'Not everyone likes to let the babe know everything,' Tony said.
'I do,' I said.
'Babe?' Susan said.
'You surely are a babe, Dr. Susan,' Tony said.
'You're too kind,' Susan said.
'Got cause to do some business in South Central L.A.,' Tony said to me. 'Some of the people I do business with do business with a fella named Nicky Fellscroft in L.A. You know who he is?'
'I do,' I said.
'Got some interest in, ah . . .' He looked at Susan.
'In killing me,' I said.
'Bingo,' Tony said.
'Understand he already hire some local help, and they didn't work,' Tony said.
'True,' I said.
'My people in South Central ask me could I take care of that,' Tony said.
'And you told them no, because you were too fond of me,' I said.
'Tole them I drop you like a bad habit, you get in my way. But I don't do contract killing.'
'See,' I said to Susan.
'I make a lot of money. I don't need to hire out, you know?' Tony said. 'Don't need the trouble. Don't need grief from the blue bellies.'
'Thanks for the tip,' I said.
'Ain't give it to you yet,' Tony said. 'Folks in South Central tell me he got his own man, fella named Stephano something. Say he'll probably send him. Say he badder than Hawk.'
'They know Hawk?' I said.
'No.'
'That's why they can say that,' I said.
'I changed it a little,' Tony said. 'What they tell me was he the baddest mofo in the world. I sorta reworded it, cause of Dr. Susan. Course, they actually didn't say 'mofo.' '
'Did they say 'motherfucker'?' Susan asked sweetly.
'Matter of fact, they did,' Tony said.
'Thought they might,' Susan said.
'Other thing,' Tony said, ' ' fore I go back to my young lady and leave you folks in peace. You want me, I'll send some people over to watch your back. Can't give you Ty-Bop or Junior. They watch my back. But I got some pretty good folks I could, ah, dispatch.'
'Thank you, Tony,' I said. 'But I need to take care of my own business, you know.'
'I know,' Tony said. 'Knew it when I said it. But the offer is real.'
He looked at Susan.
'You, too, Dr. Susan,' he said. 'Things don't go well, you need help, call me.'
Tony took a card from his inside pocket and handed it to Susan.
'Thank you,' Susan said. 'That's very nice.'
'He done me a favor once,' Tony said. 'I owe him.'
'And,' Susan said, 'maybe your bark is worse than your bite.'
Tony grinned at her.
'No,' he said. 'It ain't.'
51
'YOU DIDN'T MENTION to me how fearsome Stephano Whosis is supposed to be,' Susan said.
'What good would that do you?' I said.
'None,' Susan said.
'Besides,' I said. 'We both know how fearsome I am.'
'I'll try to focus on that,' Susan said.
Susan was still carefully ingesting her berries. Occasionally she would put a tiny speck of sabayon on one, and eat it.
'But you allowed Tony Marcus to speak of it in front of me,' she said.
