1958 - The World in My Pocket Read Online Free Page A

his shoulder, and standing in front of her, he seemed at least three times as broad as she was.
    She looked at him, her expression still scornful.
    ‘Then in case you didn’t hear, I’ll repeat what I said,’ she said quietly. ‘Run away, powder puff. We can handle this without your help.’
    Kitson made a low growling noise and he lifted his hand, threateningly.
    ‘Go ahead and hit me,’ the girl said. ‘I’m not scared of getting hurt!’
    Morgan laughed.
    Kitson dropped his hand and stepped back. He muttered under his breath and then started for the door.
    ‘Kitson!’ Morgan’s voice rapped out. ‘Come back here and sit down! We’ve got to vote. You walk out now, and you’re through with this outfit for good!’
    Kitson hesitated, then turning slowly, his face confused and sullen, he walked back to the table and sat down.
    Morgan looked at Gypo.
    ‘Another slip.’
    Gypo took out his notebook and cut another slip of paper.
    Bleck said, ‘Before we vote, Frank, I want to know more about this job. How does she get mixed up in it?’ He jerked his thumb towards Ginny.
    ‘For the past five months I’ve been trying to figure out how to knock over this truck,’ Morgan said, ‘and I couldn’t figure an angle. Three nights ago, she came to me and dropped the whole thing, sewn up, into my lap. It’s her idea, that’s why it’s a five-way split. She’s worked out all the angles, and I’m satisfied her plan will work.’
    Bleck looked at the girl.
    ‘And where do you come from, baby?’ he asked. ‘What put the idea into your pretty head?’
    The girl opened her cheap, shabby bag and took out a pack of cigarettes and a book of paper matches. She lit a cigarette while she regarded Bleck, her gaze cool and impersonal.
    ‘It’s no business of yours nor anyone else’s where I come from,’ she said curtly. ‘I thought up the idea because I want the money. While we’re on the subject, I don’t like being called baby, so drop it, will you?’
    Bleck grinned. He admired a woman with spirit.
    ‘Sure, I’ll drop it. What made you pick on this outfit to help you with a job as big as this one?’
    She pointed to Gypo.
    ‘Because of him. I asked around. They said he’s the best man with a lock in the district and that’s what’s needed for this job. They said you had a lot of nerve, that Morgan had a flair for organization and Kitson was the best getaway driver on the coast.’
    Gypo was smiling now. He thrived on flattery. The girl is dead right, he thought. There is no better man in the lock business.
    Kitson had lost his sullen expression. He now looked embarrassed, and he kept his eyes down, staring at the wet ring on the table made by his whisky glass.
    ‘They said? Who said?’ Bleck asked.
    ‘That’s neither here nor there. We’re wasting time,’ the girl said. ‘I asked around because I had to be sure I was coming to the right outfit, but it seems I could have made a mistake. If I have, then I’ll try elsewhere.’
    Bleck lit a cigarette while he stared at her.
    ‘Well, you’ve certainly picked the toughest end of the job if you’re the one who’s going to lie in the road. Was that your idea?’
    ‘Of course.’
    ‘Let’s look at what you are taking on. You’ll be lying in the middle of the road. You’ll have a gun under you. When the guard comes up to you you’ll stick the gun in his face, correct?’
    She nodded.
    ‘It could be rugged,’ Bleck said. ‘Two things could happen: either the guard tosses up his hands and quits or else he won’t take you seriously and makes a grab at your gun. From what I hear about this guy, he won’t give up. He’ll make a grab at your gun. Then what?’
    The girl let smoke drift down her nostrils.
    ‘This is a million dollar take,’ she said in a cold, expressionless voice. ‘If he makes a grab at the gun, he’ll get shot.’
    Gypo took out his handkerchief and wiped his face. The tip of his tongue moved over his lips as he looked uneasily