The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Chapter Six

Ira lay in her bed, unable to sleep. The moonlight coming through the open window made patterns on the white carpet. Somewhere in the bungalow, a clock began to strike midnight.

What kept her awake was the nagging and persistent thought that she was now a fully-fledged thief. The petty thieving in which she had been so successful when she used to raid the stores in New York had been J.D. stuff, but now she had graduated into Big Time and she could go away for a long stretch if she were caught! And she nearly had been caught. A cold wave of shame ran through her as she imagined what Mel’s expression would have been like if he had seen her at Wanassee’s safe. Shame was something she had never experienced before, and she didn’t like it.

These past weeks, she thought, had done something to her. She was growing soft. She could feel it. Reluctant to admit it, she knew that living with Mel, seeing him every day, becoming more and more aware of his affection for her was having a disconcerting impact on her. She was not only beginning to get used to, but actually liking, this orderly way of life she was now living: having a routine, getting up at the same time in the morning, going to work, making a success of it, especially making a success of it and gaining a background she knew she could never hope to have without Mel’s guidance and his position at the bank.

She moved uneasily in the bed. She was also worried that the meeting with Joy Ansley had been such a success. Determined to play it cool when she met Joy, she found her hostility no weapon against Joy’s warm serene friendliness. The three of them had dinner at the Beach Club and it had been fun to watch the swimmers in the floodlit pool and to listen to the dance band that played soft, expert swing. After dinner, Mel had driven them to Joy’s home where Ira had met Judge Ansley.

Six weeks ago, the idea of meeting a judge would have made her hoot with laughter, but this tall, thin eighty-year old man with his clear, penetrating grey eyes had impressed her as no other man had impressed her before. He had been casual and kindly, making her feel at home, taking her off to his study to show her his small, but interesting Black Museum, mementoes of his various murder trials. In spite of trying to think all this was square, Ira found herself sorry when Mel had come along and said it was time to go home.

‘Come and see me again,’ the Judge had said. ‘I get lonely for young faces. Come on Sunday and have tea with me. Joy will be on the beach with your father. If you haven’t anything better to do, we could keep each other company.’

She had very nearly said she would come, then feeling she must be getting soft in the head even to think of keeping an old square like the Judge company, she had said she was tied up for the weekend and had abruptly turned away.

But now, lying in bed, she wanted to talk to the Judge again.

‘But I’m not going to,’ she said, half aloud. ‘What’s the matter with me, for God’s sake! Jess will be here by Sunday. Jess!’

At lunch time she had mailed the letter to Jess and had sent 500 dollars in a separate registered packet for his fare and his immediate expenses. She had sent the money with a little qualm. Suppose he kept it and didn’t come?

Because the thought of Jess quickened her blood and set her heart thumping, she forced herself to think of the events of the afternoon.

She had had little difficulty in getting the impression of Mr. Lanza’s key. This short, fat Texan had been a second Hyam Wanassee. He not only took liberties with her, but had tried to kiss her and it was only when she threatened to call the guards that he reluctantly had left her alone. But she had taken the impression of his key although he had sent her away before he opened the safe.

The other client, Mr. Ross, had been a tall dark Jew with steady, flinty eyes and who had his key to his safe on a long gold chain attached to his trouser button.

She knew instinctively that he wouldn’t part with his key and she made no attempt to get it from him.

Anyway, she thought, two out of three wasn’t a bad average. Edris couldn’t complain. On leaving the bank, she had gone to the coffee bar across the street and had given Algir the impression of Lanza’s key.

He said, ‘I’ll be along at eleven. I haven’t seen Ticky yet. We’ll meet at his place tomorrow after six and we’ll split the loot. Wanassee’s little lot comes to around fifty thousand dollars. Tough you didn’t get Ross’s key. I bet there’s a raft of a lot of money in his safe.’

‘I can’t work miracles,’ she had said curtly and as she walked back to her car, it dawned on her that she was glad she hadn’t succeeded with Ross.

