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stood directly in front of me.
It s not going to be hard, Jim, you ll see. They have six
vaults, but only one of them s the cash vault
It s something else you said, too.
Yes. Kill him.
A Taste for Sin 34
I stared at her.
I couldn t get a divorce. He won t hear of it. Besides, he s
Catholic, and you can t. Anyway, that s how it s got to be. I
don t want a divorce. I want the money, and I m going to have
it. I hate him. She paused, then said, And when I say a
million dollars, that s exactly what I mean.
A million dollars. Talk sense, will you?
She spoke grimly. There s always over a million in cash in
the cash vault. The insurance company has a clause in the
policy that tells exactly how much they can have. I know all
about it. The other vaults are record vaults. They re more
valuable than the cash vault but not to us. They don t mean a
damn thing to us. And the City Trust can have one million and
one half dollars in the cash vault. And most of the time that s
what s there. A million and a half, see?
I sat there. I was stupid to be sitting here. I knew that. It
was just words. A million and a half dollars. Meaningless. All
right A million and a half Easter eggs. A million and a half
razor blades. A million and a half condoms hanging on a
clothes line. A million and a half bottles. A million and a half
pin-heads.
Think about it till it means something, she said.
I ve been thinking about it for over a year.
A million dollars, I thought. Jesus Christ.
You don t rob banks, I said. It isn t done any more.
Like hell. When I got to know you a little, I said to myself,
He s the one he s going to help me do it.
She leaned, kissed me quickly, then looked in the mirror.
She snatched a lipstick up, ripped it open slash slash
capped it oomph-ahh and her lips were perfect.
Jesus Christ, I said stupidly. I looked at her. Why kill
him? I said.
Because that s how it s got to be. He ll be alone and the
vault will be open. All alone. Poor George. See?
I said the obvious thing. Why d you need me?
Her face was deadly serious. It should be plain. I can t do
this myself. I couldn t just trust anybody. I had to be careful. I
know I m all right with you even without the liquor store
thing. That just fell in my lap. Her tone changed, still very
serious, but desperate and faintly pleading, too but strong. I
need someone to help me think. I ve worked out a lot of
angles, but I m not sure it s perfect. It s got to be right. I need
somebody strong and she paused I just need you, Jim.
Felice.
Uh-huh.
A Taste for Sin 35
You mean he s in the bank alone with the vault open?
I could feel something inside me. I didn t like it But there it
was.
Yes, she said. And I ve been in the vault at night alone,
too. With him out there at his desk. I ve stood there and smelt
the money. You can really smell it. It s like perfume.
A million dollars. One million.
Suddenly, I couldn t help my mind beginning to work.
The money just doesn t lie there on the floor like autumn
leaves, I said.
These are green leaves, darling, remember? Green leaves
don t fall off the trees. They have to be picked off.
I tried to visualize a bank vault I got as close to it as the
front door with a large combination and a handle. It was
closed. Tight.
She plumped down on the bed. The money s in individual
vaults inside the main vault itself. Each teller has his own
money to account for. Number one teller maybe has a
hundred and fifty, to maybe three hundred thousand dollars in
his vault. Number two or three tellers, they have about thirty-
five, forty thousand each. And so on.
And these individual vaults are closed?
Yes.
Combinations?
Yes.
Then how the hell!
I looked at them very closely, Jim. I couldn t open them. It
takes strength. You d have to rip the doors off. Knock off the
combinations with a hammer. Something. Tear them open.
She felt of my arm. You could do it with your fingernail,
darling.
I stood up. She leaned back on the bed on her elbows.
Seriously, Jim. It s true. You would be able to do it. I talked
with George about it, many times. He said they could be
opened easily. When George says something, he really means
it, with all his inky heart. If he says it s a million and a half
dollars, that s what it is. Exactly. You or me, any sane person,
wouldn t give a damn about a few dollars, a few thousand
when speaking of this much. But in a bank, when they say a
million and a half, that s what they mean, to the penny.
I looked at her, with this thing inside me.
Think of it, she said. They ll sit up half the night for three
cents.
A Taste for Sin 36
I kept hearing my voice. He just sits there at night with the
cash vault open.
I ve told you.
They allow that?
Certainly.
I thought they had guards.
They do, working hours.
It s crazy.
Accept it, will you?
All right. He s alone. The vault s open. It s at night. I
paused. Sure. The front doors of the bank are locked.
George has keys. She tipped her lips with her tongue.
He s the assistant cashier. He has a key to everything. He s
my husband. We just take the key.
Stop right there, I said. I wanted to laugh in her face.
You ve thought this out?
I ve thought a lot about it.
Well, you haven t, I told her. Excitement drove into me.
You haven t thought out a damned thing. You can t use his
key. What the hell s he doing all this time?
He s lying on the floor, dead.
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