Come Easy, Go Easy Part 21

Lola was in her bra and panties, sitting on the bed. As I came in, she began to strip off her stockings.

"Gee! I'm tired," she said, yawning. "I like your friend, Chet."

"Yes, he's the best." I took the gun from my hip pocket and put it in the top drawer of the chest. Her back was to me and she didn't see me do it. I told myself I would clean the gun tomorrow. "We three will get along all right. You know, it's a funny thing, but Roy isn't interested in women. It beats me, but since he married and since she walked out on him, he has never looked at another woman."

Lola got up and took off the rest of her clothes. She reached for her nightdress while I watched her.

As she slipped the nightdress on, she said, "Every man is interested in a womana"it depends on the woman."

"I've known him for thirty years," I said. "There was only one womana"the one he married, and he was sick of her in a couple of years."

Lola got into bed.

"She couldn't have been much." She raised her arms above head, stretching and yawning. "You'll be in by one, Chet?"

"Yes." I came over to her and kissed her. "Sleep well. I'll try not to disturb you."

"You won't. I feel dead." She pulled the bedclothes up to her chin and smiled at me. "I forgot to ask youa"everything all right while I've been away?"

I felt a little kick under my heart. I had forgotten Ricks. The excitement of meeting Roy had put that thin vulture right out of my mind.

Lola saw my change of expression and she sat up abruptly.

"What is it, Chet?"

"Ricks was here this afternoon. He needled me into hitting him."

"You hit him?"

Her voice shot up a note.

"I hit him. I had to."

She gripped my arm.

"Tell me! What happened?"

I told her. She sat boll upright in bed, the bedclothes clutched to her, her green eyes wide as she listened.

"I offered him ten bucks," I concluded, "and he threw them at me. He said he was going to talk to the cops."

She dropped back on the pillow.

"He won't," she said. "Even if he did, they know what a scrounging rat he is. They won't listen to him."

"I hope you're right."

"You were crazy to hit him, Chet."

"I know. Well, we'll see."

"I'm sure they won't listen to him."

I bent and kissed her.

"Go to sleep. I'll be in around one o'clock."

"Tomorrow night we'll go to bed early and let Roy look after the place."

I ran my fingers through her silky hair.

"That's a date," I said.

chapter eleven.

I.

It was while we were having breakfast that I told Roy about Ricks.

"You have got to watch out for him," I said. "He's always dropping in unexpectedly. He was in yesterday, and he needled me into socking him. It was a d.a.m.n silly thing to do but I did it. He talked of going to the police."

Roy looked up sharply.

"The police? Why?"

"He caught Lola and me fooling around together. He doesn't know Jenson has gone off with some woman. He wants to find him and make trouble."

Roy finished his coffee and lit a cigarette. We were eating alone. Lola hadn't got up yet.

"Why doesn't Lola tell him that Jenson isn't coming back?"

"For one thing it isn't his business," I said. "For another, he wouldn't believe it."

"I can imagine that." Roy shook his head. "It certainly foxes me that a guy could be so dumb as to leave a set-up like this and a wife who can cook as well as she can."

"If he comes around when we're not here, Roy, watch him. Don't let him have a thing and don't tell him anything."

"Will he talk to the cops?"

"No. Even if he does, they wouldn't listen to him." I stood up. "How about giving me a hand? This place has to be cleaned every morning. I guess Lola's taking advantage of the new hand. She's still in bed."

While we set about cleaning the lunch room, Roy said, "Tell me about Farnworth, Chet. How did you manage to get away? They said in the papers you're the first man who has got out and survived."

I told him.

He was so fascinated that he leaned on the broom handle, listening, and every now and then he shook his head in wonderment.

"Gee! You've got guts!" he said when I had finished. "I'm d.a.m.ned if I would have risked those dogs."

"You would have risked anything to have got away from that place," I said. "I'm not going back. I would rather be dead."

Roy grimaced.

"You should be safe here. You're a long way from Farnworth. Who would think of looking for you here?"

"That's the way I figure it."

Through the window I caught sight of Lola coming over from the bungalow. She was wearing her halter and shorts. She had piled her red hair to the top of her head and had caught it back with a strip of green ribbon.

I felt a sudden stab of uneasiness at the sight of her. She hadn't worn that get-up for weeks. Now, when another male was on the scene, she had suddenly decided to show off her body. I looked quickly at Roy, who was polis.h.i.+ng the counter.

Lola came in, smiling. She made quite an entrance.

"h.e.l.lo," she said. "That's what I like to seea"my two slaves hard at work."

I was watching Roy. He paused, looked up and stared at her. She was leaning against the door post, looking directly at him. I've never seen her look so provocatively s.e.xy and attractive.

Roy's expression didn't change. He just stared indifferently at her, then went on polis.h.i.+ng the counter.

"h.e.l.lo there," he said. "Are we the only two who work around here?"

I saw her expression harden. This wasn't the reception she had expected. She had antic.i.p.ated that Roy would have reacted to this display of feminine charm. I relaxed, turning away so she couldn't see my smile of satisfaction. It was still the same Roy: women meant nothing to him.

She walked across to the kitchen door. There she paused to look at Roy again, but he had his back to her and he was whistling under his breath. She went into the kitchen and slammed the door.

Roy winked at me.

"Women ... I don't know," he said. "They're never satisfied."

"It was my fault," I said. "I told her you weren't interested in women. She couldn't believe it. Maybe she will now."

A truck pulled up by the gas pumps and the driver honked on his horn.

"I'll take care of it," Roy said, and he went out to the truck.

I went into the kitchen.

Lola looked sulky. She had put on her overall and was busy preparing chickens for the spit.

"Let's go to the movies tonight, Chet," she said. "Roy can look after the place. We can catch the midnight performance. We'll be back here by three."

I hesitated. I wasn't sure if it was safe for us to be seen together in Wentworth.

"Maybe we'd better wait, Lola a"

She turned quickly, her expression hardening.

"Wait for what?"

"No one knows the story yet. Sooner or later we'll have to put out the rumour Jenson has walked out of here, but until we do, maybe it would be safer for us not to be seen together."

"I'm sick and tired of having my fun alone," she said. "I want to go to the movies tonight and I want you to go with me.

"Well, okay, then we'll go. It'll be dark. The chances are no one will spot us."

"But, Chet, it doesn't matter if anyone does spot us," she said impatiently "It's our businessa" not theirs."

"Have you forgotten he's buried here? If the police came out here and started to dig . . ."

"If the moon was made of green cheese! Do you think I'm going to spend the rest of my days being scared of the police?

"You can talk. You haven't been in Farnworth."

Then Roy came in.

"Chet and I are going to the movies tonight," Lola said to him, "Can you manage alone? We'll go after the dinner hour. It'll just mean serving gas and some sandwiches."

Roy glanced at me. He looked surprised.

"Why, sure I'll manage fine."

She turned away and began putting the chickens on the spit.

"If you have a minute, Chet," Roy went on, "I'd be glad you would take a look at my car. It's missing on d.a.m.n near every plug. I never was any good with cars."

"I'll fix it," I said "It's time you learned to fix a car. What's going to happen if Lola and me go to the movies and you get a breakdown?"

He grinned.

"I'll have a breakdown on my hands," he said.

He went to the kitchen door ahead of me, and pushed it open, then he paused abruptlya"so abruptly I nearly cannoned in him.

"Look who's here!"

I looked beyond him through the lunch room window.