explained. “We try to make them as comfortable as possible.” He turned to the safe. “The
letters of the combination make up the word ‘economic’. Will you remember that?”
I said I would remember it.
“Perhaps you would care to open the safe yourself? All you have to do …”
“Yeah, I know,” I said. “I’ve handled a job like this before.”
I spun the knob, pausing at each letter. When I had spelt out the complete word, there was a
click and the door swung open.
“When you shut the door, the combination is automatically scrambled,” Evesham went on.
“And the safe is self locking.”
“That’s fine,” I said.
“The key to-this vault is kept with the guard. Our clients are not allowed to take keys off
the premises. Have you any special instructions for us? Do you wish anyone to come here, or
only yourself?”
“No one is to touch the safe unless I’m with them,” I said. “Will your guard know me?”
He allowed himself a princely smile.
“When you opened the safe your photograph was automatically taken. It will be lodged in
the guard-house and checked when you apply for the key.”
“You certainly have thought this thing out.”
“Perhaps you will come downstairs now and complete the formalities, sir?”
“I’d like to get the hang of the safe and check through the contents of my bag before I
leave,” I said. “Would it be all right if I joined you in a few minutes?”
“Certainly. You know where to find me. The guard will direct you to the elevator.”
84
When he had gone I opened the suitcase and took from it ten one-hundred-dollar bills. That
amount would hold me for a few days. As I tucked the roll into my hip pocket I felt the bun
of the .22. I had the .38 in my coat pocket, and I didn’t figure I’d need two guns, so I dropped
the 22 into the suitcase. Then I put the case into the safe and shut the door.
Twenty minutes later I was on my way to 3945, Apartment 4, Franklin Boulevard.
I hummed under my breath as I drove. For the first time since the suitcase had come into
my possession I was relaxed and at ease. The money was safe. Neither Ricca nor Benno nor
Pepi could possibly get their hands on it.
A mile or so along Franklin Boulevard I spotted the house: a big place set in its own
grounds: a little run to seed, unpretentious and far from gaudy. I kept straight on.
At the next intersection I saw a filling-station. I swung the car into the circular drive-in and
pulled up.
An attendant came over.
“Okay for me to leave this heap for a while?”
“As long as you like.”
I walked back along the boulevard and paused at the double gates of 3945. There was a
short drive leading directly to the house. No one appeared to be watching at the windows or
hiding in the shrubbery, I knew I was taking a risk coming here, but if I could get into the
apartment I was hoping I’d find something that would jog my memory to life again. There
might be letters, a photograph or even a diary. I figured it was worth the risk.
I walked up the steps into the lobby. The stairs faced me. On the fourth floor I found
Apartment 4.
I pulled out the .38 and held it down by my side, then sank my thumb into the bell-push.
There was a long silence. I stood waiting, not expecting anyone to answer the door, but
ready if they did. I rang again. I could hear the bell. Then I heard something else that brought
me to a stiff, alert attention. I heard the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door.
I waited, the gun ready. The door opened.
