The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M. Cain [7]
"Did he turn his head?"
"No."
I let the rest go, one every couple of minutes. He never noticed it.
We got out to the place, and it was still dark. I hadn't had time to find the fuses, let alone put a new one in. When I pulled in, the cop went past, and was there ahead of me. "I'm taking a look at that fuse box, buddy."
"Sure. I'm taking a look myself."
We all three went back there, and he snapped on a flashlight. Right away, he gave a funny grunt and stooped down. There was the cat, laying on its back with all four feet in the air.
"Ain't that a shame? Killed her deader than hell."
He shot the flashlight up under the porch roof, and along the stepladder. "That's it, all right. Remember? We were looking at her. She stepped off the ladder on to your fuse box, and it killed her deader than hell."
"That's it all right. You were hardly gone when it happened. Went off like a pistol shot. I hadn't even had time to move the car."
"They caught me down the road."
"You were hardly out of sight."
"Stepped right off the ladder on to the fuse box. Well, that's the way it goes. Them poor dumb things, they can't get it through their head about electricity, can they? No sir, it's too much for them."
"Tough, all right."
"That's what it is, it's tough. Killed her deader than hell. Pretty cat, too. Remember, how she looked when she was creep. ing up that ladder? I never seen a cuter cat than she was."
"And pretty color."
"And killed her deader than hell. Well, I'll be going along. I guess that straightens us out. Had to check up, you know."
"That's right."
"So long. So long, Miss."
"So long."
CHAPTER 5
We didn't do anything about the cat, the fuse box, or anything else. We crept into bed, and she cracked up. She cried, and then got a chill so she was trembling all over, and it was a couple of hours before I could get her quiet. She lay in my arms a while, then, and we began to talk.
"Never again, Frank."
"That's right. Never again."
"We must have been crazy. Just plain crazy." "Just our dumb luck that pulled us through." "It was my fault."
"Mine too."
"No, it was my fault. I was the one that thought it up. You didn't want to. Next time I'll listen to you, Frank. You're smart. You're not dumb like I am."
"Except there won't be any next time."
"That's right. Never again."
"Even if we had gone through with it they would have guessed it. They _always_ guess it. They guess it anyway, just from habit. Because look how quick that cop knew something was wrong. That's what makes my blood run cold. Soon as he saw me standing there he knew it. If he could tumble to it all that easy, how much chance would we have had if the Greek had died?"
"I guess I'm not really a hell cat, Frank."
"I'm telling you."
"If I was, I wouldn't have got scared so easy. I was _so_ scared, Frank."
"I was scared plenty, myself."
"You know what I wanted when the lights went out? Just you, Frank. I wasn't any hell cat at all, then. I was just a little girl, afraid of the dark."
"I was there, wasn't I?"
"I loved you for it. If it hadn't been for you, I don't know what would have happened to us."
"Pretty good, wasn't it? About how he slipped?"
"And he believed it."
"Give me half a chance, I got it on the cops, every time. You got to have something to tell, that's it. You got to fill in all those places, and yet have it as near the truth as you can get it. I know them. I've tangled with them, plenty."
"You fixed it. You're always going to fix it for me, aren't you, Frank?"
"You're the only one ever meant anything to me."
"I guess I really don't want to be a hell cat."
"You're my baby."
"That's it, just your dumb baby. All right, Frank. I'll listen to you, from now on. You be the brains, and I'll work. I can work, Frank. And I work good. We'll get along."
"Sure we will."
"Now shall we go to sleep?"
"You think you can sleep all right?"
"It's the first time we ever slept together, Frank."
"You like it?"
"It's grand, just grand."
"Kiss me goodnight."
"It's so sweet to be able to kiss you goodnight."
Next morning, the telephone waked us up. She answered it, and when she came up her eyes were shining. "Frank, guess what?"