James Chase - The World in My Pocket

Gypo brightened when he saw what was on his plate, and he ate with gusto. Towards the end of the meal, his fat face lost its look of fatigue and resigned hopelessness.

The meal over, Bleck moved to an armchair, lit a cigarette and looked at the other three.

‘Well, we’ve made some progress today,’ he said. ‘From now on one of us has to stay with the caravan every night. We can’t take the risk of someone seeing the caravan and taking a look through the window or trying to break in. This’ll be your job, Kitson. You’re having it pretty soft during the day. You can have it a little rough during the night.’

Kitson shrugged. He didn’t care.

This day had been a good one for him. Ginny had shown signs of relaxing with him. Although they had kept to impersonal topics she seemed ready to talk to him and she was much less hard. He had rowed her around the lake during the morning and had taken her swimming during the afternoon.

Whenever they met anyone, she always slipped her arm through his, and this pleased him.

During the afternoon when they had been lying side by side in the sun, after a swim, he in trunks and she in a one-piece white costume, she had suddenly moved over to him and had rested her face against his shoulder, her arm across his chest, and for a moment he had thought he had succeeded in breaking down her final reserve only to realize that two other people had come down on to the beach and seeing them lying like that had moved away, leaving them on their own.

He had been careful not to move, hoping she would remain like that, but of course she hadn’t. As soon as the two had gone, she lifted her head and looked at him.

‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to embarrass you.’

‘You didn’t,’ Kitson said. ‘I liked it.’

She laughed, sitting up.

‘I dare say you did. I’m going to have another swim,’ and jumping to her feet, she ran down to the lake side.

Kitson remained where he was, watching her.

Yes, she was relaxing with him all right. He felt then for the first time that he might have a chance with her. He realized this request of Bleck’s for him to guard the caravan at night was a reasonable one. Anyone snooping around in the dark and taking it into his head to break into the caravan could blow their whole plan sky high.

‘Okay,’ he said, pushing back his chair, ‘I’ll get out there now.’

Expecting opposition and surprised, Bleck watched him leave. When the door shut behind him, Bleck said, ‘Suppose Gypo and me have the beds, baby, and you use the settee? We are the ones doing the work and we need our sleep. That okay with you?’

Ginny shrugged indifferently.

‘Oh, sure.’

Bleck stared at her.

‘Unless maybe Gypo takes the settee.’

Ginny looked up sharply.

‘I’ll take the settee, thank you,’ she said curtly.

Bleck grinned.

‘Suit yourself.’ He got up and took a deck of cards from the overmantel and began to shuffle the cards. ‘Want a game of gin?’

‘No,’ Ginny said. ‘I’m going for a walk. I’d like this room when I get back.’

Sensing what was in the air, Gypo watched and listened uneasily.

‘Sure,’ Bleck said, still grinning. ‘Hey, Gypo, let’s you and me go into the bedroom. We can use the bed for a table.’

Gypo got up and went into the bedroom.

‘It’s all yours, baby,’ Bleck said. ‘How did you enjoy your day with the plough boy? Fallen for him yet?’

Ginny leaned back in her chair, her eyes contemptuous.

‘Is that what I’m supposed to do?’

‘Well, you never know. I suppose there must be a few girls who would fall for him. He’s fallen for you.’

She got up and walked over to the cabin door.

Bleck eyed her.

‘You and me, baby, could make a team. Why not think about it?’ he said as she opened the door.

‘Oh, drop dead,’ she said without even bothering to look at him. She went out into the darkness and closed the door after her. An ugly gleam in his eyes, Bleck hesitated. He wanted to go after her and teach her she couldn’t talk that way to him, but he knew Kitson would come out of the caravan, and he wasn’t ready yet for a show down with him.

Shrugging angrily, he went into the bedroom where Gypo was sitting on the bed, nervously clenching and unclenching his hands.

‘Look, Ed,’ he said, ‘lay off the girl. We’ve got enough trouble without having woman trouble as well.’

‘Aw, shut up!’ Bleck snarled, and sitting on the bed, he began to deal the cards.

Around eleven o’clock, they heard Ginny come in, and after a few minutes, the shower running.

Bleck crushed out his cigarette and scooped up the cards on the bed.

‘We’ll hit the sack,’ he said. ‘We should be out in that box before light.’

Gypo was ready enough for bed, and within ten minutes, the light out, he began to snore.

Bleck lay staring into the darkness, listening. He could hear Ginny moving about in the sitting room, then after a few minutes he heard the light switch click off.

Bleck believed in direct methods when dealing with women.

The gradual approach was in his opinion a waste of time.

He threw aside the sheet, slid silently out of bed, and went to the bedroom door. He paused to satisfy himself that Gypo was heavily asleep, then he turned the door handle gently, stepped into the dark sitting room, then closed the bedroom door behind him.

Almost immediately the light went on, and Ginny half sat up.

She was wearing pale blue pyjamas and she looked very desirable to Bleck, who grinned at her as he walked across the room and paused by the side of the settee, looking down at her.

‘I thought I’d keep you company, baby,’ he said. ‘Move over.’

Ginny remained motionless, her sea-green eyes completely expressionless.

‘Get out!’ she said softly.

‘Come on, honey,’ Bleck said and sat on the edge of the settee. ‘Don’t be that way. I’ve got plans for you and me. When this job’s over and we’ve got the dough, we’ll go places together. I’ll take you to London and Paris. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?’

‘I said get out!’ the girl repeated, and it angered Bleck that she seemed so calm and unafraid.

‘Maybe I can persuade you,’ he said and his hands closed over her shoulders, and then he felt something hard dig into his chest.

He looked down quickly and his heart skipped a beat as he saw the .38 automatic pressing into him.

‘Take your hands off me slowly,’ Ginny said and there was a steely quality in her voice that scared Bleck. ‘Slowly or I’ll kill you.’

Slowly and cautiously, his mouth dry, Bleck took his hands off her shoulders and lifted them. He had a horrible feeling as he looked into her eyes that he was only a heartbeat away from death.

‘Now get up,’ she went on. ‘Slowly; keep your hands like that.’

Slowly, he got up and backed away.

‘Get out of here!’ she said, the gun sight steady and pointing at his chest. ‘The next time you try that little act, I’ll kill you. Now get back into your room and stay in there.’

Bleck drew in a long, deep breath.

‘Okay, baby,’ he said. ‘Watch out! I’ll fix you for this! Make no mistake about that!’

‘Run away, you cheap masher,’ Ginny said.

Bleck went into the bedroom and shut the door. He was shaking with rage. If she imagined, after this, she was going to get her share of the money when the payoff came, she was mistaken, he thought as he got into his bed.

He’d fix her! He’d teach her to throw a gun on him!

She and that bum Kitson! He’d fix them both!

When they got the money from the truck, he’d put a slug through Kitson’s head, and as for her — well, that depended.