Джеймс Чейз - The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Joy, who had been awaiting his signal, came down the steps of the house and opened the gate. She was wearing a black sweater and white slacks and carried a beach bag.

Mel slid out of the car and came around to open the car door for her.

‘Hello there. You all ready?’

‘Yes, I’m ready.’ She looked at him, smiling. She was relieved to see how fit and well he looked. The worried, harassed expression he had been wearing last time she had seen him had vanished. For the moment, anyway, he obviously had nothing on his mind to worry him. ‘Lovely to see you again.’

‘You too,’ he said, helping her into the car. ‘How’s the Judge?’

‘He’s fine. He hopes you’ll have lunch with us.’

‘Why, sure, I’d like to. Norena’s spending the day at the Club.’ He looked at her, smiling. ‘You know, Joy, I don’t know what I’d do without you. The way you solve my problems is nobody’s business. I may be a smart banker, but when it comes to running my private life, I don’t seem able to cope without you.’

She looked away.

‘I don’t know, Mel. I think you are quite capable of looking after yourself, but it’s nice to hear I am useful sometimes.’

He patted her hand. They were now driving along the promenade towards Paradise Bay where Mel had a beach cabin.

‘Thanks to you, Norena no longer presents a problem. You were absolutely right about her needing occupation. Since she’s been working at the bank, she’s a different girl.’

‘I’m so pleased! How long has she been there now?’

‘Must be a couple of weeks. yes, she started Monday, two weeks ago.’ He frowned, then looked quickly at her. ‘How time rushes by! That means I haven’t seen you for two weeks, Joy, that’s too long.’

‘I’ve missed you,’ Joy said quietly. He had no need to remind her how long it had been. Every day she had been hopefully expecting him to call her. ‘You must be pretty occupied.’

‘I’ll say.’ He laughed. ‘I’ve been showing Norena the town. We’ve been here, there and everywhere. Cinemas, theatres, jam sessions, the lot!’

Joy stared in front of her.

‘So you’re getting along with Norena now?’

‘Well, I suppose so.’ His face clouded a little. ‘Frankly, I think it would be a lot better for both of us if she could find friends of her own age to go around with. She makes me feel damned old. I guess she now regards me as harmless and convenient. I get the idea she puts up with me because there is no one else. That’s why I insisted on her joining the Bank’s Club. She didn’t want to at first, but I’ve finally persuaded her. Now, she plans to spend the weekends there.’

Joy relaxed a little.

‘Is she making friends?’

‘I guess so. I don’t think youngsters like being questioned too much. I’ve told her she can bring anyone she likes back to the house, but she hasn’t so far. At least, I feel I have broken the ice, but she certainly isn’t what you could call affectionate.’

‘You mustn’t expect too much at once.’

‘I keep telling myself that, but I have an idea, she hasn’t any affection in her make-up. She seems wrapped in ice.’ He shrugged. ‘Still, it may work out. At least, I can live with her without worrying too much and we talk a lot. Some of her ideas are pretty hair raising. Things slip out. It’s just talk, of course, because when I tackle her, she beats a retreat. It’s just being young, I guess.’

‘What kind of things?’

‘Standards of living, I guess. I’m afraid her mother influenced her. She has a pretty amoral outlook on life. It’s damn odd because Dr. Graham gave her a wonderful buildup when Crawsure talked to him. She either fooled him or else she’s had a sudden change.’

‘I still don’t quite know what you mean, Mel.’

‘It’s a bit too involved to go into now. Things pop out. Sometimes when she is reading the newspaper, she passes an opinion. Some fella rescued a kid from a blazing car and later died of burns. She called him a sucker. Some old lady had her savings stolen. Norena said if she couldn’t take care of her money at that age, she deserved to lose it. You remember that big jewel robbery last week? She called the thieves smart. She meant it too. That’s only the fringe of it. It’s often cropping up. I really do think she’s amoral.’

‘Oh, now, Mel, you mustn’t say that. The young talk that way these days. It’s their method of expressing themselves. It’s smart to be hard, cynical and unsympathetic. It probably amuses her to shock you.’

‘You may be right. I expect all that from other kids, but not my own.’

‘As Dr. Graham has given her such a glowing report, I’d ignore what she says. She probably thinks she has to hold her end up with her clever father. How is she getting on at the bank?’

‘Nothing wrong there.’ Mel’s face brightened. ‘She’s made a big hit with Crawsure. He didn’t want to have her and he damned well wouldn’t have had her if she hadn’t been my daughter. As it was, he talked to Dr. Graham before he would give her an interview. She seems to have talent for figures. She’s working in the accounts department and Crawsure says she’s doing a real job of work.’

‘Well, that’s wonderful.’

‘Takes after me,’ Mel said with a grin. ‘She is really interested in how the bank operates. I wouldn’t have believed it. She’s always asking questions. and good questions too. Only last night, she challenged our right to call ourselves the ‘Safest Bank in the World.’ She had to agree, after I had explained our security system, that it was no idle boast. The interest she’s showing could develop into her making a career for herself in the bank.’

‘Don’t you believe it. She’ll fall in love,’ Joy said, ‘then your old bank will mean as much to her as it does to me.’

Mel laughed.

‘Yes you’re right as usual.’

‘Does she see the dwarf now?’

‘No, I’m glad to say. She’s too busy to get over to Seacombe. I’m sure she doesn’t miss him. Now she has a home, the bank and the Club, she’s forgotten him.’

He would have been disagreeably surprised if he could have seen Ira at that moment. She was parking her T.R.4 outside Ticky Edris’ apartment block, and a few minutes after leaving her car, she was ringing on his front door bell. Edris came bouncing to open the door and when he saw her, he stood aside to let her in. There was no welcoming smile on his face.

He had had a bad two weeks. Algir had been again worrying him for money, and he was getting alarmed at the rate his savings were dwindling. If Algir wasn’t cast to play such an important role in the plan, Edris would have got rid of him, but this he knew was now impossible and there seemed nothing he could say or do to curb Algir’s extravagances.

He had had no word from Ira during these weeks.

Several times he had been tempted to telephone her, but he remembered she had said she would call him when she had something for him, and although urged by Algir to contact her, he had refrained from doing so. He had faith in her. He knew she couldn’t rush this thing.

‘I was beginning to worry about you, baby,’ he said as he followed her into his living room. ‘I hoped to have heard from you before this.’

Algir came in from the bedroom. He had spent the night with Edris as he was having trouble at his hotel over his bill.

‘Well, about time!’ he exclaimed when he saw Ira. ‘What’s been happening? We’ve been waiting two goddamn weeks for you to get up off your arse and do something! It’s fine for you, living rich, but how’s about me? What’s been happening?’

‘Knock it off!’ Edris snapped. ‘Sit down, Ira. You got something?’