1953 - The Sucker Punch (22 page)

She gave a little gulp, then pushed away from the front door and moved slowly and cautiously around me.

I turned, following her with my eyes.

"Frightened, Eve?" I asked.

"Why should I be frightened? I'm going to my room."

"Not yet. I want to talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you. We shouldn't be alone here together. I must leave tonight."

"I don't think you will. I doubt very much if you will feel like leaving, Eve."

I moved suddenly and quickly, cutting off her retreat to the stairs.

"I was forgetting to congratulate you. How does it feel to own a house as big as this one, and have thirty million dollars to call your own?"

"I can't help it if she left me the money, can I?" she said breathlessly. "It wasn't my fault."

"Did you and Larry plan to tempt me into murdering her or was it just your idea?"

"It was your idea, and you know it!"

"Oh no, it wasn't. No wonder you don't want to marry me now. Larry will fall over himself to get you back so he can spend your money, won't he?"

She stiffened and her pale face-hardened.

"I've had enough of this! I'm going upstairs to pack."

I smiled at her.

"Leggit knows you and I did it. He was here this afternoon, and he told me exactly how we did do it."

She went white.

"You're lying!"

"I wish I was. He's a lot smarter than I thought. He found some sand in the inner tube of the burst tire. There was no sand where the car lodged, nor any sand on the cliff road. That told him it was murder. He suspects you more than me. You have the motive, Eve. He asked me if you had talked me into murdering Vestal. That's how close he is to you."

She took a quick step back.

"What did you say to him?" she asked, her voice shrill.

"I told him to prove it. I don't think he can, but he might. If he does, Eve, you'll go to the chair too."

"You're trying to frighten me! I don't believe you!"

''You don't have to believe me. If he cracks that alibi of ours, you'll know fast enough what it feels like to be arrested. They won't be gentle with you."

"He can't prove it!"

"I hope not. Have you broken the good news to Larry yet? Is that where you have been all the afternoon?"

"That's nothing to do with you! I'm going upstairs to pack!"

"You love him still, don't you? You're going to bring him here to live, aren't you? Does he know anything about the murder?"

"Leave me alone!" she said, backing away.

"Can't you guess what's going on in my mind, Eve? I'm trying to decide if it's safe to kill you. I want to kill you. I want to get my hands around that lovely throat of yours and choke your cheating, lying breath out of your body!"

"You don't know what you are saying!"

I began to move slowly towards her.

"I don't think it would be safe to kill you, but that doesn't mean you're going to get away with this. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have killed Vestal. I wanted you as I've never wanted any other woman before. I wanted to marry you, and you promised. All the time you were fooling me. Don't think you're going to get away with it because you're not."

She suddenly dived past me and ran towards the stairs. I went after her.

As she reached the foot of the stairs, she dodged swiftly, and my reaching hand slid off her shoulder. She darted into Vestal's study.

She was behind the desk as I entered the room, and we stared at each other.

"Keep away from me!" she said breathlessly. "Have you gone crazy?"

I grinned at her.

"I'm going to teach you not to cheat. I'm going to give you a beating. I'm going to flay the flesh off your back!"

She jerked open a drawer in the desk as I came for her. I was reaching out for her when I saw the gun in her hand. That stopped me as if I had walked into a brick wall.

"Come and flay me," she said softly, and her fingers curled around the trigger. The blunt nose of the .38 pointed at my chest.

We glared at each other. The look of hate and loathing in her eyes shocked me.

"Not so brave now, are you?" she said. "You don't think I’d be such a fool as to come back here without some means to protect myself. Come near me, and I'll kill you!"

I stepped back.

The sight of the gun and the expression on her face sent a chill up my spine.

