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Back We Were Killers Once Save as PDF
Chapters (65)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty–one
  25. Twenty–two
  26. Twenty–three
  27. Twenty–four
  28. Twenty–five
  29. Twenty–six
  30. Twenty–seven
  31. Twenty–eight
  32. Twenty–nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty–one
  35. Thirty–two
  36. Thirty–three
  37. Thirty–four
  38. Thirty–five
  39. Thirty–six
  40. Thirty–seven
  41. Thirty–eight
  42. Thirty–nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty–one
  45. Forty–two
  46. Forty–three
  47. Forty–four
  48. Forty–five
  49. Forty–six
  50. Forty–seven
  51. Forty–eight
  52. Forty–nine
  53. Fifty
  54. Fifty–one
  55. Fifty–two
  56. Fifty–three
  57. Fifty–four
  58. Fifty–five
  59. Fifty–six
  60. Fifty–seven
  61. Author’s Note
  62. Acknowledgments
  63. Also by Becky Masterman
  64. About the Author
  65. Newsletter Sign-up

Anyways, we drove up to the Clutter ranch after dark and parked within view of the place, waiting for the lights to go out. The kid was still in the back seat. He was humming that tune that he always hummed, very slowly, so that it sounded like something you would hear at a funeral ceremony. When Perry saw the house he lost his cool demeanor. He started knocking his back against the car seat as if he couldn’t wait to go on a carnival ride. I thought it was because he had never lived in a house that was so grand, and he hated anyone who did. I grew up poor, too, but live and let live, I always said. It wasn’t the Clutters’ fault if their father was better at making a living than Perry’s or mine was. This is how I thought, but I suppose no one will ever believe it.

There was a small porch on the side of the big house, with a door that we knew led to the room that Mr. Clutter used as an office. We could go in there and not take a chance of someone seeing us go in the front. It was perfect. Perry knew about locks, so he got us in. I kept a look-out while he went through all the drawers in a big desk. There was no money there. It would have been easy if there was money in the desk. I looked around for the safe that Floyd Wells said he had seen in the room, but I could not see it. I thought it might be in another part of the house, somewhere more private.

But we were surprised by Mr. Clutter who found us. You can imagine he was surprised, too. I was always the talker, so I took charge here. I told him to get up and open his safe, wherever it was.

I was the one holding the shotgun at this time, and you could tell it bothered Clutter, though he did not appear to be all that frightened of us.

Clutter said he did not have any money in the house, or not very much. He also said he did not own a safe. Clutter was actually very polite, and said he thought we could work this out, but I was getting very nervous. I had not been involved in a robbery up to this time. I thought it would all go much easier.

The kid, who had been standing by the door as if he was ready to bolt at a moment’s notice, yelled at me, what was Floyd Wells talking about a safe! He said he had seen the safe! There must be a safe!