I Would Rather Stay Poor

‘The more I think about it, the more certain I am that Alice is made for this job,’ Calvin said. ‘Don’t forget she had both keys to the vault when Lamb had his stroke. She would have had plenty of time to make an impression of my key before I arrived. It is easy enough to do with a piece of soap. She gives the impression to her boy-friend who makes a duplicate key. She also tells him about this electronic eye arrangement. The trick of this hicky is it doesn’t come into operation until all the lights are out in the bank. All the boy-friend has to do is to remove all the light bulbs except the one in the vault and then turn on the light. The vault light can’t be seen from the street and when it is on, the alarm system can’t operate.’

‘But Alice hasn’t a boy-friend and she isn’t likely ever to have one,’ Kit said impatiently.

‘Before I’ve done with her, she’s going to have a boy-friend, and the two of them will lift the payroll.’

‘But how are you going to get her a boy-friend?’ Kit demanded. ‘She…’

‘It’s a trick,’ Calvin said and got off the bed. He went over to the closet and took out the bottle of whisky. ‘Sure you won’t have one?’ he asked, waving the bottle towards her.

‘I told you… I don’t drink!’ she snapped. ‘What do you mean… a trick?’

Calvin poured himself a drink, then sat on the edge of the bed.

‘Alice won’t know she has a boy-friend, but she’ll have one just the same. In actual fact, he won’t exist, but when the money vanishes, the police will be convinced it is her boy-friend who has taken it.’

Kit’s brown eyes were suddenly alert with interest. ‘How is it done?’

‘We have only to convince two people: Major Hardy and Miss Pearson. The police will question them and they’ll tell them about the boy-friend. Naturally, you and I will also have seen him, but we’ll know he doesn’t exist whereas the old couple have got to believe he does.’

‘They may be old, but they’re no fools.’

‘I know… I know. I’m not saying this is going to be easy, but if we handle it right, it’ll work.’

‘I still can’t see how it is done.’

‘We have time,’ Calvin said. He drank some of the whisky, set down the glass and lit a cigarette. ‘That’s the beauty of this thing… we have all the time in the world. So long as Lamb is out of action, I’m in charge of the bank. He’s going to be out of action for months, so that gives us time. We first have to create the boy-friend. You must drop a hint to Miss Pearson that you think Alice has found a beau. Say you’ve seen her out with him. Miss Pearson will tell the major. They have nothing else to do but to gossip. You must persuade Miss Pearson not to speak to Alice about her beau. Tell her it’ll embarrass her. They both like her and it shouldn’t be hard to make them keep quiet.’

Kit made a movement of exasperation.

‘But she never goes out in the evening. She sits glued to the television. How could they believe she has a boy-friend if she never goes out to meet him?’

‘I’ve thought of that one,’ Calvin said. ‘You’d be surprised how much thinking I have been doing. In a few days, Alice is going to give up watching television. She’s going to work for a bank examination. She’s going to be in her room five nights a week. But every now and then when the old couple are watching television, Alice will sneak downstairs and go out to meet her boy-friend.’

‘How will that be done?’

‘We all leave our coats in the lobby. When Alice is upstairs working for her examination, you will remove her hat and coat and put them out of sight. You’ll tell the old couple Alice has gone out. The proof will be her hat and coat are missing. Later, you’ll put them back. The old couple will be under the impression Alice has returned. It’s as simple as that.’

Kit sat motionless for several moments, thinking, then she nodded.

‘Yes, of course, it could work. It’s a trick, but it could work. Major Hardy and Miss Pearson will only know about her boy-friend because I have told them about him… is that enough?’

‘No. They’ll have to see him. That can be arranged. I’m giving you the bare outline of my idea. Later, we’ll have to work out the details. But I’m sure we’ll be able to produce a convincing boy-friend.’

Kit reached out and took a cigarette from the pack lying on the table. She lit the cigarette, flicked the match into the ash-tray, then drew in a lungful of smoke. She stared at the wall behind Calvin’s head, her face set in concentration.

Calvin watched her, guessing what was going on in her mind.

‘Am I being stupid about this?’ she asked abruptly. ‘I can see we can produce a convincing boy-friend who doesn’t exist. I can see he might be able to persuade Alice to help him take the payroll. I can see the police might believe this possible. But what happens to Alice? If we are planning to put the blame on her, how do we persuade her to run away? How long do you imagine it’ll be before they catch her? Once they start questioning her they’ll find out fast enough she had nothing to do with the robbery and there never was a boy-friend.’