The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M. Cain [38]
They came in, still holding their hands up, and she came in after them and handed me the gun. "They all had guns, but I took them off them in the lunchroom."
"Better get them. Maybe they got friends."
She went, and in a minute came back with the guns. She took out the clips, and laid them on the bed, beside me. Then she went through their pockets. Pretty soon she had it. And the funny part was that in another envelope were photostats of it, six positives and one negative. They had meant to keep on blackmailing us, and then hadn't had any more sense than to have the photostats on them when they showed up. I took them all, with the original, outside, crumpled them up on the ground, and touched a match to them. When they were burned I stamped the ashes into the dirt and went back.
"All right, boys. I'll show you out. We'll keep the artillery here."
After I had marched them out to their cars, and they left, and I went back inside, she wasn't there. I went out back, and she wasn't there. I went upstairs. She was in our room. "Well, we did it, didn't we? That's the last of it, photostats and all. It's been worrying me, too."
She didn't say anything, and her eyes looked funny. "What's the matter, Cora?"
"So that's the last of it, is it? Photostats and all. It isn't the last of me, though. I've got a million photostats of it, just as good as they were. Jimmy Durante. I've got a million of them. Am I mortified?"
She burst out laughing, and flopped down on the bed.
"All right. If you're sucker enough to put your neck in the noose, just to get me, you've got a million of them. You sure have. A million of them."
"Oh, no, that's the beautiful part. I don't have to put my neck in the noose at all. Didn't Mr. Katz tell you? Once they just made it manslaughter, they can't do any more to me. It's in the Constitution or something. Oh no, Mr. Frank Chambers. It don't cost me a thing to make you dance on air. And that's what you're going to do. Dance, dance, dance."
"What ails you, anyhow?"
"Don't you know? Your friend was out last night. She didn't know about me, and she spent the night here."
"What friend?"
"The one you went to Mexico with. She told me all about it. We're good friends now. She thought we better be good friends. After she found out who I was she thought I might kill her."
"I haven't been to Mexico for a year."
"Oh yes you have."
She went out, and I heard her go in my room. When she came back she had a kitten with her, but a kitten that was bigger than a cat. It was gray, with spots on it. She put it on the table in front of me and it began to meow. "The puma had little ones while you were gone, and she brought you one to remember her by."
She leaned back against the wall and began to laugh again, a wild, crazy laugh. "And the cat came back! It stepped on the fuse box and got killed, but here it is back! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Ain't that funny, how unlucky cats are for you?"
CHAPTER 15
She cracked up, then, and cried, and after she got quiet she went downstairs. I was down there, right after her. She was tearing the top flaps off a big carton.
"Just making a nest for our little pet, dearie."
"Nice of you."
"What did you think I was doing?"
"I didn't."
"Don't worry. When the time comes to call up Mr. Sackett, I'll let you know. Just take it easy. You'll need all your strength"
She lined it with excelsior, and on top of that put some woolen cloths. She took it upstairs and put the puma in it. It meowed a while and then went to sleep. I went downstairs to fix myself a coke. I hadn't any more than squirted the ammonia in it than she was at the door.
"Just taking something to keep my strength up, dearie."
"Nice of you."
"What did you think I was doing?"
"I didn't."
"Don't worry. When I get ready to skip I'll let you