'Do I know you?'
'Not yet,' I said.
'My name's Spenser. The gentleman on the other side of you is Hawk. We need to talk a little.'
'Nothing wrong with right here,' Anthony said. He drew one mechanical card on the poker machine, and failed to fill a flush.
'Whatcha want to talk about?'
'You, Shirley, Julius, money, stuff like that.'
To his credit he didn't waste time pretending.
'You from Julius?'
'Julius and Shirley. They're worried about you.'
'You with the outfit?'
'Nope, I'm a private detective.'
'A private dick? No shit. Him too?'
Hawk smiled to himself.
'He's more like a soldier of fortune,' I said.
'So you found me. Now what are you supposed to do.'
'I guess we're supposed to bring you back.'
'You got any paper, something like that, says you can make me come with you?'
'Nope.'
'Then I don't have to go,' Anthony said.
'He didn't say that,' Hawk murmured.
'He just said he didn't have no paper.'
'You talking about kidnapping?'
'We're just talking, Anthony, trying to see how it is,' I said.
The bartender set the beers down in front of Hawk and me.
Without being asked, he put another scotch and soda in front of Anthony.
'You talking kidnapping, I'm talking cops, you dig?'
'How come you took off?' I said.
'You scoop some money?'
'If I did, nobody I scooped it from is in a position to go to the cops.'
Anthony sounded confident but occasionally he would look at Hawk for a flickering moment out of the corner of his eye.
'You think Julius Ventura spends much time calling the cops?'
I said.
'They usually take care of things like this themselves.'
'Yeah, so how come he sent you?'
'I've been wondering that myself. Any thoughts?'
'I figure he isn't going to rough up his own son-in-law.'
'You got a better opinion of Julius than I do,' I said.
Anthony dipped into his second scotch. He took a mouthful, raised his head, and tipped it back so that the drink could trickle down his throat. When he'd swallowed he looked at me and winked.
'Shirley wouldn't let him touch me,' he said.
'She's got that much influence with Julius?' I said.
'Shirley gets her way,' he said. He saluted Shirley with his glass and took another drink.
'How much influence she got with Gino Fish?' I said.
Anthony finished his drink, and got an ice cube in his mouth.
He chewed on the ice cube and shrugged.
'I don't know. I don't think she knows Mr. Fish.'
'You know him?'
'Sure, I met him.'
'You ever carry any of his money?'
