office and hurry toward the terrace.
I said, ”Why don’t you go down to the room, Suze. I’ll be along in a minute. Hawk just wants me to give him some pointers on poolside fighting.“ The tip of her tongue was stuck out through her closed mouth and she was obviously biting on it. ”Don’t bite your tongue,“ I said. ”Save some for me.“ She shook her head.
”I’ll stay with you,“ she said.
Hawk opened the door on the passenger’s side of the Cadillac. ”My pleasure,“ he said to Susan. If Hawk and I were going to fight he wouldn’t pick a convertible for the place. I got in after Susan. Hawk went around and got in the driver’s side. He pushed a button and the roof went up smoothly. He started the engine and turned on the air conditioning. A blue and white Barnstable Township police car pulled into the parking lot and two cops got out and walked into the motel.
Hawk said, ”Let’s ride around.“ I nodded and he put us in gear and slipped out of the parking lot.
”Where the hell did you get him?“ I said to Hawk as we drove.
”Powell? Oh, man, I don’t know. He’s a local dude. People that hired me told me to work with him.“
”They trying to set up an apprentice program?“
Hawk shrugged. ”Beats me, baby, he got a long way to go though, don’t he?“
”It bother you that the cops are going to ask him what he was doing fighting with a tourist, and who the tourist was and who was the black stud in the funny outfit?“
Hawk shook his head. ”He won’t say nothing. He dumb, but he ain’t that dumb.“
Between us on the front seat Susan Silverman said, ”What are we doing?“
Hawk laughed. ”A fair question, Susan. What in hell are we doing?“
”Let me see if I can guess,“ I said. ”I guess that Harv Shepard owes money to a man, probably King Powers, and Hawk has been asked to collect it. Or maybe just oversee the disbursement of funds, whatever, and that things are going the way they should.“ I said to Susan, ”Hawk does this stuff, quite well. And then surprise, I appear, and I’m working for Shepard. And Hawk and his employer, probably King Powers, wonder if Harv hired me to counteract Hawk. So Hawk has dropped by to inquire about my relationship with Harv Shepard, and to urge me to sever that relationship.“
The Caddie went almost soundless along the Mid-Cape Highway, down Cape, toward Provincetown. I said, ”How close, Hawk?“
He shrugged. ”I have explained to the people that employ me about how you are. I don’t expect to frighten you away, and I don’t expect to bribe you, but my employer would like to compensate you for any loss if you were to withdraw from the case.“
”Hawk,“ I said. ”All this time I’ve known you I never could figure out why sometimes you talk like an account exec from Merrill Lynch and sometimes you talk like Br’er Bear.“
”Ah is the product of a ghetto education.“ He pronounced both’t‘s in ghetto. ”Sometimes my heritage keep popping up.“
”Lawdy me, yes,“ I said. ”What part of the ghetto you living in now?“
Hawk grinned at Susan. ”Beacon Hill,“ he said. He U-turned the Caddie over the center strip and headed back up Cape toward Hyannis. ”Anyway, I told the people you weren’t gonna do what they wanted, whatever I said, but they give me money to talk to you, so I’m talking. What your interest in Shepard?“
”He hired me to look for his wife.“
”That all?“
”You find her?“
”Yes.“
”Where?“
”I won’t say.“
”Don’t matter, Shepard’ll tell me. If I need to know.“
”No.“ I shook my head. ”He doesn’t know either.“
”You won’t tell him?“
”Nope.“
”Why not, man, That’s what you hired on for.“
”She doesn’t want to be found.“
Hawk shook his head again. ”You complicate your life, Spenser. You think about things too much.“
”That’s one of the things that makes me not you, Hawk.“
”Maybe,“ Hawk said, ”and maybe you a lot more like me than you want to say. ’Cept you ain’t as good looking.“
”Yeah, but I dress better.“
Hawk snorted, ”Shit. Excuse me, Susan. Anyway, my problem now is whether I believe you. It sounds right. Sounds just about your speed, Spenser. Course you ain’t just fell off the sugar-beet truck going through town, and if you was lying it would sound good. You still work for Shepard?“
”No, he canned me. He says he’s going to sue me.“
”Ah wouldn’t worry all that much about the suing,“ Hawk said. ”Harv’s kinda busy.“
