I Bury the Living Page #4

and they understand completely.

It's all fixed, son.

The situation's changed.

Until this thing's cleared up,

I'm not about to resign.

Oh.

Now, will you tell the others?

Ask them to meet me here

in my office,

7:
30 tonight.

It's awfully short notice.

The committee can't just

ignore what's happened.

I guess you're right.

Darling.

Ann, I'm sorry.

- I didn't mean to snap at you.

- Oh.

Now, why can't you resign?

Well, because...

Well, possibly something real, unreal...

I don't know...

is waiting to kill one of us

every time I jab a

black pin into that map.

Bob, if you're talking

about Henry Trowbridge,

the poor man died

of a heart attack.

Heart disease is the country's

number one killer.

Maybe not in Milford.

Oh, Bob, you can't

mean that that map

is literally killing people?

No, Ann, maybe it isn't the map.

Well...

What about the other day?

You saw me, you heard me...

"Lunchtime, Annie.

I want you. I need you."

Bob, I was obviously

trying to bring a little...

a little romance

into our very dull

and dismal lives.

No, Ann, don't try

to deny it now.

I do deny it!

Bob, I love you. I'm...

I'm not in any sort of

occult thrall to you.

Hey.

Can't you take a joke?

All right, then, I was lying, too.

Does that bring you

back to reality again?

Bob?

I think we better

take advantage of...

of those plane tickets.

George's Mr. Sanford

could be best man.

The offer's awfully attractive.

I love you so much.

Ann, if you're gonna cry,

do it someplace else.

Now, Bob, it's real simple.

We're willing to play ball with you.

If you want to remain

chairman of this committee,

we wouldn't think of

trying to dissuade you,

because we have

confidence in you.

Full confidence.

All the confidence

in the world, Bob.

Now, all we want before

we break this up

is a promise from you,

Mr. chairman,

that before you turn in tonight,

you'll go out to the cemetery...

Now, let me finish.

You'll go out there

and change my white pin to black,

and Charlie's and George's.

Just as simple as that.

And then go home and go right to bed.

No, sir.

You're not the committee, Bob.

You're only our chairman with a duty

to carry out the will of the majority.

We feel that you should do as Bill said,

because it'll put an end to this business

once and for all.

Otherwise, we'll

do the resigning

right here and now.

Well, let me sleep on it.

Let's all sleep on it.

I don't think you people realize

what might be involved here.

Motion defeated, tonight.

Well, your devotion

to the principle of majority rule

moves me deeply.

Okay.

Then, good night.

All right, Charlie.

Here goes nothing, George.

Who is it?

It's me, Bobby. Open up.

I seen your car lights

from my window

driving through the gate,

so I come a runnin'.

You needn't have

bothered, McKee.

You put in a full day already.

Now, I'll see you tomorrow.

No, no, no.

B... Bobby, please,

Bobby, listen.

When you locked and bolted this place,

I said to myself,

"Now, there's a man

who knows his business."

That's what I said.

"He may not know everything,

what's behind it,

but he knows when

a thing's to be fooled with

and when it's to be left alone."

"There's nothing to fear

with a man like Bobby Kraft

at the wheel,"

that's what I said.

Well, that's fine.

Now, you run along home

and don't worry about a thing.

Nothing's going

to happen to you.

N... no. Please.

Bobby, lock this door again

and send yourself home,

or else, who can answer

for what may happen

to the whole miserable lot of us?

It'll have to be open sometime.

If I don't do it, they'll get

somebody who will.

Now, good night, Andy.

Good night.

Andy, go home.

[Picks up phone.]

Hello?

Is this the Immortal Hills Cemetery?

What do you want, Jess?

Bob?

Why didn't you answer me?

I've been looking

all over town for you.

I'm calling from your place now.

What are you doing

at the cottage again?

Haven't you had

enough for one day?

Jess, I think I've done

something terribly wrong.

For the love of Pete,

what are you talking about?

Well, we had a meeting

of the cemetery committee

after closing tonight.

Bill Honegger, Charlie Bates,

and George, everybody.

And they voted to make me

come out here to the cemetery

and stick black pins in the map

for each of them,

just like it was some

kid's nightmare.

So I did it.

Jess, there's a black

pin in that map

for Charlie Bates and Bill Honegger

and George.

And if anything happens to them,

to any of them,

it's my fault, nobody else's.

Nothing's going to happen

to them, Bob.

As a matter of fact, I think

they did you a big favor.

I've never heard

of a coincidence

involving three people

dying all at once.

By tomorrow at this time,

this whole big worry of yours

will be nothing

but a lot of hot air.

Yeah.

Well, I hope you're right, Jess.

I guess there's

nothing for me to do

but see this thing through, huh?

I think I'll check on 'em myself and see...

Bob?

Bob?

Honegger, Bates, and George.

Six-six-six.

Desk.

Lieutenant Clayborne, please.

Homicide.

This is homicide,

Sergeant Greer.

Uh, Lieutenant Clayborne, please.

Not here. Can I take a message?

Sergeant, uh, this is, uh, Bob Kraft,

Kraft Department Store.

Oh, sure. Wait a second.

Wait a second, and I'll check.

Uh, Mr. Kraft, are you

calling on police matters,

or is it just

something personal?

Well, uh, it's a little

bit of both, sergeant.

Try him at Adams,

one-three-one-one.

Thank you.

Adams, one-three-one-one.

Adams, one-three-one-one.

Adams, one-three-one-one.

Bill Honegger, Adams,

one-three-one-one.

Adams one...

- Desk.

- Get me Homicide.

Yes, sir.

Homicide.

This is Bob Kraft speaking.

I can't get through to that Adams number.

So?

Clayborne's at that number,

and it's imperative

that I speak to him right now.

Well, sir, uh...

Just a second, sir.

I think he's reporting

in on another line.

I've been trying get you,

but your lines are busy.

Hang up, and I'll call

you back right away.

Something happened

to Bill Honegger?

Hello?

It's Jess, Bob.

Jess, uh, I'm expecting

a call from Clayborne.

He, uh... hang up, call me

back in 10 minutes.

Clayborne's with me.

Let me talk to him.

He's not here now. He's...

What's wrong, Jess?

Bill Honegger's dead.

Soon as I found out,

I routed Clayborne

out of the sack

and filled him in

on the whole wild story.

We were over at Honegger's

in 10 minutes

with two squad cars detailed

to cover Charlie Bates

and your uncle.

How did Honegger get it?

He didn't.

That's the trouble.

What?

Poor guy just dropped dead.

Nothing out of the ordinary?

Bates?

Charlie Bates?

They found him in his apartment.

Say it.

No homicide.

Just stopped breathing.

George?

George, yeah...

I called and told him

about Honegger

before I left for

Clayborne's.

By the time

the police got there,

George had already left.

Oh, they'll find him, Bob.

Don't worry.

I'll be waiting for word about George.

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