of here! You hear me? It’s swine like you in your hunks of metal who cause the accidents! Get out of here! Get out, the lot of you!’
The fat man said out of the corner of his mouth: ‘See what I mean—a Nazi,’ and he walked over to his car.
I went back to the Pontiac, started the engine, made a U-turn and drove back fast to the bungalow.
When I walked into the lounge, I found Lucille huddled up in one of the big easy chairs. She looked very small and defenceless and frightened, and her face was the colour of old parchment.
As I came into the lounge, she stiffened and stared up at me.
‘Is it all right, Ches?’
I went over to the cocktail cabinet, poured myself a double whisky, added a little water and drank thirstily.
‘No, I wouldn’t say it is all right,’ I said, moving to a chair near hers. I sat down, not looking at her.
‘Oh.’
There was a long pause, then she said: ‘Were you able… did you see…?’
‘The police were there.’ I couldn’t bring myself to tell her she had killed him. ‘I didn’t see him.’
Again there was a pause, then: ‘What do you think we should do, Ches?’
I looked at the clock on the overmantel. It was now twenty minutes past eleven.
‘I don’t think we can do anything,’ I said.
I saw her stiffen.
‘You mean we don’t do anything at all?’
‘That’s what I mean. It’s getting late. I’m going to take you home.’
She sat forward, her hands on her knees, and she stared at me.
‘But, Ches, surely we must do something? I should have stopped. It was an accident, of course, but I should have stopped.’ She began to beat her fists on her knees. ‘He might recognize me if he sees me again. He might have taken the number of the car. Surely we must do something?’
‘I finished the whisky and put the glass down, then I got to my feet.
‘Come on. I’ll take you home.’
She remained motionless, her eyes wide and staring.
‘You’re keeping something from me, aren’t you? What is it?’
‘It’s bad, Lucille,’ I said. ‘As bad as it can be, but you don’t have to be frightened.’
‘What do you mean?’ Her voice was suddenly shrill.
‘You ran over him.’
She clenched her fists.
‘Oh, no! Is he badly hurt?’
‘Yes.’
‘Take me home, Ches. I must tell Roger.’
‘You can’t tell him,’ I said. ‘He can’t do anything.’
‘Oh, but he can. He’s a friend of the Captain of Police. He’ll be able to explain.’
‘Explain what?’
‘That I have only just learned to drive, of course. That it was an accident.’
‘I’m afraid that won’t make any impression.’
She became rigid, her eyes opening wide with terror.
‘Is he so badly hurt? You don’t mean—he’s dead?’
‘Yes. You’ll have to know sooner or later. Yes, he’s dead.’
She closed her eyes and her hands went to her breasts.
‘Oh, Ches…’
‘Now, don’t panic.’ I tried to keep my voice steady. ‘There’s nothing we can do about it—anyway, for the moment. We’re in a jam, but if we don’t lose our heads…’
She stared at me, her lips trembling.
‘But you weren’t in the car. It’s nothing to do with you. It was my fault.’
‘We’re in this thing together, Lucille. If I hadn’t behaved as I did, you wouldn’t have rushed away like that. It’s as much my fault as yours.’
‘Oh, Ches…’
She dropped her face down on the settee and began to sob.
I watched her for a moment or so, then, getting up, I put my arms around her and pulled her against me.
‘What will they do to us?’ she gasped, her hands gripping my arms.
‘You mustn’t worry about that,’ I said. ‘There’s nothing we can do until we see what the newspapers say tomorrow. Then we must decide.’
‘Suppose someone saw me hit him?’
‘No one did. There was no one on the beach.’ My hands tightened around her. ‘Did you pass any car after you hit him?’
She pushed away from me, got unsteadily to her feet and wandered over to the window.
‘I don’t think so. I can’t remember.’
‘It’s important, Lucille. Try to remember.’
She came back to the divan and sat down.
‘I don’t think so.’
‘All right. Now listen, we must discuss this tomorrow after we’ve seen the papers. Will you come down here? There’s nowhere else I can think of where we can have an uninterrupted talk. Can you get here about ten?’
She was staring at me, her eyes empty holes in her face.
‘Will they send me to prison?’ she asked.
That gave me a horrible jolt. I realized if they caught her they would send her to prison. You can’t kill a policeman and get away with it. You might kill anyone accidentally, and if you had a top-flight attorney you might beat the rap, but not if you killed a policeman.
‘Stop talking like that! It won’t get you anywhere. What time will you be here tomorrow? Can you get here by ten?’
‘Are you sure we shouldn’t do anything?’ She began to beat her clenched fists together. ‘If they find out…’
‘They won’t find out. Will you listen to me, Lucille? We mustn’t panic. We must first find out
what the papers say. We mustn’t do anything until we know all the facts. We’ll know the facts tomorrow morning, then if you’ll meet me, we can make up our minds what to do.’
She pressed her fingers to her temples.
‘Don’t you think I should tell Roger? He might be able to do something.’
If I had thought Aitken could have done something, I wouldn’t have hesitated to go with her and tell him the whole sordid story, but I was certain he couldn’t do a thing for her. If she went to him the truth would come out that she and I had been on the beach together. He would want to know why she had run off like that. Knowing Aitken, I felt sure he would have got the truth out of her, and then I would be sunk.
I drew in a long, slow breath.
‘You can’t tell him, Lucille. If you tell him, how will you explain what you were doing in my car? How will you explain what you were doing on the beach? How will you explain that you and I were on the beach together, that we undressed and swam together? If I thought your husband could do something, then I would go with you and tell him, but he can’t. If you lose your head and tell him, you will give him grounds for a divorce, and I’ll lose my job.’
She stared fixedly at me, then she said in a voice tight with panic: ‘I’d rather be divorced than go to prison. Roger wouldn’t let me go to prison. He has a lot of influence. I’m sure he wouldn’t let me go to prison.’
I put my hands on her arms and shook her gently.
‘Lucille! You’re reasoning like a child. Once he knew you and I had been on the beach together, he would wash his hands of you. He wouldn’t give a damn what happened to you. You must realize that.’
‘That’s not true,’ she said desperately. ‘He might divorce me, but he wouldn’t let me go to prison. He’s like