Why had she been glad? she asked herself as she stared up at the moonlit ceiling. And another thing, she now realized, she hadn’t been excited when Algir had told her Wanassee’s take had been fifty thousand dollars. Six weeks ago she would have gone crazy with excitement.

It was then she began to realize she didn’t need money any longer. She had got what she had always wanted: security, position, a home, a car and a father. She had obtained all this without risk. No one was ever likely to find out she wasn’t Norena Devon, but if she continued to steal money from the bank, someone could find out and then she’d be in a hell of a mess.

She half sat up in bed. Suppose she didn’t go on with it? she thought. Suppose she told Ticky she couldn’t get hold of anymore key impressions?

She remembered the vicious expression in the dwarf’s eyes when he had warned her about getting bored. She mustn’t underrate him. He was dangerous. She would have to be careful how she handled him. Maybe the easiest way would be to ask Mel to transfer her back to the accounts department. Ticky would have no answer to that one.

She finally decided she would do nothing until Jess arrived. She would feel safer with him to protect her. He could more than take care of Ticky and Algir. At the end of the week she would ask Mel to transfer her from the vaults and during the two remaining days, she would pretend she couldn’t get hold of anymore keys.

Relaxed, now she had come to this decision, she turned over and closed her eyes.

A few minutes to eleven o’clock the following morning, Algir came down into the vaults.

Ira was returning from conducting one of the clients to his safe and she paused when she saw Algir. He was wearing a new tropical cream-coloured suit and a new straw hat. She thought uneasily that he was already spending his share of the money and she wondered with a stab of alarm if the money could possibly be traced.

‘Hello there,’ Algir said, grinning. He seemed full of confidence and as she reached him, she smelt whisky on his breath. ‘Let’s get at it, baby,’ and he waved his briefcase.

‘Keep your voice down,’ she said sharply. ‘There are three clients down here.’

‘Who cares? They don’t know which is my safe. Come, on, baby, shake the lead.’

She led him along a narrow lane to Lanza’s safe.

‘Here we go,’ Algir said as she unlocked her lock. ‘You get back to your desk.’

She left him as he took the key he had cut the previous night from his pocket. She found another client had arrived and she took him to his safe. As she returned once more to her desk, she saw Algir come out of the lane where Lanza’s safe was. His face was dark with rage and there was an ugly gleam in his eyes.

‘What is it?’ she asked, staring at him.

‘Nothing in it!’ he snarled. ‘Just stock coupons and share certificates. All that goddamn work for nothing!’

She felt a wave of relief run over her.

‘It’s not my fault!’

‘You’d better hustle up some more key impressions! Get another by lunchtime! I’ll be waiting at the bar across the way!’

‘I’ll do what I can.’

He glared murderously at her.

‘It had better be better than that!’ he snarled as he walked away.

She returned to her desk and sat down. She was getting nervous: yet another sign, she thought, of growing soft. A month ago, she would have spat at Algir if he had threatened her, now the sight of his rage-congested face had shaken her.

Then she remembered seeing in one of the desk drawers a number of keys to vacant safes that were rented to new clients. She would take impressions of three or four of them! They would keep Algir busy. How was she to know if a safe was empty or not?

At midday, she walked into the coffee bar to find Algir at his usual table. As soon as he saw her, he got to his feet.

‘Get anything?’ he demanded.

She could feel his feverish impatience.

She nodded.

‘Two,’ and she handed him the small box containing two impressions she had made of the keys to the vacant safes.

‘Who do they belong to?’

‘Mr. Cruikshank and Mrs. Rhindlander,’ she lied, inventing the names on the spur of the moment. ‘They are both rich and both leaving tonight.’

‘Did you see inside their safes?’

‘No.’

He stared suspiciously at her and she had to force herself to meet his gaze.

‘Then how did you get the impressions?’

‘They let me unlock the safes, but not open the doors. Satisfied?’

‘Well, for your sake, I hope there’s more in them than that sonofabitch Lanza had!’

