pair, who now had a girdle in one case and panties in the other down to the backs of their knees. Up went more dresses and slips as the first bare-bottomed duo dropped to the floor and stretched out. Another variety of underwear dropped and two more bare behinds popped into view, and then as the camera drew back slightly, three more.
All five plumped out attractively as their owners doubled up awkwardly and joined the first pair on the floor. The camera swept back and forth lingeringly over what appeared to be a field of nude buttocks of all shapes and sizes, the entire homogeneous fleshy expanse broken only by the intrusion of two garter belts and one angry-looking red pimple.
'You'll notice that although there's two good-lookin' young heads in the crowd the best-lookin' ass belongs to that woman on the left, who must be forty-five if she's a nickel,' Dahl said. 'You'd be surprised how often it turns out that way.'
I had been so intent upon the image upon the wall that Dahl's voice irritated me. It was an intrusion upon my concentration. In another instant the picture flickered slightly and then the wall went dark. I forced myself back in my chair, in which I had been crouched forward tensely.
'First time I've seen it myself,' Dahl said cheerfully, backing up the reel of film. 'Just got it back from the processor. I'm gettin' better at those inside shots. Anyone can shoot an orgy in a woodland glade, cousin, but it takes practice to get those interiors. Let's look at it again.'
I sat and watched the reappearance of the bare behinds upon the wall while I tried to analyze the effect the first viewing had had upon me. By nature I'm not the easiest individual to 'turn on' sexually. Most men have some one sexual totem pole which invariably accomplishes erection. It had never been that way with me. All my life I was never sure what was going to bring it about. Sometimes at embarrassing moments nothing brought it about.
That was why it had been so great for me with Hazel Andrews. After an initial fiasco, the big woman and I had hit it off in bed together in a manner I'd never experienced before. Over the years I'd become so hesitant making an effort with women for fear of something going wrong that Hazel had been an exhilarating experience.
Dahl was watching me as he disassembled the projector and put it back into his suitcase. 'Kind've got you, cousin?' he said shrewdly. 'Don't get shook. It gets to most.'
I had forgotten my Scotch until Dahl picked up his glass and took a swallow. 'These nudie movies,' I said after emulating him. 'Do they really have such an appeal to-'
'That's not a nudie,' he broke in. 'What you just saw, I mean. It's never a nudie till you see the broads' snatches. In the trade we call these 'sunsets.' Don't ask me where the name came from. All you show is a few boobs and butts. They're as far as you can go in tight-censorship areas. Then there's the nudies, which I don't bother with — after all, when you've seen a couple dozen bare asses you've seen 'em all-an' finally the ones I make, the exploitation movies.'
'Exploitation?'
'Yeah. A movie that tells a story but with a couple of zippy sex scenes in it that can be exploited in the ads. A nudie is just an ol' swimmin' hole background or some-thin' like that, and with a couple of recent Supreme Court decisions the market is openin' up. But hell, anyone can make a nudie.' His tone was scornful. 'A good exploitation movie is art, though. An' Dick Dahl makes the best.'
'Then why do you need to keep on…' I hesitated.
There was nothing shy about the movie maker. 'Why do I need to keep takin' banks to get up a fresh bankroll, you mean?' His grin was wry. 'Because I get carried away. I've lost money on my films because I couldn't get my best sex scenes past the censors in the big-money markets.'
'Then why not tone them down?'
He turned serious. 'Listen, cousin, when you make a movie you make it right, don't you?'
'Even if it loses money?'
'Even if it loses money. 'Course, a couple more court decisions like we been gettin' lately an' I figure I can reissue all my back films. They'd go right now if they had a European stamp on 'em. It's a hell of a note when hard-workin' American film makers are discriminated against.'
He sounded so injured I almost laughed. It wouldn't have helped our relationship, because he was in deadly earnest. 'I don't understand where you get your actors,' I said.
'No problem. I've got a notebook full of names. Two notebooks, actually. One with people workin' re'glar who moonlight in films, hopin' to make it big, an' one with volunteers for the blue stuff.'
'Volunteers?'
'Sure. You wouldn't believe the exhibitionists in this world. I always got more than I need. An' I can whistle up five eager chicks for every guy on my list. Somethin' about everyone she knows seein' her ballin' it in livin' color really turns on a certain type of tomato.' He took another swallow from his glass and changed the subject. 'What's the job look like so far?'
'Everything in the Schemer's blueprints has been right on the nose. Around the bank, anyway. In the next couple of days the three of us will check out the homes of the manager and assistant manager for arrival and departure times of the families. Wait a second and I'll get the file. I want you to look over the escape routes.'
Halfway across the room I remembered something and detoured to the telephone. One reason I had selected the Carousel was because it had direct phones in each room that didn't go through a switchboard. 'There's one thing in the Schemer's notes I want more information on,' I explained to Dahl as I dialed the Schemer's number in Washington, D.C. 'Schemer? Earl Drake. Call me right back at the motel, will you?'
I hung up the phone, took the scale drawings of the bank and the access roads around it from my briefcase, and handed them to Dahl. He pointed to the phone. 'What's with this call back business?'
'The Schemer's ultracautious. He never talks business over his own phone. He never meets anyone face to face, either.'
'You mean you've never even seen the guy?'
'That's right.'
'Then how'n'ell does he get paid?'
'Through the mail.'
Dahl whistled. 'He sure must wind up waitin' at the gate for the postman. Waitin' in vain, I mean.'
'Not as often as you'd think. You only miss with him once. Then he puts you on his blacklist, and he's so well and so favorably known that once on his list you'll have trouble hooking up with the_ right kind of people for your next job.'
Dahl still looked dubious. 'I say it's no way to run a railroad. He must-'
The telephone rang. I picked it up. 'Drake here.'
'Why the call?' the Schemer's voice asked.
'One small point,' I explained. 'Your notes say the manager and assistant manager each has half the vault combination. What happens if either of them doesn't make it to work?'
'I didn't have that in there?' Irritation threaded the clipped syllables. 'I'm slipping. If it's the manager, Barton, who doesn't show up, his half of the combo is in the hands of the retired chairman of the board. I don't remember his name, but it's in the list of bank officers. If it's the assistant manager who misses, the bank attorney, who is also a director, has his part of the combination. His name is Carlisle and his office is right across the street from the bank.'
'No luck,' I said ruefully. 'I was hoping someone might have goofed and one man like the board chairman would have both halves. That way we could have bypassed the families.'
'I didn't say it was going to be easy,' the Schemer said. 'Anything else?'
'Nothing. We're getting close.'
'Fine. I kept that job on ice for quite a while waiting for the right workman.'
The connection was gone. Dahl looked at me quizzically as I replaced the phone. 'No shortcuts, huh?'
'It was worth a try. Now we follow the blueprint.' I looked at my watch. 'Time to pick up Harris. There's no need for you to come. I'll drive you down the road where you can get a room.'
Dahl stretched, yawned, and glanced at one of the large double beds. 'What's the matter with sackin' out right here, cousin?'
'No,' I said. 'We're not going to be seen together any more than is absolutely necessary. You'll need to hire a car in the morning anyway.'
