‘You know who did it?’ Iris said, staring at him. ‘You mean you know where this man Acres is hiding?’
‘Acres doesn’t exist. He never has existed,’ Travers said quietly. ‘He is a dummy figure in sideboards and a moustache. After he showed himself to a few people, got the money and murdered Alice, he took off the sideboards and the moustache and returned to
h
i
s apparently respectable self.’
‘You mean it i
s someone li
ving in
Pittsville.’
‘Either Pi
ttsville
or Downside.’
‘You know who he is?’
‘I’m pretty sure, although I can
’
t actua
ll
y prove it, but I will.’
‘Who is he? Anyone I know?’
Travers hesitated.
‘This is going to be
a
shock to you, honey. I
t’ll take a
bit of believing, but I’m sure I’m right.’ He paused, then went on, ‘I
t’s
Calvin.’
Iris stared incredulously at him.
‘Mr. Calvin? You think he killed Alice? Why
, Ken, what are you saying? How c
an you possibly say such a thing?’
‘I know i
t’s
pretty hard to take
,’ Travers said, ‘but w
hen you know all the facts and put two and two together, i
t’s
the only possible solution to the mysterious Johnny Acres.’
‘But, Ken! You can’t say things like this! Ki
t’
s in love with h
im…
they are getting married! How can you!’
‘I haven’t forgotten your mother. Tha
t’s
one of the reasons why I’ve com
e here tonight to talk it over w
ith you. She wou
ldn’
t want to be trapped into marrying a killer, would she? Isn’t it better for her to know now than when it’s too late?’
‘I don’t believe it! You’re just guessing. You said you haven’t any proof!’
‘I know
…
I haven’t yet. I only realised it was Calvin about an hour ago. But I’ll get proof. I’m sure of that. Look, let me tell you just why I’m so sure it is Calvin.’
‘I don’t want to hear!’ Iris said, white and tense. ‘
I’
m sure you’re wrong
…
’
‘How can you be sure unless you hear what I’ve got to tell you?’ Travers said patiently. ‘Now, listen, for more than five years, week after week, the payroll has been delivered to the bank and has been safe. Then Calvin becomes manager: six weeks later the payroll vanishes.’
‘But that doesn’t mean anything! It could have vanished when Mr. Lamb was there!’
‘It could have, but it didn’t. I’m pretty sure Calvin made up his mind to steal the payroll almost as soon as he got here. He knew if the payroll vanished only two people would be suspected
…
himself or Alice. It had to be an inside job. No outsider would know how to put the alarm system out of order nor get at the keys to the vault. He was smart enough to know this so he decided to pin the blame on Alice. During the first three weeks he was at the bank, he worked on Alice. He has a way with women.
You have only to look at him to realise it. No man has ever bothered to look at Alice, now Calvin turns on all his charm and after a while she
falls
for him hook, line and
sinker.’
‘You’re wrong!’ Iris said, thumping her clenched fists
on
her knees. ‘I know you’re wrong! Alice wouldn’t
…
’
‘I know
…
I know
…
I said just that when Easton said he thought Alice had fallen for Acres. I could see that couldn’t jell, but Calvin had eight hours a day for three weeks to work on her more or less alone. Of course, in that time,
he could do it
…
and he did it!’
Iris hesitated, realising what Travers had said made sense, then thinking of Kit, she said, ‘I don’t believe it!’
‘All right, but let me finish. Assuming I’m right and Alice really fell for
him
, the re
st was pretty easy. By then he h
ad announced his engagement to your mother. Now he tells Alice he has made a mistake. It is she he loves and not your mother, but the engagement is official. He has to be careful. He doesn’t want to get landed with a breach of promise suit. That’s the sort of blah Alice could have fallen for. She would have been flattered he preferred her to your mother. She would want to protect his reputation as a banker. Then he puts up the idea of grabbing the payroll and both of them vanishing. I’m not saying it didn’t take him a lot of careful work and persuasion, but finally he got her to agree to help him. So they could go out together
with
out gossip, I reckon he disguised himself as Johnny Acres
…
anyway, that was his story to Alice and being a romantic little dope, she fell for that too. She imagined he really loved her and was taking all this trouble to disguise himself so he could steal a
few hours out of working hours w
ith her. She probably got a
kick out of sneaking out of the
house to meet him when she was supposed to be working for her exam, but all the time Calvin was establishing Acres, planning to pin the robbery on her, and
finally planning to murder her w
hen he got the money.’
‘Stop!’ Iris cried, facing him, ‘You know as we
l
l as I do this is malicious nonsense! You can’t prove one word of all this! Ken! What’s come over you? How can you say such things?’
‘Oh, I agree it sounds far-fetched,’ Travers said, ‘but let’s look at this mysterious Johnny Acres. Only a very few people
–
five to
be exact –
have seen him. No one has
come forward to say he stayed w
ith them during the three weeks he is supposed to have been courting Alice. Where did he stay? If he is Calvin, we know where he
stayed
,
but if he isn’t Calvin, where did he hide himself? He is tall and heavily built. So is
Calvin.
He wore sideboards and a moustache. Calvin is clean shaven, but it is easy to stick crepe hair on your face.’