‘Can I help it if there’s no money in the safes?’ Ira snapped. ‘I do what Ticky tells me to do. I can’t work miracles.’

Algir studied her.

‘I’ve heard that one before. See you at Ticky’s place at six,’ and pushing past her, he left the cafe.

Ira didn’t want to go to Ticky’s apartment, but she was scared not to go. They were going to split up Wanassee’s take. What was she going to do with her share? She wondered. If she could get it back into Wanassee’s safe she would have done so, but Algir had kept the duplicate key. She decided she would ask Ticky to keep it for her, explaining she had no safe place to keep it. If there was trouble, at least she could prove she hadn’t touched the money herself.

As she was leaving the bank a few minutes after six, she saw Mel crossing the lobby and she paused to smile at him.

‘What sort of day?’ he asked, taking her arm and walking with her down the steps to the staff parking lot.

‘Oh, all right.’

‘You don’t sound very enthusiastic’ He looked at her and seeing her shrug, he went on, ‘Are you getting bored with being down there? If you are, you can relax. You’ll only have to do it for another two weeks.’

She stiffened and abruptly came to a standstill.

‘Two weeks? But I don’t want to be down there that long! I want to go back to the accounts department at the end of this week!’

He smiled at her.

‘You must take your job seriously, Norena. Now Miss Kirby won’t be back for at least two months, Crawsure thinks it would be a good opportunity to make a change. We are getting a male clerk from our New York branch to take over, but he can’t get here before the end of the month. You’ll have to carry on until then.’

Ira started to protest, but stopped when she saw he was looking curiously at her.

‘After all, Norena, you did want to go down there. I warned you you would be bored, but now we don’t seem able to do without you.’ He smiled. ‘Okay?’

Two more weeks! she thought in alarm. She couldn’t fool Ticky and Algir for two more weeks and yet she couldn’t refuse. Then she thought of Jess and the telegram she had received that afternoon. He would be arriving tonight. With Jess around, she would be safe.

She shrugged her shoulders.

‘Oh, I guess so.’

‘Fine. I’m on my way to see Joy,’ Mel said. ‘I’m going to ask her to marry me, Norena. Want to come along and keep the Judge company?’

She shook her head.

‘Not tonight, Daddy. I’ve things to do.’ She began to move towards her car, paused and looked at him. ‘Good luck.’

Mel watched her as she walked to the car, got in and drove away and he drew in a deep breath. It was beginning to work, he told himself. She was not only settling down, but she was beginning to accept him.

Ira drove fast to Seacombe. She arrived outside Edris’ apartment block and leaving her car, she entered the building aware that her heart was beating a little too rapidly and that she was nervous.

As the elevator took her up to the top floor, she told herself that she had nothing to be frightened about. It would be tomorrow when Algir found the two empty safes that trouble could start, but by then Jess would be here and he would look after her.

She paused outside Edris’ front door, still aware that her heart was thumping. She had an instinctive feeling for danger, and she was feeling it now. She hesitated, then with her teeth set hard, she reached out and pressed the bell button.

There was a moment’s delay, then the door jerked open and Edris looked up at her. His face was pale and his small eyes were as expressionless as polished glass.

‘There you are,’ he said. ‘You’re late. Come on in.’

She hesitated. Through the open doorway, she could see Algir standing by the window, his hands in his pockets, a cigarette hanging from his thin lips.

‘Well, come on in,’ Edris said and she was quick to hear the controlled impatience in his voice.

She walked into the big living room and Edris shut the door. Her heart gave a little lurch as she distinctly heard the key turn in the lock. She kept moving until she reached the centre of the room and she paused.

Then suddenly she was back once more in the atmosphere of a Brooklyn alley. Like a tiger-cat sensing danger, she was no longer afraid. Under this sudden hidden threat, the veneer of softness that had coated her during the past weeks peeled away.

She took three quick steps that brought her to the nearest wall, turned and faced Edris and Algir, her eyes dark and glittering, her mouth a thin line.

