Реймонд Маршалл - The Paw in the Bottle

He followed her into the lounge, and for the first time in his life he felt at a disadvantage. Her beauty and her surroundings shook his confidence in himself. He found himself falling in love with her as he stood staring at her. It was something he had never experienced before, and he didn’t know how to cope with it.

Julie was quick to see the impression she had made on him, and exploited it. She stood before the big fireplace and looked at him steadily, her face cold and set.

‘What’s the matter, Julie? Aren’t you going to give me a kiss?’

‘No, I’m not!’ she snapped. ‘I want to talk to you. I’m leaving here. I can’t stand it any more.’

‘Why, what’s the matter? What’s happened?’

She told him about Blanche.

‘You’ve no idea what she’s like,’ she concluded, her eyes flashing. ‘She’s cracked. I mean it. She’s dangerously cracked. She might have killed me. I don’t know from one minute to the next what’s going to happen. I’m afraid to open a drawer or a cupboard. I’m scared to answer her bell. Well, I’m not going to stand it, and I don’t see why I should.’

‘Now, look, Julie, you’re worked up,’ he said, dismayed by her determined expression. ‘You’ll see it differently tomorrow. You’re not going to let a few practical jokes get you down, are you?’

‘She frightens me and gets on my nerves. There’ll be no peace for me as long as I stay here. It’s not worth it. It’s no good, Harry, I’m not staying.’

He went over to the settee and sat down. This was serious. He decided he’d have to tell her why she was here, to show her it wasn’t just something she could chuck up at a moment’s notice.

‘Look, Julie, you may as well know now as later,’ he said, as he took out a cigarette with a none too steady hand. ‘I’m after those furs. You’ve guessed it by now, haven’t you?’

‘Do you take me for a fool? Of course I’ve guessed it. And I don’t like it.’

‘There’s nothing for you to worry about. You’re safe enough,’ he assured her hastily. ‘I want you to find out how that safe operates. It’s the toughest job in town. I’ve made up my mind to crack it and you’re the only one who can help me.’

‘Well, you can’t open it,’ Julie said shortly. ‘She told me about it. It’s wired to the Kensington police station.’

‘There you are!’ he explained, sitting forward. ‘That’s exactly what I wanted to know. What else did she tell you?’

‘She said eight burglars have been caught trying to get into it. How do you like that?’

‘Four,’ Harry said. ‘Not eight. I thought that was how they were caught, but I wasn’t sure. Don’t you see, kid? You can get me all kinds of useful information if you’ll only stick it. Tell me about the furs.’

‘There’s a mink coat. She said it cost five thousand.’ Julie made a little grimace. She couldn’t get the furs out of her mind. Since she had seen them she had been thinking about them, longing to possess them. ‘And a white Arctic fox. That’s a beauty; much too good for that little horror. And there’s also a beaver, a chinchilla, a sable and an ermine.’

‘Seen any jewellery?’

‘No, but I know it’s kept in a steel cabinet in the safe.’

All the time Harry was questioning her he was thinking how he could persuade her to stay. Somehow he had to persuade her to work with him. He had to find a weakness in her and play on it.

‘You said the door of the safe shut when you went in. Did it shut fast or slow?’

‘Like a mousetrap going off,’ Julie said with a shiver. ‘There’s no air in there once the doors are closed. You would die if you were trapped in there for long.’

‘The idea is not to be trapped. Did she close the door or was it automatic?’

‘She wasn’t near it. I don’t really know.’

‘Well, let’s look at it. Take me to her bedroom.’

‘All right, but you understand I’m not going on with this? You can see if you want to, and you’d better take a good look at it. You won’t see it with my help any more.’

He followed her into Blanche’s bedroom feeling more dismayed and helpless than ever. Her hard determination defeated him.

She showed him the quilted wall.

‘It’s behind that. Don’t touch it. We don’t want the police here.’

‘You’re damned right we don’t,’ he said uneasily, and went over to examine the wall. ‘No sign of anything. It’s a pretty neat job. Did the door open outwards or slide to one side?’

‘It slid to one side.’

He stood looking at the wall thoughtfully for several minutes, then he shook his head.

‘No good. We’ll have to find out more about how it works before I tackle it. You’ll have to find out for me, Julie.’

‘I’m not going to,’ Julie said, aware of his uneasiness. ‘I’ve told you. I’m not staying.’

He pulled her to him.

‘Stick it a little longer and I’ll make it a hundred quid instead of fifty. Come on, Julie, be a gutsy kid. You’ve done fine up to now.’

She looked up at him, her full lips near his.

‘No, Harry, I’ve had enough. You see, you’ve told me what you’re up to and that makes me your accomplice. I’m not going to be mixed up with the police, and besides I can’t stand any more from that woman. You just don’t know how she frightens me.’

He had a sudden idea. As soon as it entered his mind he realized to his astonishment how much this girl meant to him now. ‘All right,’ he thought, ‘I may as well face it. She’s knocked me. She’s what I want. I’m not going to lose her. There’s never been anyone like her before. I’m going to have her if I have to marry her, and damn it, that’s what I want to do.’

‘Aren’t you getting a little het up, Julie?’ he said, taking her hand. ‘Two or three more days and the job’s done. Listen, let’s get this job over and we’ll get married. How would you like that?’ He looked at her eagerly. ‘I’ll have enough money to be on easy street for the rest of my days. We can go to America; live on the fat of the land.’

Julie pushed him away and stared at him. This was unexpected, and a little tingle of excitement ran up her spine.

‘Marry me? Go to the States?’

‘Why not? You want fun, don’t you?’ He was excited now. ‘I’ll give you fun. I’ll give you the world on a plate. I love you. Don’t you understand, darling? I’m crazy about you.’

‘If you’re lying...’ she began, her eyes flashing.

‘Of course I’m not. I mean it, Julie. Look, suppose you don’t go through with this. What’ll happen to you? Suppose you break with me? What are you going to do? Go back to Hewart? He won’t want you. Earn four quid a week in a factory? You’ll love that, won’t you? I’m offering you everything you want: clothes, fun, money, and you can have me if you want me. Damn it, I can’t be fairer than that, can I? I have friends in the States. We’ll have a terrific time together. What do you say?’

She studied him for a moment. It was a triumphant moment for her. He meant it! He was in love with her. She had only to play her cards carefully and she would get anything she wanted from him without risks.

‘I love you too, Harry,’ she said, and slipped her arms round his neck. ‘But I’m not staying here. I’m not a crook. All right, I admit I’ve done things I shouldn’t have done, but I’ve kept inside the law. I’ve never done nor am I ever going to do anything that’d land me in prison. And, please, Harry, don’t go through with this. She’s too clever. You’ll be caught. I know you’ll be caught. Then what’ll happen to me?’

He held her to him.

‘That’s torn it,’ he was thinking. ‘Now what the hell am I going to do? I’ll lose her if I don’t look out. I’ll have to see Ma French. She’ll have to find a way round this. She’ll have to find another girl to do the job.’