“Let me tell you what would have been ‘good to know.’” She paused, but only for a second. “When you came to see me before the cops showed up, you didn’t tell me that Hank was dead. But according to what Shaw told me just a bit ago you sure as hell knew he was dead. Now, that would have been good to know, Archer.” She bent down and slapped him hard across the face. The blow stung and reddened his skin and made his eyes water a bit. But Archer didn’t move, he didn’t say anything. When she raised her hand to strike him again, he assumed no defensive posture, did nothing to stop her.
She looked down at him in some confusion. Then, when it became apparent that Archer was not going to defend himself or fight back, this seemed to take all the energy from her. She dropped her hand and slumped down next to him.
“I should have told you, Jackie,” Archer said quietly. “I don’t know why I didn’t. No, maybe I do. I trusted a gal once and ended up in prison because of it. When I found Pittleman dead, I panicked. I figured the fewer people who knew, the better for me. It was just all about surviving, I guess. And not going back to prison.” He fell silent and Jackie said nothing for a few seconds.
“I don’t blame you for not trusting, Archer. It’s not like I trust easily or at all. And it’s not like I’ve been an open book with you.”
“So where do we go from here?” asked Archer.
“You could start with telling me about Hank. Shaw told me what you told him, but I’d prefer to hear it from you.”
Archer nodded, marshalled his thoughts, and said, “I woke up, got dressed, went out in the hall, passed by the door, and saw that it was open. I went inside.”
“Why?”
“I thought you might be in there with him. You had left my bed,” he added.
“Oh, good Lord, Archer, are all men as dense as you when it comes to that?”
“Probably. Anyway, I saw the man was dead. So, I hightailed it out of there.”
“And you never raised the alarm? Never went for help?” Her eyes flashed with suspicion.
“Help? For what? I’ve seen a lot of dead men in my time, Jackie. No way you were breathing life back into Hank Pittleman.”
“Still, you left him like that, Archer? And now Shaw thinks you killed him.”
“Did he say that directly?”
“He didn’t have to, I could tell from his questions.” She paused. “Did you kill him? Come on, tell me the truth.”
In his agitation Archer stood and paced. “What reason would I have for killing him?”
“Maybe because you didn’t like me being with him like you just suggested.”
Archer ceased his pacing. “Don’t get me wrong, Jackie. You’re a wonderful gal and all, but to kill a man I would at least have to know you for longer than a few days and sleep with you more than twice.”
“So you say.”
“So you really think I did it? Killed a man?”
“It doesn’t matter a whit what I think, Archer. It matters what Shaw thinks.”
“It matters to me what you think.”
“I know you can kill because you did that in the war.” She paused as he stared her down. “But I guess I don’t see you killing Hank, no.”
“You guess? Well, thanks for nothing.”
She gripped his hand and pulled him down on the sofa next to her.
“Don’t be that way, okay? You say you don’t really know me? Well, that works both ways, Archer, because I don’t really know you. You can see that, right?”
Archer didn’t want to see that, but what she said made good sense.
She said, “Hell, maybe somebody robbed him. Shaw wouldn’t tell me if Hank’s wad of cash was missing. He was always waving that around. Everyone knew he carried a lot of money. Stupid thing for him to do. But that could be it.”
Archer knew it wasn’t robbery. He put his hat back on. “Okay, well, thank you.”
“For what?”
“For sort of believing me. You may be the only one in Poca City who does.”
“You still going to try to collect that debt?”
“I need the money. I don’t want to bash hog brains in.”
She looked at him in confusion. “Hog brains?”
“Never mind.”
“Now, when you’re ready to head out to my daddy’s place, let me know. I’ll give you the keys to the Nash. It’s over in a covered