Charles Williams 1954-A Touch of Death(6)

“Because I like your company. I adore you, and
wouldn’t have you leave me for anything.”
“They’re no good to you alone.”
“I know. But they are to you. And if we get clear of
here tonight you might suddenly decide you didn’t
need any more help—not at today’s prices. I can’t
watch you all the time. I have to sleep occasionally,
and I don’t intend to follow you to the John. So just
to remove the temptation, I’ll take charge of them.”
Her eyes met mine coolly, not quite defying me,
but just testing me and watching.
“There’s an easy way,” I said, “and a hard way.
How do you want it?”
She took the three keys out of her purse and put
them in my hand.

Charles Williams 1954-A Touch of Death(5)

finally stopped for breath, she said, “You are a
vulgar little gutter rat, aren’t you?”
But the blonde was finished. She could only stare
silently. She drew her hands across her face and
shuddered, and at last she turned to me.
“What are you going to do with her?” she asked.
“Never mind,” I said.
“Let me have the gun,” she begged. “Just let me
have it for five seconds. Let me kill her. I’ll give it
back to you. You can kill me, or turn me over to the
police, but just let me have it.”
“Relax,” I said. “You’ll get ulcers.”
“What are you going to do with her?”

Charles Williams 1954-A Touch of Death(4)

A Touch of Death — 61
“Save me from what?” she asked coldly.
I shook my head and took my hands off her arms
to light a cigarette. “Has your car got a radio in it?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I’ll tell you the easy way to find out if I’m telling
the truth. Trying to go back to town is the hard way,
and there’s only one to a customer. In about an hour
there should be some more news. We’ll listen to it.”
“Maybe there’s some on now,” she said. She
picked up her purse and started toward the door.
She had a good start before I realized what she was
up to.
I jumped after her. By the time I reached the door
she had run down off the porch and was standing in
the open, fumbling in the purse for her keys and
looking around for the car.
“Wait!” I yelled. She paid no attention.
She swung her face around and saw the shed at
the side of the house. The car had to be in there. She
whirled, ran one step toward it, and then it
happened.

Charles Williams 1954-A Touch of Death(3)

A Touch of Death — 40
was a fifth, a little over half full. I shoved it in my
coat pocket and picked her up again. She was still
out like a hung jury, and I knew she would be for
hours. As I went out through the kitchen I grabbed
up the purse.
I put her on the back seat of the car and switched
on the flashlight long enough to take a look at the
keys. I sorted out a couple that looked promising,
cut the light, and went back outside, feeling for the
lock of the overhead door. The first key did the trick.
I boosted the door up slowly and got back in the car.
Picking out the ignition key by feel, I started the
Caddy and backed it out onto the driveway. The
drive was white gravel and I could see it all right, all
the way out to the big gates in front. I swung out
onto the street and felt my way very slowly for
another hundred yards. Then I switched on the
headlights and goosed the two hundred horses.
Housebreaking, I thought. Auto theft. Abduction.