Lay Her Among The Lilies

The nerve was jumping like a frog under her skin. “I think it must be in my bag.”

The bag was lying in one of the armchairs. She moved towards it, but I beat her to it.

“It’s all right,” I said. “I’ll get it. You sit down and take it easy.”

I picked up the bag and slid back the clip.

“Don’t open it, Malloy!”

I turned quickly.

Manfred Willet stood in the open casement doorway. He had an automatic in his hand and

it was pointed at me.

V

Maureen cried shrilly. “You fool! Why didn’t you wait? He was going to do it! You stupid,

brainless fool!”

Willet’s cold eyes shifted from me to her.

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“Of course he wasn’t going to do it,” he said curtly. “He wanted your gun. Now, be quiet,

and let me handle this.”

She stiffened and swung round on me. There was a feverish glitter in her dark eyes.

“Weren’t you going to do it?” she demanded. “Weren’t you?”

I shook my head.

“No,” I said, and smiled at her.

“This has gone far enough,” Willet said, and advanced into the room. “Sit down,” he went

on to me. “I want to talk to you. And you sit down, too.” This to Maureen.

I sat down, but she didn’t. She stood motionless, staring at Willet, her sharp little teeth

gnawing at her thumb.

“Sit down!” he said, and turned the gun on her. “You’re as crazy as your mother. It’s time

you were put under control.”

She smiled then, and wandered over to the armchair in which her bag had been lying. She

sat down and crossed her lees and went on biting her thumb.

Willet stood in front of the empty fireplace. He held the gun level with his waist and

pointing between Maureen and me. There was a gaunt, worried look about his face, and his

eyes kept shifting from her to me.

“Where’s Janet?” he asked.

As Maureen didn’t say anything, I jerked my thumb to the door opposite the casement

window.

“She says she’s in there.”

“Is she all right?”

“As far as I know.”

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He relaxed slightly, but didn’t lower the gun.

“Do you realize there is still a lot of money to be made out of this set-up if you throw in

with me?” he said. “We can still get it under control. Where I went wrong was to let her have

so much freedom. I didn’t think she was quite so dangerous. I knew she was unbalanced. Her

mother was. But I thought they were harmless. I would have acted sooner, but Sherrill

blocked me. Now he’s dead it’ll be easy. You are the only obstacle now. Will you take fifty

thousand and keep your mouth shut?”

I raised my eyebrows.

“She’s just offered me a million.”

He made an impatient gesture.

“Look, this is a business proposition. Don’t let’s waste time. She hasn’t a million. She

wouldn’t have given you anything even if she had anything to give. She’s not in the position

to collect the insurance on the Dream Ship. I am.”

“What’s going to happen to her?” I asked, and glanced across at Maureen who gave me a

blank empty look from blank, empty eyes.

“I’ll have her put in a home. She has no alternative unless she wants to be handed over to

the police and prosecuted for murder,” Willet said, speaking softly and rapidly. “It can all be

arranged quietly. Janet isn’t likely to make trouble. I can persuade her to do what I say. She

will have the Trust money. You and I will have the insurance on the Dream Ship.”

“Just let me get this straight,” I said. “Did you hatch this little plot from the beginning?”

“We needn’t go into that,” he said curtly.

“It was his idea,” Maureen said. “All along it’s been his idea. He’s been gambling with the

Trust. Janet found out. It was he who persuaded mother to lock Janet up in the sanatorium. If

it hadn’t been for Douglas, he would have had me locked up, too.”

“Be quiet!” Willet snapped, and his face hardened.

“I guessed it was something like that,” I said. “Someone to do with the Trust had to be in

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on it. I began to wonder about you when you were reluctant to report to the other Trustees.

Then, when Janet was taken from my secretary’s apartment, I knew. No one except you and

me and Paula knew Janet was there.”

“What does it matter?” he said impatiently. “If it hadn’t been for Sherrill and this mad

woman it would have worked. But I don’t stand for murder. As soon as they started that game

I made up my mind to stop her. And she can be stopped. Are you coming in with me? I’ll

split the insurance money with you fifty-fifty.”

“Suppose I don’t?”

“I’m ready for a get-away,” he said. “I don’t want to go, but I will if I have to. I’ll have to

keep you both here until I collect the insurance. It won’t be easy, but it can be done. But if

you’re smart, you’ll come in with me.”

I looked at Maureen.

“Haven’t you anything to say to all this?”

“There’s nothing she can say,” Willet said impatiently.

“She either goes into a home or to jail. She’s too dangerous to be left free.”

I ignored him and said again, “Isn’t there anything you want to say?”

She smiled then, a tight, hard little smile.

“No; but there’s something I’m going to do.”

She must have had the gun wedged down the side of the chair all the time. The shot

sounded like a thunderclap. The gun-flash set fire to the loose cover of the chair.

Willet dropped his gun and took two unsteady steps forward, his hands clutching at his

chest. I saw him fold at the knees, then I threw myself out of my chair across the narrow

space that divided my chair from hers. I clutched her wrist as the gun came round in my

direction. It went off and I felt the gun-flash burn the side of my neck. She and I and the chair

went crashing to the floor. I wrenched the gun out of her hand, gave her a hard shove, and

scrambled to my feet.

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“Okay, okay; take it easy,” Mifflin said from the casement windows, and Jack Kerman and

he came into the room.

“You all right, Vic?” Kerman asked.

“Yeah; did you hear all that?”

“We heard,” Mifflin said. “Is he hurt bad?” And he started towards Willet.

“Watch her!” I shouted and jumped forward.

Maureen had made a dart towards the casement window. I made a grab at her, but she was

too quick. She ran out on to the verandah and down the terrace steps.

“He’s dead,” I heard Mifflin say in disgust as Kerman and I ran out after her.

We reached the first terrace as she reached the fourth. I grabbed Kerman and held him

back.

“Let Mifflin go after her if he wants her,” he said.

Mifflin came thudding down the terrace steps to join us.

“Where’s she gone?” he demanded.

I pointed.

She was running well, and already had reached the lowest terrace. Mifflin started after her;

then stopped. She ran straight towards the cliff edge, and she was still running when she went