‘All right, you bitch,’ Algir said, his voice husky with rage. ‘You’re going to get it. I’ve been waiting to give it to you ever since we met, and now I’m going to strip the goddamn meat off your back!’

As he began to fumble at the buckle of his belt, Ira looked quickly around for a weapon. Close to her was a heavy ashtray and she snatched it up as Algir slid the belt free of its loops.

‘You make a move towards me, creep,’ she said, her voice steady, her face white but determined, ‘and this goes through the window. Then you can talk to the cops when they come.’

‘Knock it off!’ Edris said sharply to Algir. ‘I’m handling this. I told you, didn’t I? I’m handling it!’

Algir hesitated, glaring at Ira, then with a grunt of exasperation he tossed the belt on the settee.

‘All right,’ Edris said and moving to his armchair he sat down. ‘Sit down, Ira. Philly-boy, you squat too.’

Ira looked from Edris to Algir and then, still holding the ashtray she sat on a straight back chair which stood against the wall. Her mouth was dry and her heart pounding. What had gone wrong? she asked herself. She was more scared of Edris than of Algir. The dwarf’s calmness had a sinister quality that was far more dangerous than Algir’s blustering rage.

Muttering under his breath, Algir sat down.

Edris looked at Ira.

‘I thought you were smart,’ he said softly. ‘It would have been easy to have given Phil names that meant something, but you were dumb enough to dream up those two names. Your Mr. Cruikshank and your Mrs. Rhindlander don’t have accounts with the bank. I checked.’

Ira forced her face to remain expressionless. Yes, that had been a dumb move, she thought, but how was she to know this freak was even suspicious of her?

‘What’s the idea?’ Edris went on. ‘Did you also know there would be no money in Lanza’s safe?’

‘I didn’t know,’ she said.

‘Those two keys you gave Phil. Who do they belong to?’

She hesitated, then she decided to put her cards face up on the table. The showdown was coming quicker than she wanted it to, but these two daren’t touch her in Ticky’s apartment. She could hear the strains of music coming from the television set in the apartment below. She wasn’t alone in the building. She could throw the ashtray through the closed window before they could reach her and she could scream. No, they wouldn’t dare touch her here.

‘No one,’ she said quietly. ‘The safes are vacant.’

Algir called her an obscene name. He looked as if he were about to throw himself at her, but Edris motioned him to stay where he was.

‘Run out of guts, Ira?’ Edris asked, crossing his short legs, his eyes glinting evilly.

‘That’s it. I’m quitting. You can dream up another idea to fill your pockets and you can leave me out of it.’

‘I knew this could happen, but I thought it wouldn’t happen with you. I reckoned you were perfect for the job. You’re still perfect for the job, Ira, only you don’t know it.’

She didn’t say anything.

‘You’re going on with the job,’ Edris said quietly. ‘Tomorrow you’re going to give Phil at least two key impressions and they’re going to be keys to safes with money in them. Do you understand? You do that and I’ll forget this little lapse.’

‘I’ve quitted,’ Ira said. ‘I’m staying that way.’

‘Let me get at this bitch,’ Algir exploded. ‘I’ll...’

‘Wrap up!’ Edris snapped, not taking his eyes off Ira. ‘You’ve got what you want, isn’t that it, Ira? You’ve got a home, money, and a father. That’s it, isn’t it? The spur for money isn’t pricking your hide now, is it?’

‘That’s about it, and there’s nothing you can do about it, Ticky.’

‘Is that right?’ Edris smiled. ‘The spur is pricking me still, baby. I haven’t got what I want.’

‘Then go ahead and get it, but leave me out of it!’

‘No, baby, you’re in it and you stay in it.’

Ira stared at him for a long moment, then she got to her feet.

‘I’m leaving now. If either of you have other ideas, this goes through the window,’ she said, hefting the ashtray in her hands.

‘Don’t be in such a hurry, baby,’ Edris said mildly. ‘I want to tell you why you’re still with us. You’re with us because you can’t get out of it. You like Devon, don’t you?’

