And kill once more (21 page)

"Marty! I—how are you—your—"

"It's almost healed." I grinned, then tossed the check on her desk blotter. "Gregory sent this along. He thought that in the fight of certain developments he'd like to refund your money."

"Gregory said that?" She asked it evenly, her eyes on my face instead of the money. "What developments are these?"

"Put it this way," I hedged. "He'll feel better not keeping your money. Much better." Then I had the uncomfortable feeling she was trying to stare me down.

I looked around the room at the classy office tastefully

done in Philippine mahogony, the thick carpets, the modernistic desk. The silence dragged on.

"Kate, I've been a horse's neck," I said finally. "All those times I kept needling you about being a little Miss Moneybags and having a rich family dump the world in your lap and—but when I got home there was this file that Fred had gotten together on you. It was all there, Kate. Your going through university on some kind of scholarship and how you burned the midnight oil studying books on business and merchandising and all that. He even had a picture of the store you started in a few years ago, that little place you had first and how you were a success and the bank was willing to stand behind you on this one. It opened my eyes, Kate. I've been too busy envying other guys who've worked ahead and telling myself that opportunity is dead and you need a rich uncle to help you along." By now I was sweating a little, but I blundered along. "Well, I got to seeing it a little different, lately. I'm going up to the inn at Death Valley and work the season and save my dough. Not much, maybe, but all I can and then I'll go to a bank and there's my rich uncle named Sam who will underwrite part of my investment on a G.I. loan. I'm building that pool, Kate. Not in Beverly Hills—yet. I'll start with one out where the ground is cheaper—where they even have more need of a pool. I'll learn the business as I go, then I maybe later—"

"I could help you, Marty." She had come around the desk and I felt the nearness of her, the clean, scrubbed smell of her long blonde hair. "Not with money, or with running the pool, but in the business end. I've learned a few things about that. I'd really like to help."

"Well, sure, if you want to. We—" And then I stopped talking and she was tight against me and I had my arms around her. It was warm and sweet and wonderful. The door behind us opened and someone said "Miss Wes—"

and stopped and the door closed very softly again and Kate hadn't even heard. When we finally broke it up I still kept her hand in mine and looked into her soft blue eyes.

"Baby," I said smiling, "we've got a lot of catching up to do. We could start with lunch someplace, if you can get away, and—"

"You can buy me a sandwich at the drugstore," she laughed. "I'm a busy woman and you're saving for that pool, remember?" She took her hand out of mine and went back to her desk long enough to put away a few papers, then turned to look at me again. "Marty, you didn't really think I might have done it, did you? Kill anyone, I mean?"

I looked away and fumbled for cigarettes. "No, not really, I guess, but there were those shoes."

"Shoes, Marty?"

"Not important now," I said carelessly, "but that night I stayed—well, there were your pumps under the bed, Kate, and they were wet—had been out just before I came in to see you. And you said you'd been in the room all evening. You told the sheriff the same thing, and I knew it couldn't be true, so—" I let it trail off, watched her open a closet, choose a hat from the half dozen arrayed there, and adjust it in the mirror on the wall. When she turned around again I caught a light pink creeping into her face.

"I had a late date with a guy," she said, and looked away. "The darn lummox didn't show up and I—well, I went outside a few times to sort of look around and see if he'd come back and—but I couldn't tell you that. A girl can't appear too eager, after all, and then when I didn't tell you, I had to stick to my story, so I gave it to Toland the same way." She didn't say any more because I put my arms around her again and pressed her to me and held her close. Words weren't necessary for the next

little while and when I kissed her again and let her go the hat needed straightening once more.

Out on the street, I swung open the door of my coupe and Kate made some laughing crack about the pillow on my side of the seat and I laughed too, then fired up all six cylinders and pulled out into the traffic. It was the same car I'd driven up in but there was a difference in it somehow. Like someone had changed the windshield and all of the windows, because no matter which way I looked the world had a very rosy glow indeed.

The End