‘Look baby, I’m not interested. Give me your purse or you’ll talk to the cops!’
‘You’ll be sorry,’ she said. ‘I mean that. I don’t forget easily.’
‘I don’t give a damn how fast you forget,’ I said. ‘Give me your purse!’
She dropped her shabby handbag into my lap.
I opened it. There were five dollars and eight cents in it, a pack of cigarettes, a room key and a soiled handkerchief.
I took the money, put it in my pocket and then shutting the bag, I tossed it back to her.
As she clutched it, she said softly, ‘That’s something I’ll never forget.’
‘That’s fine,’ I said. ‘It’ll teach you not to steal from me in the future. Where are you living?’
Her face a hard mask, her tone sullen, she told me: a rooming-house not far from where we were.
‘That’s where we are going.’
Following her sullen directions, I drove to the rooming house that was a shade dirtier and a shade more dilapidated than the one I lived in, and we got out of the car.
‘You are coming to live with me, baby,’ I told her. ‘You’re going to earn some money singing, and you’re going to pay me back what you stole from me. From now on I’m going to be your agent, and you’re paying me ten per cent of whatever you make. We’re going to get it down in writing, but first, you’re going to pack and get out of this joint.’
‘I’ll never make any money out of singing.’
‘You leave me to worry about that,’ I said. ‘You’re going to do what I tell you or you’ll go to jail.
Please yourself what you do, only hurry up and make up your mind.’
‘Why don’t you leave me alone? I tell you I won’t earn anything by singing.’
‘Are you coming with me or are you going to jail?’
She stared at me for a long moment. The smouldering look of hate in her eyes didn’t bother me. I had her where I wanted her and she could hate me as much as she liked. She was going to pay me back my money.
Shrugging, she said, ‘All right, I’ll come with you.’
It didn’t take her long to pack. I had to part with four of her dollars to take care of the room, then I drove her back to my rooming-house.
The room she had had was still empty so she moved back in. While she was unpacking, I wrote out an agreement, full of legal phrases that didn’t mean a thing but looked impressive and made me her agent on a ten per cent basis.
I took it into her room.
‘Sign here,’ I said, pointing to the dotted line.
‘I’m not signing anything,’ she said sullenly.
‘Sign this or we’ll take a walk to the Station House.’
Again that look of smouldering hate came into her eyes, but she signed.
‘Okay,’ I said, putting the paper in my pocket, ‘tonight we’re going to the Blue Rose and you’re going to sing. You’re going to sing as you’ve never sung before, and you’ll get an engagement worth seventy five bucks a week. I take ten per cent of that and the thirty bucks you owe me. From now on, baby, you’re working first for me, then for yourself.’
‘I’m not going to earn anything: you wait and see.’
‘What’s the matter with you?’ I stared at her. ‘With that voice you could make a fortune.’
She lit a cigarette and drew smoke down into her lungs. She suddenly seemed listless and she slumped in the chair as if her backbone had melted.
‘Okay. Anything you say.’
‘What are you going to wear?’
Making an obvious effort, she got up and opened the wardrobe. She had only one dress and that wasn’t much, but I knew the Blue Rose didn’t go in for bright lights, and I thought the dress would get by in a pinch. It would have to.
‘Couldn’t I have something to eat?’ she asked, flopping on the chair again. ‘I haven’t eaten all day.’
‘That’s all you think about — eating. You’ll eat after you’ve got the job and not before. What did you do with all that money you stole from me?’
‘I lived on it.’ Her face was sullen again. ‘How else do you imagine I’ve lived this past month?’
‘Don’t you ever work?’
‘When I can.’
I asked her what I had been wondering about ever since I first met her.
‘How did you get hooked up with that junky, Wilbur?’
‘He had money. He wasn’t stingy like you.’
I sat on the bed.
‘Where did he get it from?’
‘I don’t know. I didn’t ask him. There was a time when he ran a Packard. If he hadn’t had trouble with the cops we’d be still riding in it.’
‘When he ran into trouble, you walked out on him?’
She put her hand inside her shirt and adjusted her bra strap.
‘Why not? The cops were after him. It was nothing to do with me so I skipped.’
‘That was in New York?’
‘Yes.’
‘How did you get the fare down here?’
Her eyes shifted.
‘I had some money. What’s it to you?’
‘I bet you helped yourself to his money as you helped yourself to mine.’
‘Anything you say,’ she said indifferently. ‘Think what you like.’
‘What are you going to sing tonight? You’d better start with
‘What makes you think there will be an encore?’ she said, her expression sullen again.
I controlled the urge to slap her.
‘We’ll keep to the old ones. Do you know
‘Yes.’
That was the one. With that loud, silver tone she would really knock them with that.
‘Fine.’ I looked at my watch. It was getting on for quarter past seven. ‘I’ll be right back. You get changed. See you in about an hour.’
I went over to the door and took the key.
‘Just so you don’t get ideas of running away, baby, I’m going to lock you in.’
‘I won’t run away.’
‘I’ll take care you don’t.’
Going out, I shut the door and locked it.
I delivered the neon sign to Rusty and told him I wouldn’t be in that evening.
He stared at me and began scratching his head in an embarrassed way.
‘Look, Jeff, it’s time we had a little talk. Your piano playing isn’t appreciated here. I can’t go on paying you thirty bucks a week. Look, be sensible and go home. The life you’re leading here is no good to you. Anyway, I can’t keep you on. I’m getting a juke box. This is your last week.’
I grinned at him.
‘Okay, Rusty. I know you mean well, but I’m not going home. The next time you see me I’ll be riding in a Cadillac.’
I wasn’t worried about losing the thirty bucks a week. I was certain Rima would be in the money in a few weeks. With that voice she couldn’t miss. I was sure of it.
I called up Willy Floyd and told him I was bringing Rima for him to hear around half past nine.
He said all right, but he didn’t sound enthusiastic. Then I went back to the rooming-house, unlocked Rima’s door, and looked in.
She was lying on the bed, asleep.
