Sacrifice

'Can't we at least try?'

'I'm not tying her up. She wants to do it, and you'll take all the puppies when they're weaned…

'I'll think about it, okay?'

'Yeah! Sure, I mean…only if they like each other, okay?'

'All right.'

'Great! Let's see, okay?'

'Elroy, you psychotic, Pansy's not in heat.'

'Just to see if they get along…come on, Burke.'

'She's dangerous, Elroy. Big and dangerous.'

'Barko's a charmer, man. Like his daddy. All the ladies love him.'

He untied the pit. Barko ambled over, respecting Pansy's space. They sniffed each other. Pansy growled, but her heart wasn't in it, just testing. Barko stood his ground. They circled each other, sniffing again. Finally, Pansy lay down. Barko licked her face, lay down beside her.

'What did I tell you, man!'

'She gets in heat, I'll bring her back.'

'Shake on it, partner,' the demento insisted. He hadn't asked for any such reassurances about his bogus bonds.

I opened the door. Pansy jumped into the back seat. I climbed in, started her up. Leaned out the window.

'Elroy, this other scheme of yours…? What are you going to pull?'

'All I been through, man, I'm gonna write a book.'

50

The trick with moving phony paper, it has to look legitimate and smell crooked. Suckers think stuff's been stolen, they know it's for real. Stop at any traffic light in the right part of town— somebody'll come up to your car with a camcorder or a VCR, still in the brand-new carton, all shrink-wrapped in clear plastic. The professionals, they know how much deadweight to put inside to get an exact match. When the sucker gets it home, he learns the truth. Bearer bonds, it's a little trickier. Same idea, bigger suckers.

I docked the Plymouth behind Mama's, right under the neat row of Chinese characters warning the locals the territory belonged to Max the Silent. Nobody ever parked there for long.

Snapped Pansy's lead on and approached the back door. The thugs let me in, giving Pansy a lot of room, watching her in wonder and admiration. She was too well trained to make a try for any of the food, but she slobbered her usual three quarts in anticipation.

Mama came back from her post, smiling when she saw Pansy. She won a setup bet with her cooks once, wagering on who could tell what country the dog came from. After she'd asked me first.

'Puppy hungry, Burke?'

'Sure is, Mama. She may have met her future husband today…gave her an appetite.'

I brought her down to the basement as Mama was firing instructions at the cooks. One of them came downstairs lugging a steel vat by the handles, steam fogging the air around him.

I no sooner had 'Speak!' out of my mouth than Pansy plunged her snout deep into the vat, making noises they'd censor out of the horror movies.

Upstairs, I sipped my hot and sour soup while Mama fingered through the portfolio of bonds, a pair of white gloves on her hands.

'This real company, Burke?'

'Sure thing, Mama. Trades on the AMEX. The bonds are issued on its international division.'

'This division…?'

'Yeah, it issues bonds, some of them in bearer form.' Real bearer bonds are as good as cash. Untraceable. No registration. You hold them, you own them. Like diamonds, only they don't have to be appraised.

'Some people, maybe they pay…ten percent, yes?'

'Sure.'

'This take time, right? Send overseas, far away. Many people wash their hands in the same bowl, the water get cloudy.'

'I understand. The manufacturer, he needs a third.'

'One hundred thousand.'

'A little more, I think, one-third.'

'One hundred thousand. Everyone must be paid.'

'Okay.'

'For you?'

'Whatever you say, Mama.'