I Would Rather Stay Poor

Easton allowed himself to be propelled into the office, but not before he noticed Iris at her desk, staring at him. Easton never missed a pretty girl and he thought Iris was exceptionally pretty. This guy Calvin had all the luck. He was going to marry that sensational Kit Loring and now he had this girl to replace Alice. Easton thought of Mavis Hart. She wasn’t a patch on this kid with her large eyes and her silky, wavy hair… not a patch.

Calvin closed the office door, waved Easton to the armchair and went around the desk and sat down. ‘Cigarette?’

Easton grimaced.

‘Don’t touch them… I reckon they’re sheer poison.’

‘You’re probably right… I thrive on poison,’ Calvin said and lit a cigarette. He moved his letter opener slightly to the right. Although his expression was friendly and frank, his mind was seething with sudden panic. Had Travers told Easton about the portable? He would have to be careful. Travers must know now the portable belonged to Kit. ‘What’s all this about a typewriter?’

‘We’ve been checking the Remingtons sold to people here in Pittsville,’ Easton said. ‘I see two years ago, a Remington was delivered to the bank. We’re looking for the machine this guy Acres used. Can I see the bank machine?’

‘You certainly could if we still had it,’ Calvin said and grinned. ‘To my knowledge we haven’t had it for the past year. I remember Alice telling me it was knocked off the counter and it was a complete write-off. Alice borrowed a machine for a time. She gave it back just after I came. I used mine which was pretty hopeless and that broke down: now I have borrowed my fiancée’s… it’s out there now: a Smith Corona portable.’

Easton shrugged his fat shoulders. He hadn’t thought for a moment that the Remington listed at the bank would be the one he was looking for.

‘I was just checking,’ he said. ‘Got to tick off every machine on the list. Now we’ll have to start at Downside. That’s going to be a hell of a job. There are over five hundred Remingtons in use there.’

Calvin drew in a lungful of smoke and relaxed. The past three minutes had made sweat run down his back.

‘How’s it going? Getting anywhere?’ he asked.

‘I guess not,’ Easton said and scratched the side of his neck. ‘We have this guy sewn up, but we can’t get a lead on him. He did a smooth job. There were no fingerprints on the car. Records don’t know him. We may catch him through the typewriter, but somehow I don’t think we will. I think he was smart enough to cover his tracks even to the typewriter. He probably went to some typing bureau, typed the letter and paid a fee to use the machine. I know that’s what I would have done in his place.’

And that’s what I should have done, Calvin thought. I wish I had! That Remington could fix me even if this dimwit doesn’t realise it.

‘Well, I wish you luck,’ he said. ‘That reward is worth having… sixty thousand dollars! Phew! I bet Travers is sniffing around hoping to get his hands on it.’

Easton scowled. Calvin had read his thoughts correctly. All day, Easton had been thinking that Travers could beat him to the reward. The thought had been agony to him. Travers was smart. Somehow, he had to find this guy Acres before Travers did. That reward meant a fresh start for him: a new life.

‘Have you any ideas, Mr. Calvin?’ he asked, leaning back in his chair, folding his hands across the ache in his stomach. ‘I mean… what would you do in my place?’

Calvin shrugged, smiling.

‘I wouldn’t know. I’ve no experience of this kind of thing. You’re trained to the job.’ He paused, then went on just as Easton was about to say something, ‘but if I were in your place, I’d concentrate on all the out-of-the-way restaurants and cafes in the district to try to find out if anyone noticed Alice there. It seems to me when she sneaked out three or four times a week when she should have been working for her exam, she must have gone somewhere unless, of course, they just sat in the car and petted, but I don’t think Alice was the petting type. I think Acres must have taken her somewhere: some roadhouse or restaurant. Alice never went anywhere and she would fall for that kind of thing where they have music and soft lights… you know the romantic angle. I think if you checked all the places within thirty miles or so of Pittsville you might find the place where he took her. It’s a long shot, but I’d try it. You might find out, once you have found the place, where Acres was staying. Can’t you get a photograph of Acres made up from the description you have of him and get it in all the papers and on TV?’

‘We’re doing that,’ Easton said, his eyes suddenly alight, ‘but that other idea of yours isn’t so lousy. I’ll work on it.’ He got to his feet. ‘Well, I mustn’t keep you. That’s a pretty girl you’ve found. Who’s she?’ He jerked his thumb to the door and winked.

‘That’s my future daughter-in-law,’ Calvin said. ‘She is going to marry Travers.’

Easton felt as if he had bitten into a quince. Everyone got himself a fine-looking dish except himself, he thought.