"Somebody mentioned her. I remembered the name. Is she nice?"
"She's damn good looking. But she's crazy. Crazy as hell. She doesn't
grab me a bit."
"How come you think she's crazy, Donna?"
"Well, dig this. There's some important guys around here. Like Eddie
Larch that owns this place. Guys like Eddie. They really got a yen for
her. A deal like that you can fall into. Everything laid on. Apartment,
car, clothes. They'd set you up. You know? Then all you got to do is be
nice and take it easy. Not Toni. She strictly wants something going on
all the time. She wants to lone wolf it. And she keeps getting in jams
that way. My Christ, you'd think she liked people or something. If I
looked like her, I'd parlay that right into stocks and bonds, believe
you me. But that Toni. She does as she damn pleases. She don't like
you, you're dead. So you can have hundred-dollar bills out to here,
you're still dead. She wouldn't spit if your hair was on fire. That's
how she's crazy, man."
"I think I see what you mean."
Donna sensed she'd made some sort of tactical error. She smiled broadly
and said, "Don't take me serious, that about parlaying it into stocks
and bonds. I'm not that type girl. I like a few laughs. I like to get
around. My boy friend is away and I got lonesome tonight so I thought
I'd take a look around, see what's going on. You know how it is.
Lonesome? Sure you wouldn't want to see if you're lucky?"
"I guess not."
She pursed her lips and studied her half-empty glass. She tried the
next gambit. "You know, at a buck a drink, they must make a hell of a
lot out of a bottle. If a person was smart they'd do their drinking at
home. It would be a lot cheaper."
"It certainly would."
"You know, if we could get a bottle, I got glasses and ice at my place.
We could take our hair down and put our feet up and watch the teevee
and have a ball. What do you say?"
"I don't think so."
"My boy friend won't be back in town until next weekend. I got my own
place."
"No thanks, Donna."
"What _do_ you want to do?"
"Nothing in particular."
"Joey," she called to the bartender. "What kind of place you running?
You got a dead customer sitting here. He's giving me the creepers." She
moved over two stools and wouldn't look at me. Within fifteen minutes
two heavy, smiling men came in. Soon she was in conversation with them.
The three of them went upstairs together to try the tables. I hoped her
luck was good.
After she was gone the bartender came over and said in a low voice,
"The boss gives me the word to keep her out of here. She used to be a
lot better looking. Now she gets drunk and nasty. But when he isn't
around, I let her stay. What the hell. It's old times, like they say.
You know how it is."
"Sure."
"She can sure get nasty. And she won't make any time with that pair.
Did you dig those country-style threads? A small beer says they don't
have sixteen bucks between the pair of them. She's losing her touch.
Last year this time she'd have cut off their water before they said
word one. Old Donna's on the skids."
"What will she do?"
He shrugged. "I don't know where they go. She can always sign for a
tour." He winked. "See the world. See all the ports in S.A. I don't
know where they go."
I wandered back to the Aztec. My bartending friend told me that Toni
Raselle was out in the casino in back, escorted by a general. He said
she was wearing a white blouse and dark-red skirt, and had an evening
scarf that matched her skirt.
I tipped him and went out into the casino. I bought chips through
the wicket just inside the door. The large room was crowded. It was
brightly, whitely lighted, like an operating amphitheater. The light
made the faces of the people look sick. The cards, the chips, the dice,
the wheels were all in pitiless illumination. I spotted the uniform
across the room. The general was big-chested. He held his face as
though he thought he resembled MacArthur. He did a little. But not
enough. He had three rows of discreetly faded ribbons.
Antoinette Rasi stood beside him and laughed up at him. It was the
face of the high-school picture, matured, not as sullen. Her tumbled
hair was like raw blue-black silk. She held her folded _rebozo_ over
her arm. Her brown shoulders were bare. She was warm within her skin,
moving like molten honey, teeth white in laughter against her tan face.
Wide across the cheekbones. Eyes deep set. Nose broad at the bridge.
Feral look. Gypsy look. A mature woman so alive she made the others in
the room look two dimensional, as though they had been carefully placed
there to provide their drab contrast to Toni's look of greedy life.
They were at the roulette table. I stood across the table. The general
was solemnly playing the black. When he lost Toni laughed at him. He
didn't particularly like it, but there wasn't much he could do about
it. I had twenty one-dollar chips. I began playing twenty-nine, and
watching her instead of the wheel. I won thirty-six dollars on the
fourth spin. I began to play the red, and kept winning. Toni became
aware of my interest in her. So did the general. He gave me a mental
command to throw myself on my sword. Toni gave me a few irritated
glances.
Finally the general had to go back to the window to buy more chips.
They didn't sell them at the table. As soon as he was gone I said,
"Antoinette?"