Ira remained motionless.

‘Like him? Why should I like him?’

‘Oh, come off it,’ Edris said and laughed. ‘Do you imagine I haven’t seen the change in you? He’s a pretty good daddy, isn’t he? He gives you everything you want. Quite a change from your other daddy, isn’t he?’

Ira suddenly felt cold.

‘I wonder what Devon would say if your drunken daddy walked into the bank and claimed you?’ Edris went on. ‘What a lot of talking you would have to do, baby. I don’t think you could talk yourself out of that spot. And another thing, when the news broke you were Devon’s sister-in-law and not his daughter and you two had been living together for weeks, what a beautiful stink that would make in this sweet smelling City. And then the press would nose out about Muriel’s past life. How long do you imagine Devon would remain in his job when that dirt got out? It wouldn’t be such fun for you then, would it, baby doll?’

Still Ira said nothing. Edris could see by the way she flinched that he had scored.

‘So let’s forget it,’ he went on. ‘Philly-boy will be down at the cafe tomorrow morning for at least two key impressions. Have them ready for him, baby, unless, of course, you want to see your real daddy again. And another thing, you don’t get your split now until you’ve done your job, but that shouldn’t worry you with Devon to wipe your nose and keep you in money, should it?’

Ira stared at him for a long moment, then she put down the ashtray, unlocked the door and went out.

Edris looked at Algir and winked.

‘The psychological approach, buddy-boy, is always better than violence. The stupid little creep is half in love with Devon. You’ll get the keys tomorrow. Want to bet on it?’

As Ira made her way to the arrival centre of the Miami airport, the hands of the big wall clock moved to 20.15 hours. She had ten minutes to wait before Jess’ aircraft touched down.

During the drive from Edris’ apartment, her mind had been seething for ways and means of getting out of the trap she had walked into. It was a cunning trap because Ticky knew she couldn’t give him away without implicating herself. He had also guessed that she was fonder of Devon than she had realized, but she realized it now. The thought of involving him in a scandal that could lose him his position in the bank was unbearable to her. The thought too of losing her new home and all that went with it was equally unbearable. There must be a way out, she kept telling herself, but she couldn’t think of one. Her only hope now was Jess. Jess was full of ideas. If she explained the position to him, she felt hopeful that he could come up with a solution. She refused to remember that most of his ideas in the past had been childish and unsuccessful. She also refused to admit that he couldn’t possibly compete against Edris’ experience and shrewd cunning. She kept telling herself that Jess would find a way out. She was sure of it.

The arrival of the New York plane was announced over the public address system and she walked over to the observation window.

A few minutes later she watched the big plane come taxiing down the runway. There was a slight delay, then the passengers began to cross the tarmac towards the arrival centre.

She caught sight of Jess and she stiffened, her heart suddenly sinking. She had sent him money for clothes and she had hoped he would have made himself presentable, but she had forgotten that Jess never bothered about his appearance. He was still wearing the faded blue, skintight jeans and the old black leather windcheater he had been wearing when last she had seen him. His Mexican-style boots were cracked and down at heel. Slung over his shoulder, he carried a dirty orange coloured duffle bag.

Jess was tall and thin with narrow shoulders, large red hands and long stork-like legs. His black greasy hair reached to his collar and was worn in a thick quaff that hung over his eyes. His features were regular and good except for a mouth that was too small and too thin. His complexion was sallow and his right cheek deeply scarred from a bottle attack in his early days as a gang leader. He looked as if he hadn’t washed for some days and he was in need of a shave.

Ira watched him as he walked arrogantly across the tarmac, surrounded by well-dressed, smart looking businessmen and their wives. By their glances at him, she could see they were startled and annoyed that such a beatnik should be travelling with them.

As she watched him, she realized with sudden panic how much she had changed during the past weeks and how her new environment had altered her standards and her outlook. She found herself asking if she could really have been so in love with this dirty looking bum. Could this really be the Jess who she had fought to keep and whose wishes she had slavishly obeyed? Again she experienced a feeling of hot shame and she had a sudden urge to get away before he saw her.