"Yes, Chad, I cheated you. I fooled you too," she said. "And there's nothing you can do about it. I knew she was going to leave me all that money. I played on her pity. She was a sucker for anyone plain and as ugly as she was. When you came along, I saw my chance. Why should I wait years and years for her to die, when you could kill her?" She leaned forward. "Marry you? I hate you. I've hated every moment of your filthy lovemaking. Sometimes I've wondered if all that money was worth pretending to love you. Well, I have it now, and I've paid for it, and you can't touch it. This house belongs to me too! Now, get out! Keep away from me! Tell Mr. Howe where you are and he'll see you get all your things. I don't want one single thing of yours here to remind me of you. Now get out!"

"I'll fix you for this, Eve," I said furiously. "Watch out! The first chance I get I'll hit back. You've got it coming to you, and it'll come!"

"Get out!"

I walked into the hall and over to the front door. I took the key from my pocket, unlocked the door and threw it open. Then I looked back over my shoulder.

She was standing in the study doorway, her gun covering me, her eyes alert.

"Good night, Eve. You won't be lonely here tonight. Vestal's ghost will keep you company," I said and walked out into the dark night.

The time was half past eleven. Jack's bar was crowded. I pushed my way through the mob at the bar to order my fourth whisky.

I had nowhere to go, nothing to do. I decided to get systematically drunk.

"Hallo, Chad, darling."

I looked around, and there was Glorie, smiling up at me.

For a long moment I just stared at her. It was over sixteen months since I had seen her. I had forgotten about her. I had seen her the night before I had married Vestal, and I told her we would meet again when I had returned from the honeymoon. Then Eve had pushed her right out of my mind.

"Why, Glorie…"

She smiled as she slid her hand into mine and gave it a hard, friendly squeeze.

"Aren't you glad to see me again?"

"You bet I am. What are you doing here?"

“I wish I knew." She pouted. "I imagined a nice-looking boy was going to meet me here, but he doesn't seem to be coming."

''Why should you worry? You've got yourself a nice-looking boy. Let's get out of here where we can talk."

She nodded.

We pushed our way to the exit.

"My car's over there. Where shall we go, Glorie?"

"My place." She got into the car and slid down in the bucket seat beside me. "Third left at Roosevelt Boulevard. Chad, darling, had you forgotten all about me?"

I grinned at her as I sent the car shooting out of the parking lot.

"Not entirely. Things have been pretty hectic since last I saw you. Looking at you now, I realize just how much I have missed you. What have you been doing?"

"I've been in Florida. A nice old gentleman took an interest in me when you went to Venice." She giggled. "His wife caught up with him last week. Wives can be hell, can't they, Chad?"

“I guess so." I swung the car off Roosevelt Boulevard. "Is this the turn?"

"That's right. Stop by the second lamp post."

I pulled up outside a tall building.

"Anywhere to leave the car? I'm spending the night with you."

"You haven't been invited, but I don't suppose that makes any difference. Take it around the back. Top apartment, darling, and hurry."

I left the car in an empty lockup at the back of the building and took the elevator to the top floor.

Glorie's apartment consisted of a small bedroom and large lounge: comfortable, but nothing to get excited about.

She was waiting for me as I pushed open the door. She had changed out of her dress and was wearing a lemon-yellow silk wrap. She looked so cute I wondered how the hell I had ever forgotten her.

"Come in and shut the door, Chad. Gee! Am I glad to see you again."

"That makes two of us," I said, shutting the door and coming over to her. I put my hands on her hips and pulled her against me. "It's been a long time, Glorie."

"Too long. What happened, Chad? Was it as bad as you thought?"

"It was bad enough. You know she's dead?"

"I saw it in the paper." She leaned back, pressing her body against mine and looking into my eyes. "So you have her money, Chad?"

"I have some of it. She gave a lot away."

"How much?"

"Enough. Let's not talk about it. There're better things to do than to talk."

It was while we were having breakfast that Glorie dropped her bombshell.

I was thinking that the hard morning light showed up her defects more sharply than I had ever noticed before. I decided she was getting older; the hard, reckless life she lived, her drinking, the late hours, her too generous and enthusiastic lovemaking were beginning to leave traces.

"Chad, darling, have you fallen in love with someone?" she asked suddenly.

