James Chase - I Would Rather Stay Poor

They kissed. She was immediately aware how tense he was and she drew away to look sharply at him.

‘Is there something wrong? It’s not Kit…?’

‘Nothing’s wrong,’ he said and put his arm around her, holding her against him. ‘I had to see you, honey. I’ve taken time off and came over. The sheriff and Easton are holding the fort, but I’ve got to get back within an hour.’ He looked at her, his face alight with excitement. ‘Something’s come up that could affect us both… something pretty good.’

‘What is it? Something’s come up with me, too, that’s pretty good. I’m so glad you came. I wanted to talk to you about it.’

‘What is it?’

‘No, you tell me first.’

‘The bank is offering a reward for the bank robber,’ Ken said. ‘Sixty thousand dollars! Can you imagine! Sixty thousand dollars and I’m pretty sure I’m going to get it!’

Iris gasped.

‘Oh, Ken. You really think you’ll get it?’

‘I guess so.’ Travers tightened his grip on her. ‘If I got all that money, your mother wouldn’t object to us marrying, would she? I mean the only thing she has against me is that I’m not earning enough. That’s the only thing, isn’t it?’

‘She has nothing against you,’ Iris said. ‘It’s just that she has had such a rough time, she doesn’t want me to live the way she did. Yes, of course, if we had all that money, Kit would be wild with joy. I’m sure she would!’

‘That’s what I hoped you would say,’ Travers said, staring through the rain-drenched windshield. ‘You remember Max Heldon? The guy I went to school with and who started that mink farm out at Westfields? You remember I told you he wanted me to go in as partner, but I hadn’t the money? Well, he wrote to me last week. He’s doing fine, but he still wants a partner: someone who will put up twenty thousand dollars for expansion. How would it be if we went out there and worked with him on the farm? With the forty thousand we have over, we could build a pretty nice house and furnish it the way we want and still have something over. How would you like that… bringing up baby mink.’

Iris closed her eyes, then opening them, she sighed with ecstasy.

‘I’d love it! But what makes you think you can get the reward? I mean… there’s the sheriff and Easton… wouldn’t they want to share it with you?’

‘The terms are that anyone giving information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the murderer gets the reward,’ Travers said. ‘I’m practically certain I know who killed Alice although I have still to get proof. Neither Easton nor the sheriff are on to him, and that gives me more than a head start. If I work fast and get the proof, then I’m entitled to the reward.’

‘You know who did it?’ Iris said, staring at him. ‘You mean you know where this man Acres is hiding?’

‘Acres doesn’t exist. He never has existed,’ Travers said quietly. ‘He is a dummy figure in sideboards and a moustache. After he showed himself to a few people, got the money and murdered Alice, he took off the sideboards and the moustache and returned to his apparently respectable self.’

‘You mean it is someone living in Pittsville.’

‘Either Pittsville or Downside.’

‘You know who he is?’

‘I’m pretty sure, although I can’t actually prove it, but I will.’

‘Who is he? Anyone I know?’

Travers hesitated.

‘This is going to be a shock to you, honey. It’ll take a bit of believing, but I’m sure I’m right.’ He paused, then went on, ‘It’s Calvin.’

Iris stared incredulously at him.

‘Mr. Calvin? You think he killed Alice? Why, Ken, what are you saying? How can you possibly say such a thing?’

‘I know it’s pretty hard to take,’ Travers said, ‘but when you know all the facts and put two and two together, it’s the only possible solution to the mysterious Johnny Acres.’

‘But, Ken! You can’t say things like this! Kit’s in love with him… they are getting married! How can you!’

‘I haven’t forgotten your mother. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve come here tonight to talk it over with you. She wouldn’t want to be trapped into marrying a killer, would she? Isn’t it better for her to know now than when it’s too late?’

‘I don’t believe it! You’re just guessing. You said you haven’t any proof!’

‘I know… I haven’t yet. I only realised it was Calvin about an hour ago. But I’ll get proof. I’m sure of that. Look, let me tell you just why I’m so sure it is Calvin.’

‘I don’t want to hear!’ Iris said, white and tense. ‘I’m sure you’re wrong…’

‘How can you be sure unless you hear what I’ve got to tell you?’ Travers said patiently. ‘Now, listen, for more than five years, week after week, the payroll has been delivered to the bank and has been safe. Then Calvin becomes manager: six weeks later the payroll vanishes.’

‘But that doesn’t mean anything! It could have vanished when Mr. Lamb was there!’

‘It could have, but it didn’t. I’m pretty sure Calvin made up his mind to steal the payroll almost as soon as he got here. He knew if the payroll vanished only two people would be suspected… himself or Alice. It had to be an inside job. No outsider would know how to put the alarm system out of order nor get at the keys to the vault. He was smart enough to know this so he decided to pin the blame on Alice. During the first three weeks he was at the bank, he worked on Alice. He has a way with women. You have only to look at him to realise it. No man has ever bothered to look at Alice, now Calvin turns on all his charm and after a while she falls for him hook, line and sinker.’

‘You’re wrong!’ Iris said, thumping her clenched fists on her knees. ‘I know you’re wrong! Alice wouldn’t…’

‘I know… I know… I said just that when Easton said he thought Alice had fallen for Acres. I could see that couldn’t jell, but Calvin had eight hours a day for three weeks to work on her more or less alone. Of course, in that time, he could do it… and he did it!’

Iris hesitated, realising what Travers had said made sense, then thinking of Kit, she said, ‘I don’t believe it!’

‘All right, but let me finish. Assuming I’m right and Alice really fell for him, the rest was pretty easy. By then he had announced his engagement to your mother. Now he tells Alice he has made a mistake. It is she he loves and not your mother, but the engagement is official. He has to be careful. He doesn’t want to get landed with a breach of promise suit. That’s the sort of blah Alice could have fallen for. She would have been flattered he preferred her to your mother. She would want to protect his reputation as a banker. Then he puts up the idea of grabbing the payroll and both of them vanishing. I’m not saying it didn’t take him a lot of careful work and persuasion, but finally he got her to agree to help him. So they could go out together without gossip, I reckon he disguised himself as Johnny Acres… anyway, that was his story to Alice and being a romantic little dope, she fell for that too. She imagined he really loved her and was taking all this trouble to disguise himself so he could steal a few hours out of working hours with her. She probably got a kick out of sneaking out of the house to meet him when she was supposed to be working for her exam, but all the time Calvin was establishing Acres, planning to pin the robbery on her, and finally planning to murder her when he got the money.’

‘Stop!’ Iris cried, facing him, ‘You know as well as I do this is malicious nonsense! You can’t prove one word of all this! Ken! What’s come over you? How can you say such things?’

‘Oh, I agree it sounds far-fetched,’ Travers said, ‘but let’s look at this mysterious Johnny Acres. Only a very few people — five to be exact — have seen him. No one has come forward to say he stayed with them during the three weeks he is supposed to have been courting Alice. Where did he stay? If he is Calvin, we know where he stayed ,but if he isn’t Calvin, where did he hide himself? He is tall and heavily built. So is Calvin. He wore sideboards and a moustache. Calvin is clean shaven, but it is easy to stick crepe hair on your face.’ Seeing Iris was about to interrupt him, he raised his hand. ‘Now wait… here’s the clincher that set me off. The car salesman who sold Acres the get-away car said Acres had an irritating habit of humming under his breath… those were his words. This seems to be an unconscious habit. The man probably doesn’t know he does it. Well, Calvin has exactly the same habit… he too hums tunelessly under his breath. What do you say now?’