She pulled herself together. She had sent for him and he was here. She couldn’t run away. He had her address and if he didn’t find her waiting for him, he would come to her home and what would Mel say? At all costs, she decided, she must keep him away from Mel. But where could she take him right now? Somehow she had to persuade him to clean himself up and get some new clothes. She thought of Mel’s beach cabin. That would be the place. He could stay there for the night. She could get him some clothes. Mel wouldn’t be using the cabin until Sunday.

She walked slowly to the arrival exit and stood by a column, watching the passengers as they filtered through. Then she saw Jess, his lean jaws moving as he chewed gum, a bad-tempered expression on his face. He jostled through the crowd, not caring who he elbowed out of his way, and finally paused as he broke free from the stream of moving people.

Bracing herself, Ira walked up to him.

‘Hello, Jess, so you’ve got here.’

For a brief moment, she could see by the blank expression in his eyes that he didn’t recognize her, then he did. He gaped at her, shaken by the change in her, but he quickly recovered.

‘Jeepers! Look who’s here!’ he exclaimed. ‘You’ve got yourself all tarted up for God’s sake, haven’t you?’

Ira had had no time to change out of her office clothes and she was aware that she looked too prim, too square and too everything that Jess despised. Her neat grey dress with its white collar and cuffs, her black nylon stockings and court shoes were the uniform of the class of people Jess hated most. ‘Creeps who boot-lick the squares,’ was his constant description of them.

‘This is an act,’ she said defensively. ‘Come on, Jess, I’ve lots to tell you, but let’s get out of here.’

‘Yeah? Suppose I don’t want to listen? What the hell do you mean by walking out on me the way you did?’ Jess’s thin face darkened. ‘I’ve a mind to poke you in the kisser here and now!’

‘Oh, grow up!’ she snapped, suddenly furious with him. ‘If you can’t, go home!’ She turned and walked quickly out of the building and over to where she had parked her T.R.4.

Startled, Jess gaped after her, then shouldering his bag, he went along. He joined her as she slid under the wheel.

She watched him look the car over, a bewildered, envious expression on his face.

‘This yours?’

‘It’s mine.’

‘Judas!’ He sucked in his breath. ‘What’s been going on? You really mean it’s yours?’ He now looked so stunned that Ira nearly laughed at him.

She opened the off-side door.

‘Get in, Jess.’

He moved around the car, slid in beside her and slammed the door. Now he was close to her she could smell the dirt on him and the stale sweat from his clothes. The smell brought back a vivid and frightening picture of her sordid home, her drunken father, the dirt and the bedbugs, and she shuddered.

‘Can you drive it?’ he asked, staring at the dashboard with round eyes.

‘Of course. I used to drive Joe’s car when he would let me and it was twice this size.’

Jess scratched his head, scattering scurf on his collar.

As Ira pressed the starter button, he said, ‘Where the hell did all that money come from you sent me?’

‘It’s a long story. It’ll wait,’ Ira said as she set the car moving. Jess’s sudden uneasiness and his loss of confidence pleased her. ‘And you, Jess? What have you been doing since I left?’

‘Doing?’ He became hostile again. ‘I’ve been doing what I like doing. Nothing!’

A stupid remark, she found herself thinking. You haven’t changed, Jess. It’s only now I can see what a lout and a layabout you are. You haven’t changed, but I have.

‘How’s the gang?’ she asked for something to say.

‘What do you care about the goddamn gang?’

‘I can ask, can’t I?’

‘The gang’s all right. What’s all this crap about anyway? I’ve got to get back. The gang can’t manage without me.’

‘Who cares? You can manage without them, can’t you?’

He moved uneasily.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Oh, never mind. Why didn’t you get yourself some clothes, Jess? I sent you enough money.’

‘What the hell do I want clothes for?’

‘Paradise City isn’t New York. You can get picked up by the cops looking the way you do.’

