informed.’
Then
Patrick asked his usual question. ‘If the worst comes to the worst,’ he said, ‘how
long…?’
The
policeman said, as usual, ‘It depends on the judge. Eighteen months, two
years…
‘That’s
a long time.’
‘They
go by the antecedents,’ said Mr. Fergusson. ‘Cheer up, you’re lucky you’re a
bachelor. It’s worse for a married man. Look on the bright side, Patrick.’
At the
street entrance Patrick looked out on to the bleak pavements and immediately
felt unhappy again. He stood for a moment under the protective porch, then took
the plunge up the street. He felt within him a decision to go and see the
doctor.
‘He can look you in the
eyes,’ said Freda Flower to Mike Garland, ‘and make you believe it’s you that’s
telling the lie.’
‘You
don’t be a fool,’ Mike said. ‘You go back to Inspector Fergusson and tell him
you’re going on with it, as you said in the first place. The whole of your
savings gone. Remember that.’
‘Oh,
Mike, I was so good to him. You should have seen how he got round me with his
interior decorations and his odd jobs round the house.’
Pink-checked
Mike looked round the walls which were done with a pink wash. ‘Didn’t make much
of a job of it.’
‘He
didn’t do this room. He did the paint. And he did the kitchen. But I was good
to him.’
‘He’s a
fraud,’ Mike said, ‘and he ought to be exposed. For the sake of the Movement.’
‘I can’t
believe it, Mike. I still can’t believe, inside me, when I think of him that he’s
a fraud. He’s given me such good advice from the chair, Mike, and last Saturday
night—’
‘That
was a fake-up, clear enough,’ Mike said. ‘He wanted to frighten you.’
‘No,
Mike. He was really gone on Saturday night. You could see it.’
‘Think
of your money,’ Mike said. ‘What’s happened to your two thousand?’
‘I
still can’t believe it, Mike.’
‘You
know what Fergusson told you.’
‘I don’t
know what to think, Mike.’
‘There
have been other cases in the past. There are two other women over the last two
years.’
‘I
always feel somehow,’ she said, ‘that there’s some explanation. I was the only
woman for Patrick.’ She saw in her mind’s eye the grave thin face and blue eyes
of Patrick as it were superimposed on the curtain.
She
said, ‘You don’t realise how nicely he could talk. There was something about
him lifted you up. He’s a poet at heart.’
‘And he
lifted up your cash as well.’
‘Perhaps
there was some mistake.’
‘He
admitted it,’ Mike said. ‘And there’s your handwriting he’s forged.’
‘Perhaps
I did write the letter. I don’t know. It could be my own signature, after all, if
I didn’t know what I was doing. I thought the money was for bonds, but perhaps
the bonds were a dream, I don’t know—’
‘He
frightened you by his warnings,’ Mike said. ‘Well, let me tell you, there’s
nothing in them. I’m a clairvoyant and I can see he’s a fraud.’
She
looked at Mike’s pink face and his large frame. He failed to move her as much
as Patrick had done.
‘Two
thousand,’ Mike said. ‘Come, put your hat on and I’ll take you back to
Inspector Fergusson. You were a fool to part with the cheque.’
‘I think
he said he’d buy the bonds, I don’t know.’ Desperately she looked at the white
blossom on the green carpet, and at the curtains, fawn with a touch of pink to
match the walls, and her fawn and green suite.
‘Two
thousand, your life savings,’ Mike said.
‘I’ve
got the rooms all let,’ she said. ‘Thanks to you, Mike.’
‘But
nothing in the bank. Come on, let’s go. Two thousand, remember. He should get
five years imprisonment.’
She
said, ‘It was worth the money.’
But she
got ready, and accompanied Mike Garland all the way back to Detective-Inspector
Fergusson, who had been so severe when she had called previously to withdraw
her statement. When he spoke to her on this second
Then
Patrick asked his usual question. ‘If the worst comes to the worst,’ he said, ‘how
long…?’
The
policeman said, as usual, ‘It depends on the judge. Eighteen months, two
years…
‘That’s
a long time.’
‘They
go by the antecedents,’ said Mr. Fergusson. ‘Cheer up, you’re lucky you’re a
bachelor. It’s worse for a married man. Look on the bright side, Patrick.’
At the
street entrance Patrick looked out on to the bleak pavements and immediately
felt unhappy again. He stood for a moment under the protective porch, then took
the plunge up the street. He felt within him a decision to go and see the
doctor.
‘He can look you in the
eyes,’ said Freda Flower to Mike Garland, ‘and make you believe it’s you that’s
telling the lie.’
‘You
don’t be a fool,’ Mike said. ‘You go back to Inspector Fergusson and tell him
you’re going on with it, as you said in the first place. The whole of your
savings gone. Remember that.’
‘Oh,
Mike, I was so good to him. You should have seen how he got round me with his
interior decorations and his odd jobs round the house.’
Pink-checked
Mike looked round the walls which were done with a pink wash. ‘Didn’t make much
of a job of it.’
‘He
didn’t do this room. He did the paint. And he did the kitchen. But I was good
to him.’
‘He’s a
fraud,’ Mike said, ‘and he ought to be exposed. For the sake of the Movement.’
‘I can’t
believe it, Mike. I still can’t believe, inside me, when I think of him that he’s
a fraud. He’s given me such good advice from the chair, Mike, and last Saturday
night—’
‘That
was a fake-up, clear enough,’ Mike said. ‘He wanted to frighten you.’
‘No,
Mike. He was really gone on Saturday night. You could see it.’
‘Think
of your money,’ Mike said. ‘What’s happened to your two thousand?’
‘I
still can’t believe it, Mike.’
‘You
know what Fergusson told you.’
‘I don’t
know what to think, Mike.’
‘There
have been other cases in the past. There are two other women over the last two
years.’
‘I
always feel somehow,’ she said, ‘that there’s some explanation. I was the only
woman for Patrick.’ She saw in her mind’s eye the grave thin face and blue eyes
of Patrick as it were superimposed on the curtain.
She
said, ‘You don’t realise how nicely he could talk. There was something about
him lifted you up. He’s a poet at heart.’
‘And he
lifted up your cash as well.’
‘Perhaps
there was some mistake.’
‘He
admitted it,’ Mike said. ‘And there’s your handwriting he’s forged.’
‘Perhaps
I did write the letter. I don’t know. It could be my own signature, after all, if
I didn’t know what I was doing. I thought the money was for bonds, but perhaps
the bonds were a dream, I don’t know—’
‘He
frightened you by his warnings,’ Mike said. ‘Well, let me tell you, there’s
nothing in them. I’m a clairvoyant and I can see he’s a fraud.’
She
looked at Mike’s pink face and his large frame. He failed to move her as much
as Patrick had done.
‘Two
thousand,’ Mike said. ‘Come, put your hat on and I’ll take you back to
Inspector Fergusson. You were a fool to part with the cheque.’
‘I think
he said he’d buy the bonds, I don’t know.’ Desperately she looked at the white
blossom on the green carpet, and at the curtains, fawn with a touch of pink to
match the walls, and her fawn and green suite.
‘Two
thousand, your life savings,’ Mike said.
‘I’ve
got the rooms all let,’ she said. ‘Thanks to you, Mike.’
‘But
nothing in the bank. Come on, let’s go. Two thousand, remember. He should get
five years imprisonment.’
She
said, ‘It was worth the money.’
But she
got ready, and accompanied Mike Garland all the way back to Detective-Inspector
Fergusson, who had been so severe when she had called previously to withdraw
her statement. When he spoke to her on this second
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