Now and Then

“1991,” he said. “Been there since, but not kicking back.”

“On business?” I said.

“For Mr. Del Rio,” Chollo said. “How ’bout Hawk and Vinnie, they in this?”

“They’re with Susan,” I said.

“And I get you,” Chollo said.

“Somebody had to,” I said.

“So Alderson thinks there’s a stalemate,” Chollo said. “He’s got your money and you’ve got his tapes and neither one of you can make a move without you losing the money or him losing the tapes.”

“Yes,” I said.

“So we sit around and await developments?” Chollo said.

“Maybe we’ll snoop a little,” I said.

31.

My phone rang. It was Epstein.

“Alderson came to see you,” he said.

“I told him I had the incriminating tapes, beyond what he got from Doherty’s house.”

“And?” Epstein said.

“I offered to sell them to him for fi fty thousand. He came to negotiate.”

“Who’s the big red-haired guy?” Epstein said.

“Don’t know,” I said. “You photograph him?”

“Of course we photographed him,” Epstein said. “We’ll run him through the system.”

“Show him to Belson, too,” I said. “He remembers people that aren’t in the system.”

“You get the money?”

“No,” I said. “I don’t think he ever planned to pay it. He was just trying to get the lay of the land.”

“You got some backup?”

“An adorable little Latin person,” I said.

Chollo was drinking coffee.

“I’m not so little,” he said.

“Well, I assume you hire good help,” Epstein said.

“The best,” I said.

Chollo nodded.

“He won’t take a run at you until he knows where the tapes are,” Epstein said.

“And he thinks I won’t give you the tapes until I get my fifty thousand.”

“A Mexican standoff,” Epstein said.

“Si.”

Chollo said, “You speak my language.”

I grinned at him.

“Somebody talking to you?” Epstein said on the phone.

“My bodyguard,” I said. “He likes to practice his English.”

“Me too,” Epstein said. “You think he’s going to try for leverage on you?”

“Once he’s sure greed won’t do it,” I said.

“You got Susan covered,” Epstein said.

“Yes.”

“Hawk?” Epstein said.

“Yes,” I said. “And Vinnie Morris.”

“Don’t recall Morris,” Epstein said.

“He’ll do,” I said.

“So you don’t need anything from me on that front.”

“No.”

“Well, stay on that,” Epstein said. “Anyone who does any looking around knows that she’s the breach in your wall.”