‘Frig the cops!’

‘What did you do with all that money, lose it?’

‘I got some of it. What’s it to you? It’s mine, isn’t it?’

She shrugged her shoulders, dismayed that she was so bored with this lout. She was now on Highway 4A and she concentrated on her driving, effortlessly whipping the small car past the big Cadillacs, the Buicks and the Fords, but careful not to exceed the speed limit. She didn’t want a cop after her with Jess in the car.

‘Can’t you drive faster than this?’ he demanded, glad for a chance to criticize. ‘Let me take it. I’ll show you how to drive a car!’

‘It’s fast enough. The cops are hot here.’

He grunted, then asked, ‘Where are we going?’

‘Somewhere where we can talk.’

He stared uneasily at her, not sure how to handle her. This was an entirely new Ira to him. Baffled, he lit a cigarette and slumped into a surly silence.

It took them a little more than an hour’s fast driving to reach the beach cabin. By then it was dark and the beach deserted.

The cabin was a luxury three-room pine wood structure that stood in the shade of three palm trees and was set well away from the other beach cabins which were in darkness. It was Club night, and none of the regulars came to the beach this night.

‘Here we are,’ she said, getting out of the car. ‘Hungry?’

‘What do you think?’ He got out of the car and looked at the cabin, distrust and suspicion in his eyes. ‘You going to bust in?’

‘I have the key.’ She went on ahead, unlocked the door, switched on the light and motioned him in.

He walked into the big lounge with the suspicious movements of a cat, entering a strange room. Crossing to the windows, she quickly drew the curtains.

‘Well, what do you know!’ he exclaimed, staring around the room. ‘Quite a joint! Who does it belong to?’

‘That’s part of the story,’ she said. ‘Make yourself at home. I’ll get some food.’

While she was preparing a cold meal from the well-stocked refrigerator, she wondered just how much she should tell him. She knew it would be dangerous to let him know the amount of money Edris hoped to steal from the bank. This she would play down, but the rest of it, if he was going to help her, he had to know. She now regretted asking him to come out here, but she had to have help, and he was the only one available who might help her.

During the meal, she told him the whole story. He listened without interruption, savagely stuffing cold chicken into his mouth as if he hadn’t had a meal in days. When there was nothing more to eat, he lounged back in the chair, a cigarette hanging from his thin lips, still silent until she had finished her story.

‘Well, that’s it,’ she concluded. ‘I was crazy to have done it, and now I can’t get out of it. What am I to do?’

‘Why do you want to get out of it?’ he demanded.

‘I don’t need the money. I have everything I want now without taking any risk. Can’t you see that? If I go on robbing the bank, it’s bound to be found out and then I’m in trouble.’

‘How much is the bank job worth to you?’

‘About five thousand,’ she lied. ‘That’s what Edris promised me. At the time it seemed a fortune, but now... well, it wouldn’t last long and I would be on the run.’

A calculating expression came into Jess’s eyes.

‘What’s Edris getting out of it?’

‘Twenty thousand, something like that. I don’t know exactly how much.’

‘Yeah? I bet! Don’t tell me he would go to all this trouble for twenty grand. He’s fooling you. I bet every time Algir gets money out of that bank, it’s big money.’

‘He’s only taken one lot out and it was for five thousand, six hundred,’ Ira said, uneasy to see the greed that had lit up Jess’s face.

‘If he takes that out every day, it could soon mount up. No, they’re fooling you. The thing to do.’

‘I don’t care if they are fooling me!’ Ira broke in desperately. ‘I want to get out! I’m satisfied with what I’ve got! I want you to help me handle those two, Jess.’

He began to pick his nose, staring blankly at her. She could see he wasn’t listening to what she was saying.

‘Jess! Did you hear what I said?’

‘Aw, pipe down! Let a man think!’

She watched him and waited impatiently.

‘Do you have to do that?’ she said, revolted at what he was doing to his nose.

