Johnny went into the tavern. Fortunately it was still so early in the afternoon that the bar, where the TV hung high, was nearly empty. Johnny had no trouble guessing, by age, which was his man. He took the bar stool next- but-one to the only thirty-ish looking customer.
Johnny intended to use guile. He began to watch the ball game, making sounds from time to time, until the other man through the back of his neck, seemed to accept him for a fellow fan.
'See that!' said Johnny, playing a deep finesse. 'Same exact thing happened in a game we played way back in military schoool. St. Olaf's versus Brownleaf.'
'St. Olaf's?' The man tmned his head so that for the first time Johnny had a good look at his profile. 'That's right. We used to play you.'
'Yoti did?'
'Brownleaf.'
'Oh, for . . I When were you there?''
'Thirty-nine—forty-two.'
'You were ahead of me,' said Johimy, 'but we lap. Forty— forty-four.' (This was a lie.) 'You ever know a Dick Bartee at Brownleaf?'
'Did I know him? I only roomed with him.'
'Well, smaa-11 world.'
They shook hands. Johimy said this called for a drink and he called for one.
'Where'd you run into Dick?' asked the man, who must surely be George Rush. His eyes were red-lined. His face was pale and morose.
'I wish I'd never' said Johimy, with a sudden change of manner.
Rush laughad. 'A ring-tailed doozer, that one.' He s65med' pleased.
Johnny had his line now. 'Listen, if you are a good friend of his, let's drop the subject right now,' he said gloomily.
George Rush turned all the way around on his stool (since the game to all intents and piirposes was-over). 'We better have another one.' The man's red-rimmed eyes half closed. 'What did Baitee do to you, stranger?'
'Double-crossing rat,' said Johnny. 'Got my girl behind my back.' It was easy to sound convincing.
'Standard Bartee procedure,' said Rush promptly. 'Gets away wdth murder, that Baitee. Always did.'
Johnny found himself holding his breath.
'Somebody else's girl, that interests him. He was always that way,' Rush went on. 'You make a kind of rule, Bartee's got to break it or get around it. So he proves something to himself. I dunno.' He ran down.
'You know where he is now?' Johnny said bitterly.
'Nope.'
'Ill tell you. He's messing around with the vineyard.'
''Oh ho! Say, I read that the old man is dead. Well, believe me, Dick will freeze out the whole rest of the family and I don't care who they are. Look at that guy. End up with a million dollar property probably. It'll fall in his lap.
'Probably. Say, remember the murder?'
'What mmder?'
'In the Bartee family? Dick was at Brownleaf then.'
'Yeah.'
'Somebody got into the safe?'
'Yeah.' Rush was closing up.
But Johnny went on. 'I'll bet you up to five bucks it was Dick Bartee who got into the family safe that night.'
'You knew him that long ago?' said Rush suspiciously.
'I was bom knowing him,' said Johnny with gloom. 'My mother was a friend of his mother. One of those damn things. The little kiddies should be pals.'
Rush laughed. In a moment he asked curiously, 'What makes you think Dick opened the safe?'
'I can't prove anything,'' said Johimy challengingly.
Rush turned his glass. 'He knew how to get in. That I know,' he said with pleasure.
'It figures,' Johnny drained his glass. He ordered more. Rush volunteered nothing. 'I sure wish I could fix his wagon,' Johnny said viciously.
'Don't kid yourself,' said Rush bitterly. 'Some people are like that. Get away with murder, all their lives.'
'You said that before,' Johnny looked up—drunkenly, he hoped.
y.K. I said it before.'
'You mean . . . murder?'