Seeing Iris was about to inter
rupt him, he raised his hand. ‘Now wait
…
here’s the
clinch
er that set me off. The car salesman who sold Acres the get-away car said Acres had an irritating habit of humming under his breath
…
those were his words. This seems to be an unconscious
ha
bit. The man probably doesn’t know he does it. Well, Calvin has exactly the same habit
…
he too hums tunelessly under hi
s breath. What do you say now?’
Iris started to say som
ething, then stopped.
‘Now look,’ Travers said, ‘I have no real proof, but I have a lead, and Easton and the sheriff so far haven’t this lead. I’m thinking of you and me and the reward. This man Acres typed a letter to Alice. It was typed on a standard Remington with two defective letters: the r and the v are slightly out of alignment. I want to find out if the bank has such a machine. It’s my guess it has. If it has, I then want to find out if Calvin ever owned a fawn, belted overcoat. If he has owned one, then I guess I’ve got enough on him to make an arrest. Then there is the payroll. Where is it? He must have hidden it somewhere. He can’t have moved it out of town. He’s forced to sit on it
…
but where?’
‘I still don’t believe a word of this,’ Iris sai
d, but Travers could see s
he was shaken. ‘You may as well know, Ken: I’m taking Alice’s place. I’m starting work tomorrow.’
Travers twisted around in his seat to stare at her.
‘Oh no, you’re not! You’re not working for Calvin! You’re not
…
’ He stopped short, seeing the angry flush rise to her face.
Controlling his voice, he went o
n, ‘Wh
at about Dix? You leaving him?’
‘Yes
…
Mr. Calvin asked me to help him. The money’s better and I’m going to.’
‘But after what I’ve told you, honey, you wouldn’t want to work for him, would you?’
‘Let’s go home. Nothing you have said so far has convinced me you’re right. I’m going to work for Dave Calvin and that’s the end of it.’
Tr
aver
s
’
s
mind worked fast. He knew Iris well enough to realise that the more pressure he put on her the more obstinate she would become.
‘Al
l
right, then work for him if you must, but when you walk into the bank tomorrow morning, look at the typewriter. If it is a standard Remington, you’ll know what I’ve been saying isn’t so cockeyed. You’ll probably be using the machine, see if the letters r and v are out of alignment. T
hat’s all I ask. Check the type
writer and if it isn’t a Remington, I’ll admit I’m way off the beam.’
‘A
l
l right,’ Iris said. ‘I
’ll do it
, but I’m quite sure even if it is a Remington, Dave Calvin has nothing to do with this robbery.’
Travers shrugged his shoulders. He drove the car fast to the highway. He was a little deflated, but still convinced he was right. Neither of
the
m said anything until Travers pu
l
led up outside the rooming-house. The time was now half past one.
‘Good night, Ken,’ Iris said stiffly as she made to get out of the car.
Travers sipped his arm around her and pu
l
led her to him.
‘Don’t let’s quarrel, honey,’ he said. ‘I may be wrong, but if I’m not, it’s going to be all right between us, isn’t it?’
‘I’m thinking of Kit,’ Iris said. ‘Oh, Ken, even if you are right
…
I do hope yo
u’re
not! I wouldn’t want that money, knowing how unhappy Kit would be
…
but I’m sure you’re wrong.’
Travers kissed her. Breaking away, Iris got out of the car and ran up the drive towards the house.
She paused at the front door, listening to Travers driving away, then she unlocked the door and entered the dark hall. She went silen
tl
y up to her bedroom. She was surprised to see a light coming from under her door. Turning the handle, she walked in.
Kit was sitting in an armchair, smoking. Her face was pale and her brown eyes were unnaturally bright. Iris paused in the doorway to stare at her.
‘Why, Kit! Why aren’t you in bed?’
‘I wanted to talk to you,’ Kit said. ‘Come in and shut the door.’
Iris shut the door a
nd went over to sit on the bed.
‘Dave tells me you are going to work at the bank,’ Kit said. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
Her cold, hostile v
oi
ce startled Iris.
‘You weren’t there when he asked me. I
–
I thought he had told you,’ Iris said. ‘Why? You don’t mind, do you?’
‘Yes, I mind. You’re only a kid. I don’t want you to be exposed to Dave’s charm.’
Iris felt her face grow hot.
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘Don’t you?’ Kit’s bleak eyes frightened her. ‘I think you do. I’m going to marry him. I’m twice your age. I’m not anything like as pretty as you. The less you see of him, the better it will be for me.’
‘Kit!’ Iris jumped to her feet ‘You don’t know what you’re saying?’
‘You mean I’m drunk?’ Kit smiled bitterly. ‘I guess I am.’
She passed her hand across her eyes. ‘You’re not going to work
for Dave. Do you understand? I forbid it.’
There was
a
long pause, then Iris said quietly and steadily.
‘I’m sorry, but I am
.
I
t’s
all arranged. I
t’s a g
ood job and I need
the money. I’m sure you don’t know what you are saying. Please
go to bed.’
Kit remained motionless. Her head throbbed
.
Her brain felt as if it were in a covering of cotton wool. She wished now she hadn’t had that last drink.
‘Kit
…
it’s late. Please go to bed,’ Iris said.
Unsteadily, Kit got to her feet.
‘All right, you poor little fool,’ she said, her words slurred, ‘then work for him if you want to, but don’t say I didn’t
warn
you. I don’t care
…
I don’t care a damn what happens to him or to you or to me,’ and lurching a little, she went out of the room.