"I'll tell you why I'd rather wait," I said. "I was told to. And the guy who told me wasn't talking to exercise his lungs."
"W-what do-" Her eyes shifted nervously. "I don't see what difference it makes if-"
"I told you. I spelled it out for you."
"Well, it doesn't make any difference! I don't care what anyone says. We can do it now just as well as not."
"All right. It doesn't make any difference," I said. "You said it doesn't, so that settles that."
She looked at me sullenly. I reached across her to the reading stand and got a cigarette lighted.
I let the match burn until the flame was almost to my finger tips. Then I dropped it, squarely between her breasts.
"Oooof!" She slapped and brushed at the match, stifling the instinctive scream into a gasp. "Y-you!" she whispered. "Wwhy did you-?"
"That's the way acid feels," I said. "Just a little like that. I imagine they'd start there and work up."
"B-but I-I haven't-"
"You're in with me. If I get it, you get it. Only you'd be a lot more interesting to work on."
That was wrong, to throw that kind of scare into her. I shouldn't make her think she had nothing to lose by pulling a doublecross. But… well, you see? For all I knew, she was already pulling one. Or on the point of doing it. And if I could make her see what it would cost her…
"You're sure about it?" I said. "You didn't misunderstand him, Fay? If you did, you'd better tell me."
"I-I-" She hesitated. "W-well, maybe I-"
"No lies. If that's the way it is I've got to know."
Her head moved shakily. "T-that's the way it is."
"I see," I said.
"I-I'll talk to him, Carl! I'll rn-make him-he'll listen to me. I'll try to make him change his mind."
"You talk him into it," I said. "Then you try to talk him out of it. Huh-uh, baby. You're not that good."
"B-but I-what makes you think I-?"
"Don't kid me," I said. "How was it supposed to be, anyway? Jake's a nice boy, so they give him plenty of privileges in the jug, huh? He'll be safe and you can go right on seeing each other, and he won't be missing a thing. Is that it?"
She bit her lip. "M-maybe he doesn't mean it, Carl. Maybe he knows I didn't intend to-"
"Maybe," I nodded. "Maybe a couple of times. But like you said he's got the idea, and he doesn't let go of his ideas."
"B-but if… Oh, Carl, honey! W-what will they-?"
"Nothing," I said, and I lay down again and pulled her into my arms. "I'll straighten it out. We should have waited, but as long as we can't-"
"You're sure it'll be all right? You're sure, Carl?"
"I'm sure," I lied. "I'll fix it up. After all,Jake could have got the idea by himself. They won't know that he didn't."
She sighed and relaxed a little. I kept on soothing her, telling her it would be all right, and after a while I got rid of her. She slipped back to her room.
I uncorked a pint I had, and sat on the edge of the bed drinking. It was around daylight when I went to sleep.
… I called The Man from a booth in that quiet little bar I'd found. He answered right away, and the first thing he asked me was where I was calling from. He said that was good, splendid, when I told him. And, dammit, it was; it was as good as I could do. So many drunks phone from bars that no one pays any attention to the calls.
But I knew he didn't think it was good. He didn't think I should be calling him at all.
He told me he'd call me back. I hung up and had a couple of drinks while he went to another phone.
"All right, Charlie-" his voice came over the wire again. "What's on your mind?"
"Our-that merchandise," I said. "It looks like it was going off the market. We'll have to act fast to get it."
"I don't understand," he said.
"You'd better speak plainly. I hardly think that our conversation can be completely camouflaged and comprehensible at the same time."
"All right," I said. "Jake's talking about going to jail until after the trial. I'm not sure whether he means it or not, but I thought I'd better not take any chances."
"You want to do it now, then. Soon."
"Well"-I hesitated-"I can't do it after he's in jail."
"That isn't what we agreed on, Charlie."
"I know," I said, "but I-"
"You said he'd been talking about it. To whom?"
"To Mrs. Winroy."
"I see. And does she still have your fullest confidence, Charlie? You'll recall, I believe, that I had some few small doubts about her myself."
"I think she's telling the truth," I said.
"Why does she say Jake's going to jail?"
"She doesn't say. Jake didn't tell her."
"Strange." He paused. "I find that slightly puzzling."
"Look," I said. "I know it doesn't seem right, but Jake's halfway off his rocker! He's running around in circles."
"A moment, please. Am I wrong or wasn't it Mrs. Winroy's job to keepJake available? You were very sure she could do that, weren't you? And now the opposite has happened."
"Yes, sir," I said.
"Why, Charlie?"
"I don't know," I said. "I don't know whether he's really going to do it."
He was silent for a long time. I'd about decided he'd hung up. Then, he laughed softly and said:
"You do whatever you think is necessary, Charlie. As soon as you think it's necessary."
"I know how you feel," I said. "I haven't been here very long, and… I know it would look better if I could have waited."
"Yes. And there's the matter of publicity, having the story kept alive for weeks. Or perhaps you've forgotten that in the press of your other affairs?"
"Look," I said. "Is it all right or not? I want to know."
He didn't answer me.
That time he had hung up.
I picked up my books off the bar and went on to school. Cursing Fay, but not putting much heart into it. It was my fault for bringing her into the deal.
The Man hadn't wanted her in. If she hadn't been in andJake had got this jail idea on his own, I wouldn't have been held responsible. As it was…
Well, a lot depended on how things worked out. If it all went off all right they'd go easy on me. No money, of course. Or, if I had the guts and was stupid enough to ask for money, a few bills and a beating. They'd leave me here-that would be my payoff. I'd be left here to rot, with no dough but the little I had and no way I could get any more. Just barely scraping by on some cheap job, as long as I could hold a job and then…
The Man would get a kick out of that. Hell-the hell-he knew you didn't have to dig for it, too.
And if the job didn't go right…
It didn't make much difference. I couldn't win.