He squashed his cigarette on the step with his heel. 'How'd they take it? The news, I mean.'
Alice looked back in time. 'They asked me when.'
'Uh huh. See?'
'Yes, but how do they know they'll ever get anything? Why should Innes die? He's younger than they are.''
'Maybe they're going to fix that,' Fred said carelessly.
'So that's what we're afraid of?' Alice smiled.
'Must be, I guess.'
Alice looked at his face m the dim light. 'You think they want him to die quick, before I get hold of the money?'
''They wouldn't mind.'
'Maybe they wouldn't mind, but look, Fred, it's sUly, because they haven't done anything. Innes is nervous. Well, he's had a tough time. But what makes you think they did anything at all? God knows I don't like them, I can't stand them, but you're talking about murder.'
'Yeah, I guess so. The thing is, I been having a litde chat with Josephine,' he said easily. 'In the first place, they know damn well he can't eat veal. They know that. Tliey must. Say, even I know it, and I'm only the hired help. Also, they must have known there was veal in that meat loaf. That's right, isn't it?'
'I should thmk so.'
'Well, let me tell you it's right, because Josephine knew it and she even told them.'
'Oh?''
'She called it to their attention, see?'
'What did they say?'
'They kinda brushed the whole thing off. Except Maud. Of course, she didn't hear what Josephine said. Now, it looks to me as if they wanted Innes to get sick. Why would they want that?'
'I don't know. He wouldn't die from eating veal.'
'No, but he'd have to stick around this house, maybe. Where they could get at him.'
'Oh, lord . . . Fred!'
'They wanted him to stay, didn't they?'
'Well, of course, but . . .'
'I was just trying to figure . . . Another thing, Josephine was down the road tonight. She went down into town, right after dinner, a few minutes before eight, she says. She went around by the pit road. Where we were, you know?'
'When?'
'Must have been close to eight o'clock. Well, I asked her if she saw anybody monkeying around that sawhorse. She says no, she couldn't see, wasn't specially looking, anyhow. But she heard something. She heard somebody cough. She couldn't describe it very well. Kind of a cough, she said. It made her nervous. Said she ran.'
