The World in My Pocket

They worked in silence and by the light of the moon. It was nervy work, because they could see boats out on the moonlit lake; they could hear voices in the distance, and once they had to crouch down, their hearts pounding, as a couple of lovers passed close to them.

It was after midnight before they patted the ground flat and carefully covered it with leaves and dead branches, and by that time, both of them were so exhausted they could scarcely get back to the cabin.

They found Ginny in an armchair, her .38 in her lap while she watched Gypo, who had fallen asleep on the settee.

Bleck shut the door. Then he crossed over to the second armchair and dropped into it.

Kitson sat on an upright chair. His face was the colour of cold mutton fat and there was a muscle in his cheek that kept twitching.

‘Any trouble?’ Bleck asked Ginny.

The girl was pale and there were dark smudges under her eyes. She looked older and less attractive, but her voice was steady when she said, ‘No, except he says he wants to go home.’

‘As soon as he’s opened the truck,’ Bleck said, ‘He can go to hell for all I care.’

At the sound of the voices, Gypo stirred and opened his eyes. He blinked around, then seeing the three watching him, he swung his legs off the settee and sat up, his face tightening, his hands beginning to shake.

‘Ed. I’m going to quit,’ he said, the words spilling out of his mouth. ‘You can have my share of the money. I’ve been thinking about it. I don’t want to have anything more to do with this job. I want you to have my share and let me go. If it hadn’t been for Frank, I wouldn’t have touched the job. He persuaded me. You three carry on if you want to, but I’m going back to the workshop.’

Bleck studied him.

‘I don’t think you are.’

Gypo rubbed his hands on his knees, sweat making his fat face glisten in the shaded light, ‘Now, look, Ed, be reasonable. I’m giving you my share. That’s a lot of money. I just want to go home.’

‘I don’t think you’re going,’ Bleck said in the same flat voice.

Gypo looked imploringly at Kitson.

‘Listen, kid, this job’s no good. We didn’t want to do it. Frank talked us into it. Let’s you and me go. These two can have all the money. You and me can work together. We can make a good living. You work with me in the workshop. We’ll get along fine together. honestly, we will.’

‘Skip it,’ Bleck said softly. ‘You’re staying and you’re opening the truck.’

Gypo shook his head.

‘No, Ed, I’ve got to go. I haven’t the nerve for this job. I’ll tell you how to open the truck. You and the girl can do it once you know how, but I’m not staying. There’s five hundred thousand dollars extra for you and for her. I give you my share. The kid will give her his share. We’ll go.’

Bleck looked at Kitson.

‘Do you want to quit?’ he asked.

Morgan’s violent end had stunned Kitson, but he was now recovering. The nightmare business of burying the two bodies had stiffened his fibre rather than undermined it. He knew he had reached the point of no return. He had everything to gain now and only his life to lose. Whether he wanted to or not, there was no question of quitting.

‘No,’ he said.

‘Listen, kid, you don’t know what you are saying,’ Gypo said desperately. ‘You’ve got to quit. You’ve got to come with me. It’s no good thinking you’re going to get away with this. It’s better to quit now. You come with me.’

‘I’m not quitting,’ Kitson said, his eyes on Ginny.

Gypo drew in a shuddering breath.

‘I am going,’ he said. ‘This is no good. Three men have died. No money is worth that. Frank said he was going to put the world in his pocket. Look what’s happened to him. He’s in a hole in the ground. Can’t you see? Can’t any of you see? It’s no good.’ He got to his feet. ‘I’m going home.’

Bleck reached forward and took the .38 that was lying in Ginny’s lap. He pointed the gun at Gypo.

‘You’re going to open the truck, Gypo. If you don’t do it, I’ll kill you and bury you out there in the woods.’

The final, cold note in his voice convinced Gypo that he meant what he said.

For a long moment Gypo stood there, staring at the gun, then slowly, with a gesture of hopeless despair, he sat down.

‘Okay,’ he said, his face sagging, ‘you force me to stay, but I warn you nothing good will come of this. Nothing.’

Bleck put the gun down.

‘Have you quite finished sounding off?’ he asked.

‘I have nothing more to say,’ Gypo said, hanging his head. ‘I have warned you. Remember that. Nothing good will come of it.’

‘Well, now,’ Bleck said, looking at the other two, ‘we’ve got that settled. We’re now four. That means we each will have fifty thousand dollars more than we reckoned to have. We divide Frank’s share between us. We go on with the plan. Kitson, you and Ginny, play out the honeymoon angle. Gypo and I work in the caravan. As soon as we get the money, we split up. All agree?’

The other two nodded.