‘They may be old, but they’re no fools.’
‘I know… I know. I’m not saying this is going to be easy, but if we handle it right, it’ll work.’
‘I still can’t see how it is done.’
‘We have time,’ Calvin said. He drank some of the whisky, set down the glass and lit a cigarette. ‘That’s the beauty of this thing… we have all the time in the world. So long as Lamb is out of action, I’m in charge of the bank. He’s going to be out of action for months, so that gives us time. We first have to create the boy-friend. You must drop a hint to Miss Pearson that you think Alice has found a beau. Say you’ve seen her out with him. Miss Pearson will tell the major. They have nothing else to do but to gossip. You must persuade Miss Pearson not to speak to Alice about her beau. Tell her it’ll embarrass her. They both like her and it shouldn’t be hard to make them keep quiet.’
Kit made a movement of exasperation.
‘But she never goes out in the evening. She sits glued to the television. How could they believe she has a boy- friend if she never goes out to meet him?’
‘I’ve thought of that one,’ Calvin said. ‘You’d be surprised how much thinking I have been doing. In a few days, Alice is going to give up watching television. She’s going to work for a bank examination. She’s going to be in her room five nights a week. But every now and then when the old couple are watching television, Alice will sneak downstairs and go out to meet her boy-friend.’
‘How will that be done?’
‘We all leave our coats in the lobby. When Alice is upstairs working for her examination, you will remove her hat and coat and put them out of sight. You’ll tell the old couple Alice has gone out. The proof will be her hat and coat are missing. Later, you’ll put them back. The old couple will be under the impression Alice has returned. It’s as simple as that.’
Kit sat motionless for several moments, thinking, then she nodded.
‘Yes, of course, it could work. It’s a trick, but it could work. Major Hardy and Miss Pearson will only know about her boy-friend because I have told them about him… is that enough?’
‘No. They’ll have to see him. That can be arranged. I’m giving you the bare outline of my idea. Later, we’ll have to work out the details. But I’m sure we’ll be able to produce a convincing boy-friend.’
Kit reached out and took a cigarette from the pack lying on the table. She lit the cigarette, flicked the match into the ash-tray, then drew in a lungful of smoke. She stared at the wall behind Calvin’s head, her face set in concentration.
Calvin watched her, guessing what was going on in her mind.
‘Am I being stupid about this?’ she asked abruptly. ‘I can see we can produce a convincing boy-friend who doesn’t exist. I can see he might be able to persuade Alice to help him take the payroll. I can see the police might believe this possible. But what happens to Alice? If we are planning to put the blame on her, how do we persuade her to run away? How long do you imagine it’ll be before they catch her? Once they start questioning her they’ll find out fast enough she had nothing to do with the robbery and there never was a boy-friend.’
Calvin flicked ash off his cigarette. His eyes became remote.
‘They won’t ever catch her,’ he said. ‘That’s the trick in this. They may find her but they won’t catch her.’
Kit lifted her hair off her shoulders with an impatient movement.
‘Will you stop talking in riddles? If they find her, they’ll catch her, won’t they?’
‘Not necessarily.’ He didn’t look at her. ‘They’ll find her all right, but she won’t be in a position – shall we say – to talk.’
There was a sudden tense pause. Calvin continued to stare down at the carpet, humming tunelessly under his breath. Kit became rigid, her fists gripped between her knees, her face suddenly without colour.
‘It depends on how much you really want the money,’ Calvin said at last. ‘I really want it. I’ve made up my mind to have it. Nothing and nobody is going to stop me having it.’
She remained motionless. He could hear her quick, heavy breathing and he wondered if he had misjudged her. If she hasn’t the nerve, he thought uneasily, to go ahead with this thing, then I’m in trouble. I could have two murders on my hands… Alice and she. I’m not giving up this idea just because she hasn’t the nerve to help me. I’ll have to find someone else, but first, I’ll have to silence her.
‘I think I’d like a drink,’ Kit said in a hoarse, harsh voice.
He splashed whisky into his empty glass and held it out to her. He saw her hand was unsteady as she took the glass from him. She drank the whisky in one quick gulp, shuddered and sat back, holding the empty glass so tightly
