'Such as getting rid of this asshole,' Jumbo said, and jerked his head at me.
I looked at Rita.
'Asshole?' I said.
She smiled.
'I guess he knows you better than I thought,' she said.
'I would advise you strongly against getting rid of Mr. Spenser,' Rita said. 'He is very good at this work.'
'He hasn't done a fucking thing to get this cockamamie charge off my back.'
'If it can be gotten off,' Rita said, 'we will do it.'
'I'm firing him,' Jumbo said.
'You can't fire him,' Rita said. 'He works for me.'
'Then I'm firing you,' Jumbo said.
'You can't fire me, either,' Rita said. 'Because I quit.'
'Quit?' Jumbo said. 'You can't quit on me.'
'Can too,' Rita said.
'Well, fuck you, then. There's a few other lawyers around,' Jumbo said.
'There are,' Rita said. 'And if you hire one, I'll bring him up to speed with where I am. Meanwhile, this meeting is over. Beat it.'
'Alice,' Jumbo said. 'Goddamn it. . . .'
'Oh, shut up, Jumbo,' Alice said.
She stood up and put her hand out to Rita.
'Well,' she said. 'Kind of short, but certainly sweet.'
Rita smiled and shook her hand.
'Kind of sweet,' Rita said.
Jumbo stood up.
'Fuck both of you,' he said.
Rita smiled.
'Beautifully put,' she said.
The bodyguard opened the door. Jumbo waddled through it at full speed, with Alice DeLauria behind him. The bodyguard went out after them and closed the door.
Rita and I looked at each other.
'Who you suppose does the bodyguard's wardrobe?' I said.
'George Raft,' Rita said.
21
PEARL, SUSAN, AND I were sitting on the top step of her front porch on the first warm evening of spring. It was still light. The sun wouldn't set until after seven o'clock. Susan and I were having cocktails. Pearl was surveying Linnaean Street.
'You're going to stay with the case even though you're fired,' Susan said.
'You think?' I said.
She smiled.
'I know,' she said.
'Why would I do that?' I said.
'Because you told Martin Quirk that you would,' Susan said.
'I didn't say I'd do it for free.'
'But you will if you have to,' she said.
'How can you be so sure?' I said.
'Because you are a simple tool, and I know you better than I know anything.'
'Don't be so cocky,' I said. 'You might be wrong, sometimes.'
'Are you sticking with the case?'
'Well,' I said, 'yeah.'
'Is it because you told Quirk you'd do it?' Susan said.
