"But it was already stolen."
"That's right."
"And nobody knows about it. George doesn't suspect. Nobody knows about
it but you and me, Tal."
"There's another one who knows about it. A man named Earl Fitzmartin.
He was in the camp, too. He didn't know about the name Cindy. Now he
does. He's smart. He may be able to trace the name to you."
"What's he like?"
"He's smart and he's vicious."
"So are a lot of my friends."
"I don't think they're like Fitz. I don't think you could go with Fitz
and find it and come back from wherever you went to find it, that is if
it was a quiet place and he could put you where he dug up the money."
"Like that?"
"I think so. I think there's something wrong in his head. I don't think
he's very much like other people."
"Can you and I--can we trust each other, Tal?"
"I think we can." We shook hands with formal ceremony.
She looked at me quizzically. "How about you, Tal? Why are you after
the money?"
"Like they say about climbing mountains. Because it's there."
"What will it mean to you?"
"I don't know. I have to find it first."
"And then all of a sudden it's going to be some kind of an answer to
everything?"
"Maybe."
"What fouled you up, Tal? What broke your wagon?"
"I don't know."
"I can place most people. I can't quite place you. You look like one
type. You know. Played ball in school. Sells bonds or something.
Working up to a ranch-type house, a Brooks wardrobe, and some day
winter vacations in Bermuda after the kids are in college. You look
like that all except the eyes. And the eyes don't look like that at
all."
"What do they look like?"
"The eyes on the horse that knows they're going to shoot him because he
was clumsy and busted his leg."
"When do we go after the money?"
She stepped to the kitchen door and looked at the clock. "You'd feel
better if we stayed together until we get it, wouldn't you?"
"I guess I would. But it isn't essential."
"Your faith is touching. Didn't the police give you the word?"
"They said something about a cute variation of the badger game."
"It was very cute. They couldn't convict. And it was very dishonest,
Tal. But it wasn't a case of fleecing the innocent. It was pulled on
some citizens who were trying to make a dishonest buck. Like this. I
tell them my boy friend is on one of the wheels at the Aztec. I tell
the sucker the wheel is gimmicked. My boy friend is sore at the house.
The sucker has to have two or three thousand he wants trebled. I say I
can't go in with him. I give him a password to tell the boy friend. So
they let him win six or seven thousand. He comes here with the money.
The boy friend is to show up later. But when the boy friend shows up
he is with a very evil-looking citizen who holds a gun on him. Gun
has silencer. Evil type shoots boy friend. With a blank. Boy friend
groans and dies. Evil type turns gun on sucker. Takes the house money
back, plus his two or three, and one time twelve, thousand. Sucker begs
for his life. Reluctantly granted. Told to leave town fast. He does.
He doesn't want to be mixed up in any murder. House money goes back
to house. I get a cut of the take. I love acting. You should see me
tremble and faint."
"Suppose he doesn't come back here with the money?"
"They always have. They like to win the money and the girl too. They
think it's like the movies. Now will you trust me out of your sight?"
"I'll have to, won't I?"
"I guess that's it. You'll have to." She smiled lazily.
"I have some errands. You can wait here. I'm going places where you
can't go. You can wait here or you can meet me here. It's going to take
three or four hours. By then it's going to be too late to get to the
money today. We can go after it tomorrow morning."
"How are we going to divide it up?"
"Shouldn't we count it first?"
"But after we count it?"
She came toward me and put her hands on my shoulders. "Maybe we won't
divide it up, Tal. Maybe we won't squirrel it away. It's free money.
Maybe we'll just put it in the pot and spend it as we need it until
it's all gone. Maybe we'll see how far we can distribute it. We could
spread it from Acapulco to Paris. Then maybe we won't be restless any
more. It would buy some drinks to Timmy. In some nice places."