‘Shut up!’ An ugly gleam came into his eyes. ‘I won’t tell you again!’ He took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit a cigarette. ‘You know that’s a smart idea. That guy Edris has got brains.’

‘What idea?’

‘That dead safe gimmick is fab. You’re nuts to want to quit.’

She drew in a long, deep breath. She might have known it, she thought bitterly.

‘But, Jess, can’t you see the risk? I could go to prison for years.’

‘Why didn’t you think of that before?’

He was staring at her, his eyes narrowed.

‘Because I wanted easy money and I got carried away. Now I don’t need money, I don’t have to take risks. How many more times do I have to tell you?’

He drew on his cigarette, letting smoke drift out of his nostrils.

‘So what’s in it for me? You quit and I get nothing. You stay with Edris, and we split.’

‘It’s too big for us, Jess. If you help me, I’ll get you some money. I promise. I’ll get you some.’

‘How much?’

‘I don’t know. It depends. I would have to get it from Devon. Three or four hundred, Jess.’

‘Don’t talk wet! You’ve just told me Edris has promised you five thousand. Now listen, you stick with him! Understand? I’m telling you! If he makes trouble for you, I’ll handle him, but he won’t if you do what he wants and that’s what you’re going to do! If you think I’m going to let five grand slip through our fingers because you’ve run out of guts, you’ve got another think coming!’

Ira turned white. She felt a sudden rush of fury sweep through her.

‘You don’t tell me what to do!’ she cried. ‘I’m not...’

His open hand moved so quickly she couldn’t avoid it.

His palm exploded on the side of her cheek with the noise like the bursting of a paper bag. She reeled over and sprawled flat on her back.

Dazed, she began to struggle up. He kicked her viciously, the toe of his boot thudding into her thigh.

Her eyes blazing, she squirmed out of range and scrambled to her feet. He was standing now, his eyes watchful, his hands hanging limply at his side: an attitude of watchfulness she had seen often enough in his street fights. She knew he was as quick and deadly as a mongoose in a fight and she checked the impulse to rush at him.

‘Get out of here!’ she exclaimed, pointing to the door. ‘I shouldn’t have brought you here. I don’t want any more to do with you. Ever! Get out!’

‘I’ll go when I’m good and ready.’ He slipped out of his leather jacket which he tossed on a chair. ‘You’re in for a beating. You’ve got a big head. This is Jess, remember? Get your clothes off! You’re going through the wringer!’

She faced him, her eyes glittering.

‘Get out! I’m not afraid of you, you stinker! I was crazy to have imagined a spineless layabout like you could help me! Get out!’

He took three quick shuffling steps towards her, avoided by a shift of his head her hook fingers that slashed at his face, then sank his fist into the arch below her short ribs with all the force of his lean, stringy muscles.

The agony of the blow dropped her to her knees. He lifted his fist and clubbed her on the side of the head. Dazed, unable to breathe, she collapsed on her back. She felt his fingers hook into the collar of her dress and she tried feebly to claw his hand. Then she felt a violent jerk and her dress ripped open. As she tried to roll away from him, his fist snapped against the side of her jaw, stunning her.

Cursing softly, his breath whistling through his clenched teeth, Jess ripped the rest of her clothes from her. She vaguely became aware of his weight on her and of pain, but she was too stunned to care. After a while his weight lifted off her.

‘Okay, baby,’ she heard him say. He sounded a long way off. ‘I’ll be seeing you. You do what Edris tells you or I’ll give it to you again. Hear me?’

She lay still, her eyes closed, pain in her head, her ribs, and her groin. She heard him moving about the cabin, but she hadn’t the strength to care what he was doing. Hot tears ran down her face, tears that surprised her because she had always imagined she was too tough to cry.

He came over to her and kicked her gently in her aching ribs.

‘I’ve taken your dough, baby,’ she heard him say. ‘You can get more. I can’t. So long.’

She heard him cross the lounge, open the door and go out into the night, slamming the door.

Silence settled over the cabin, broken only by the soft despairing sound of her crying.