Read Online I Would Rather Stay Poor by James Hadley Chase - Free Book Online Page A

month. Alice and I will be working late on that day. We have to get out the mont hl y statements.’ He lifted his head a nd looked at Kit, ‘This is the day we’ll do the jo b. Are you still sure you want to go through with it?’
    ‘And Ali ce ?’ Kit said, staring at him.
    ‘Don’t think of her,’ C alvin said. ‘I’ ll take care of her. I’m asking you: do you still want to go through with it?’
    ‘You’ll take care of her? It really means nothing more to you than that?’
    Calvin’s thin lips parted in a sneering smile.
    ‘At least I’m honest,’ he said. ‘I’m sacr ifici ng Alice for three hundred thousand dollars. She means no more to me than a rabbit that has to be killed. You, you’re trying to make something out of this. You want to dramatise the situation. Do you or don’t you want the money?’
    Kit shuddered. Her eyes were glassy and there were sweat beads on her face.
    ‘You are a devil,’ she said. ‘Yes, I want the money, but I’ll never stop thinking of that girl. All right, don’t sneer at me. I couldn’t do it, but if you will, then I’ll take advantage of what it br ings.’
    Calvin laughed.
    ‘We ll , that’s honest. A ll right, so at the end of the month, we’ll do it. Between now and then, we’ ll make the happy announcement that we are engaged.’ He raised his head and looked at her. ‘Have you told your daughter yet?’
    She looked away.
    ‘Not yet.’
    ‘Tell her tonight! Sh e has to be the first to know.’
    ‘I’ll tell her.’
    ‘Let’s go through the whole plan now,’ he said. ‘If you think I’ve made a mistake anywhere, tell me.’ He let smoke drift down his nostrils while he coll ected his thoughts. ‘Thursday three weeks ahead falls on the last day of the month. Instead of Alice and I leaving and locking up after the payroll has been delivered, we have the legitimate excuse to stay on because we’ll have to work late getting out the monthly statements. As we w ill be in the bank while the money is there the sheriff or Travers will keep watch on the bank. They will know that as long as we have the lights on, the safe isn’t protected by the electr onic eye. That won’t worry them because they know if anyone tries to break in to grab the money, I have an alarm button under my desk that I can set off, and besides, you can bet, they’ll be on the watch. There is a back entrance to the bank that is never used. It leads out onto a small parking lot where I have parked the Lincoln. The door to the back entrance is locked and bolted. When Alice is busy, I will unlock and unbolt the door. She has a key as well as I so when the investi gation begins, it w ill be assumed that she unlocked the door to let Acres in.’ He paused, staring up at the ceiling for so long that Kit said sharply, ‘Well, go on … what happens next?’
    ‘What happens next?’ Calvin lifted his head to look at her. ‘Alice exchanges that awful hat of hers for a halo. At least, I hope it is a halo. That’s what happens next.’
    Kit huddled down in the chair, her face growing paler.
    ‘In other words, Alice dies,’ Calvin said. ‘At five minutes to seven, and you must be dead on time, you’ll arrive by the back entrance. You’ll put on Alice’s hat and coat and we will leave the bank together by the front entrance. While I am locking up, you wi ll go over to where my car is parked and get in. You mustn’t hurry or loiter. This w ill be the most dangerous part of the plan, but the sheriff or Travers must see Alice leave the bank. I don’t see why it should come unst uck. It will be dark. You will w alk under two or three street lights on the way to the car. The mustard-coloured coat should convince either the sheriff or Travers he is seeing Alice leave. How do you like it so far?’
    ‘Go on,’ Kit said, a rasp in her voice. ‘Then w hat happens?’
    ‘We drive back here. The old people will be watching the serial on television. You’ll hang up Alice’s hat and