I continued to eat the scrambled eggs she had put before me, but I didn't meet her eyes.

"Don't be inquisitive, Glorie."

"I just thought you might like to talk about it. You know it makes no difference to me. I've long ago given up hope of you making an honest woman of me. Tell me about her if you feel like it."

I shoved my plate aside and half-turned my chair so my back was also turned to the window.

"She was Vestal's secretary. It was pretty hot while it lasted, but it's washed up now," I said, trying to sound casual.

"Poor Chad!"

I stiffened and looked up.

"What the hell do you mean?"

She smiled and patted my hand.

"It's never happened to you before, has it? You've always been the one to walk out. It hurts, doesn't it, Chad?"

I forced a grin.

"Yeah. How do you know, Glorie?"

"I used to walk out on them myself. Now they walk out on me. I'm not as cute as I used to be."

"Rot. What's the matter with you this morning?"

"I guess you've been walking over my grave." She got up and moved over to stand before the mirror above the mantelpiece. "I look like hell. No wonder you were staring, but you were very brutal last night, Chad."

"Let's skip the post mortem," I snapped. "Come and finish your coffee."

She came back, took up her coffee cup and then stretched out on the couch.

"Was she pretty, Chad?"

"She was beautiful; not pretty. She had something I've never found in another woman. Something no words can describe."

"I didn't like her voice. I thought she could be hard. Is she hard, Chad?"

"Yes, she's hard." I began to pace up and down. Then suddenly the nickel dropped and I paused to stare at her. "When did you hear her voice?"

"On the telephone. When I got back from Miami I wondered what had happened to you so I called you up."

"You called me? She didn't tell me."

Glorie lifted her elegant shoulders.

"I don't blame her."

"Did you tell her who you were?"

"I didn't get the chance. She said you were out and slammed down the receiver, but she was lying. I heard you dictating a letter."

I suddenly felt cold.

"What do you mean—dictating a letter?"

She looked at me and her blue eyes opened wide.

"Chad, darling! Why are you looking so startled?"

I went over to her and sat on the couch.

"When did you telephone?"

"A few days ago. What are you getting so excited about?"

"Will you answer my question!" I said, trying to control my voice.

"Exactly when did you telephone?"

She began to look scared.

"I'm sorry, Chad, I wouldn't have called you if I had known it was going to upset you so."

I grabbed hold of her and gave her a little shake, snapping her head back.

"Will you answer my question, damn you!" I shouted. "When did you telephone?"

"The night before last," she said and she looked scared out of her wits.

The night I killed Vestal!

"What time?"

"About nine."

"Don't you remember the exact time? Goddam it! You'd better remember!"

"Chad, darling, you're hurting me. What have I done?"

"What time did you call?" I yelled at her.

"It was just after nine: about nine-twenty."

"You say you heard me dictating?"

"Yes. You're frightening me. Has something terrible happened?"

"Shut up! You telephoned me the night before last at nine-twenty - is that it?"

She nodded.

"Who answered the telephone?"

"I think she did. The girl you…”

"A woman answered it?"

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

"I asked for you. She said you were out. I heard you talking. You were dictating a business letter. I didn't want to disturb you so I hung up."

I let go of her. I felt so bad I thought I was going to faint.

"Chad, darling!"

"Shut your goddam trap!" I snarled at her.

She slid off the couch and ran over to the liquor cabinet. I'll say this for her: she knew what to do in an emergency. The whisky she thrust into my hand would have knocked over a mule.

I drank it as if it were water. If she hadn't taken the glass out of my shaking hand I would have dropped it.

"Darling, you're terrifying me. What's the matter? Why are you looking like that?"

The whisky helped to steady me.

I looked at her.

"You're sure you heard me dictating a letter?"

"Yes. It was something about Conway's Cement."

"While I was talking, this woman said I was out?"

"Yes."

"Did she speak distinctly. You heard her all right?"

"Yes. She—she sounded nervous. Her voice was shrill."

"All right." I got to my feet. "Just leave me alone for a moment: I want to think."