He was surprised she was so relaxed, like people broke in her house in the middle of the night on a regular basis.
'Do you mind if I put something on? This thing itches,' Karen said. She didn't wait for permission; let the afghan slide off her shoulder onto the floor. She grabbed a robe off a hanger and slipped it on, tying the sash around her waist.
There was a framed sign hanging on the wall that read: 'Everybody's a Star at Lou Starr's World Famous Parthenon.' There was a photograph of a storefront and the word 'Parthenon' in neon surrounded by a silver border of stars. He said, 'What's that?'
'It's from Lou's restaurants,' Karen said. 'You get one when you eat there. Lou thinks it makes people feel special.'
'He make you feel special?' Judging by the angry look on her face he would've guessed, no. 'What the hell're those for?' He was staring at the wig stands, three of them on a shelf-two had salt-and-pepper hairpieces on them.
'They're Lou's.'
'No kidding. I thought they were yours.' He glanced at her and felt himself grin. He lifted one of the hairpieces off the stand and studied it. It looked like a furry little creature in his hands. He was going to try it on but didn't want to mess up his own hair. 'Is it real?'
'Yeah,' Karen said. 'It's hair from a fourteen-year-old Chinese girl.'
'Does he put it on, and get a yen for chop suey?' Bobby grinned big. He couldn't help it. He surprised himself sometimes.
'He has them custom-made in London,' Karen said. 'The same place Burt Reynolds gets his.'
Bobby said, 'Burt Reynolds wears a rug, come on?'
'Are you kidding,' Karen said, 'his hair looks like it was made by Karastan.'
'What's a custom rug cost these days?' Bobby said.
'They start at $700 and go up from there.'
'That's a lot of money to look like an idiot. Why's he have three?'
'They're all different lengths so it looks like his hair's growing,' Karen said.
'Where's the third one?' Bobby said, eyeing the blank wig stand.
'On his head,' Karen said.
'Duh,' Bobby said. How'd he miss that?
Lloyd was staring at a framed picture on the end table next to him. The guy across from him was in a safari outfit and there was a dead animal at his feet. Lloyd turned the frame toward him so he could see it. 'Look at you. What is that, a lion?' Lloyd put it back on the end table. 'What's a lion weigh?'
'Three fifty, four hundred,' Lou Starr said. 'This one went four twenty-five.'
He finally got the grouch's attention. 'Four twenty-five, whoa hoss, that's a big cat, ain't it?' Lloyd grinned at him. 'You were in Africa, right?'
'Botswana.'
'That's been a dream of mine,' Lloyd said. 'Get some sahibs to carry all the shit, go out every day and hunt. Smoke any of that homegrown they got over there?'
He stared at Lloyd. Maybe he didn't know what homegrown was. Lloyd was just trying to be nice to the guy, making conversation, trying to pass the time and he was being a real dickhead. 'Ever hunt whitetail?'
Lou Starr said, 'Uh-huh.'
He wasn't giving him much. 'You prefer a tree stand or a blind?'
'Who the fuck cares?'
'Ever got yourself a trophy buck?' Lloyd said. 'One that made book? I'm not talking about seeing it while you're up on a limb. I'm talking about nailing it, bringing it home.'
Lou Starr looked across the living room to the bedroom, glanced at his watch. 'That's it,' he said, standing now.
Lloyd aimed the. 45 at him. 'Don't be a dumbass. Sit down.'
He dropped back on the couch, covered his face in his hands. He had a huge diamond ring set in gold on his little finger. Lloyd hadn't noticed it before, too busy looking at other stuff. 'I like your ring,' Lloyd said. 'Always wanted one of those.'
'I got an idea,' Lou Starr said grinning. 'When you get out of prison, get yourself a job and start saving up.'
Bobby stared at a hanger-rack-ful of Lou's guayabera shirts: white and blue and yellow, reminding him of the shirts barbers wore, same style with the open collar and little vents on the tails. But these had a decorative quality to them and he imagined a roomful of short compact Latin men in the same kind of shirts, dancing and drinking wine.
Bobby turned and looked at her. 'What nationality is he?'
'Take a guess,' Karen said.
'Something Mediterranean,' he said. 'Italian or Sardinian.'
'I'll give you a hint,' Karen said. 'Lou's real name is Starvos Loutra.'
She was sitting in a chair now, chiseled legs visible, sticking out of the bottom of the robe.
'He doesn't have a brother named Spartacus, does he?' He smiled thinking he was funny and she smiled back telling him she did too. 'Beware of Greeks bearing gifts,' Bobby said, 'and don't bend over and pick up the soap. That exhausts my knowledge of Greek heritage.'
'I'm impressed,' Karen said. 'I can see you're a real scholar.'
Bobby said, 'Where's the money at?'
'What're you talking about?' Karen said.
'The $9,600 Lou won at the casino.'
Karen said, 'It's locked in the safe at one of his restaurants.'
'I'm not walking out of here empty-handed,' Bobby said.
'Do you want to make some real money?' Karen said. 'Two hundred fifty thousand, maybe more.'
'What do you think I just fell off the back of a turnip truck?
Do I look that dumb?' She stared at him and he wondered what she was thinking. 'Where's it at?'
'In a house in West Bloomfield,' Karen said.
'Whose house?'
'We can get into all that,' Karen said. 'Does this sound like something you might be interested in?'
A quarter mill and a shot at her, hell yes he was interested. But he didn't trust her. How could he? You didn't break into someone's house in the middle of the night and expect to get propositioned. He fixed his gaze on her and said, 'Are you scamming me?'
'No,' Karen said. 'I've been waiting for you.'
Chapter Two
The guy from the dressing room, who looked like he belonged to a fraternity, tied them back to back on the bed, grinning and winking at her while he did it, like they were buds. Lou started twisting and turning as soon as he left the room, trying to untie the ropes that bound them at the ankles, wrists and shoulders. He was pulling at the knots and the rope cutting into her. 'Lou,' Karen said, 'take it easy, will you? You're hurting me.'
'What do you want me to do, lay here till Carol and Betty come to clean?'
'Let me help you,' Karen said. 'If we work together, it'll be easier.'
'How do you know?' Lou said. 'Are you into bondage now like your freak sister?'
'Lou, don't take this out on me, okay?' Karen said. 'It isn't my fault.'
'How'd they know I won money?'
'Maybe they saw you cashing out.' Like it was a big mystery. Karen pressed the tip of a fingernail into the knot at her wrist, trying to loosen it.
