They left the apartment and the building. Trent had a black coupe parked at the curb nearby. “The Boston bag’s in the luggage compartment, but we might as well leave it there until we eat breakfast. Where do you usually eat around here?”
“There’s a little place near Highland and Sunset.”
Trent frowned, then shook his head. “Get in and we’ll eat at some restaurant where neither of us is known.”
They got into the car and Trent drove carefully to Wilshire Boulevard, where they found a small restaurant. They had a leisurely breakfast and when they came out, Trent looked at his watch.
“Nine-ten; where do you keep your car?”
“Sometimes in the garage behind the apartment, sometimes I leave it all night out on the street. That’s where it is now.”
“Move it.” Trent frowned. “I’ll be picking you up outside the bank, but I’ll drop you afterwards, so you can get down to your job at a reasonable time.”
“Ten-thirty isn’t reasonable.”
“You’ve been late other mornings. You overslept.”
They got back into Trent’s car and drove down Highland Avenue to within a short distance of Fountain. There Trent pulled up to the curb.
He took the two safety deposit box keys from his pocket. “Here are the keys. You’ve got almost forty minutes to move your car and get to the bank before it opens at ten o’clock. Faraday’ll be there, but don’t speak to him or show any sign of recognition.”
They got out of the car and Trent opened the luggage compartment in the rear. He took out a small Boston bag and handed it to Tommy. The bag was quite heavy.
Tommy nodded and walked off. At the corner of Fountain he looked back. Trent was still standing on the curb beside his car. Tommy turned right into Fountain and walked swiftly to Las Palmas and located his car near the apartment.
He got in and deposited the Boston bag on the seat. Then he looked into the rear vision mirror, stooped forward, and groped under the seat. His fingers touched a thick Manila envelope and fished it out He opened the Boston bag quickly and dropped the envelope into it. Then he started the motor and drove carelessly up Las Palmas to Sunset.
He turned right on Sunset, went a few blocks, then made another turn on Cahuenga. Crossing Santa Monica he found a long stretch of curbing vacant of cars and parked there.
Carrying the Boston bag he walked back to Santa Monica. A bus was coming along and he signaled it. Climbing aboard he rode to Hollywood Boulevard and there, descending, started walking toward Highland Avenue, several blocks away.
It was fifteen minutes to ten and he sauntered along easily, so that he reached the bank at three minutes to ten. A half dozen people were standing outside the door, waiting for the bank to open. One of them was Earl Faraday, who stood at the corner of the building, reading a newspaper. He paid no attention to Tommy.
Tommy took up a stand in front of the double glass doors and, looking over the street, began whistling softly. A minute passed. Inside the bank employees moved around, taking up their positions in the tellers’ compartments.
Tommy looked over his shoulder into the bank and saw a uniformed bank guard come up to the door. He turned casually.
Inside the bank, the guard looked at the wall clock and took up a post by the doors. The moments ticked away and finally the guard, with a last look at the wall clock, unlatched the glass doors.
Tommy pushed open the door and was the first customer in the bank. He headed straight for the Safety Deposit window. He set the Boston bag on the counter at his elbow and reached for the pad of blanks.
“Good morning, Mr. Dancer,” the attendant said to him.
Tommy winced a little at the use of his name. “Uh, good morning.” Then he added somewhat lamely: “I keep finding things at home to put in my box.”
He pushed the pad to her and she tore off the slip and stamped it in the timing device. The door buzzer whirred and Tommy followed her into the Safety Deposit vault. Just as he went inside, he shot a glance over his shoulder and saw Earl Faraday stepping up to the Safety Deposit window. He exhaled softly in relief.
The custodian of the vault opened Tommy’s box and left the vault. Tommy took out his box, carried it to the high table in the room and opened the Boston bag. He took from it a canvas sack filled with silver dollars, a Manila envelope in which coins rattled and a small pasteboard box. The thick envelope he had taken from under the seat of his car he left in the bag. He put the other objects in the box, returned it to the compartment and closed the door. Then he took the Boston bag and left the vault.
Earl Faraday was still at the Safety Deposit window. He was saying: “That seems like a lot of money, but I’ll think it over and come back in a day or two.”
Tommy walked through the bank, aware that Earl Faraday was directly behind him.
