‘It’s worth the trouble,’ Yancy told him.
‘Maybe.’
A helicopter passed over, coming from the east and heading west. The guy at the wheel squinted up at it: ‘Is that them, too?’
Yancy laughed. ‘What, Baron’s boys? That’s the Navy, US Navy. You think Baron’s got helicopters?’
‘How should I know?’
Parker was watching aft. The trio in the little boat had dropped out of sight, losing interest. The island again looked empty and uninviting.
Yancy stretched and said, ‘We’ll be back in less than an hour.’
Parker looked out towards shore, but they were still too far away to make out any details. Galveston was up that way, ahead of them, but it couldn’t be seen yet. Parker turned away and went back down into the cabin. He put his tie and suitcoat on and sat down to wait.
Yancy came down, smiling, easy, relaxed. He sat on the sofa and said, ‘Well? What do you think?’
‘I haven’t made up my mind.’
‘Mr. Karns would be very happy if you thought yes.’
Parker looked at him. ‘Karns doesn’t threaten me. Didn’t he tell you that?’
Yancy waved glass and bottle. ‘Wrong, wrong! No threat, just a comment.’
Parker went over to the bar and made himself a drink. ‘I don’t have enough yet,’ he said. ‘I need more before I can make up my mind.’
‘Name it.’
‘I want a map of the island. Buildings, paths, landing places, everything.’
‘It can be arranged.’
‘And I want a list of personnel. How many, which of them live on the island, what each man’s job is, how many of them are heeled, what kind of weapons they got on the island and how many.’
‘That’ll take a little longer.’
‘But it can be done,’ Parker said.
Yancy nodded. ‘It can be done.’ He smiled again, and motioned with the glass. ‘One thing I know. Some nights, the handle in that place is a quarter million bucks.’
Parker shrugged. It didn’t matter how much was there; what counted was how possible it was to take it and leave with it.
He sat down and waited for Galveston.
2
PARKER opened the door and Yancy came in, smiling, well dressed, light on his feet. He carried a tan calfskin attache case, and he looked like an insurance salesman wearing an ape mask. The ape mask opened its smiling mouth and said, ‘Greetings. I’ve got it.’
Beyond the door the sun beat down white and hot. Parker was staying at a motel on Broadway in Galveston while looking things over and making up his mind. It wasn’t the motel he would have chosen for himself, but the reservation had been made for him by Yancy or someone else in Walter Karns’ organization; the organization was paying his expenses.
Parker shut the door against the sunlight, leaving the room cool and dim. In the corner the air conditioner hummed to itself. The room looked a lot like the cabin of the boat he was out on yesterday.
Yancy stood in the middle of the room looking around, jiggling his right arm so the attache case tapped against the side of his knee. ‘Drink?’ he said. ‘Cold and wet?’
‘Don’t have any,’ Parker told him. He itched when he was around steady drinkers; they were unpredictable and unreliable.
Yancy said, ‘Bad business.’ He tossed the attache case on one of the twin beds, went over to the telephone, and stood with it to his ear for a minute. He smiled at Parker, and his right foot tapped on the rug.
‘Ah!’ he said, into the phone. ‘This is room twenty-seven. Send me a boy, would you, dear? A million thanks.’ He cradled the phone and made a gesture of amiable helplessness, saying to Parker, ‘One of my minor vices. You understand.’
Parker shrugged. Understanding had nothing to do with it; he didn’t give a damn, that was all. Yancy wasn’t his problem. He motioned at the attache case. ‘Let’s see it.’
‘Oh, let’s not hurry. Wait till I fortify.’ Yancy smiled agreeably, twisting his hood’s face into an expression it wasn’t equipped for, and said, ‘This is faster service than you expected anyway. Yesterday afternoon on the boat you told me what you wanted, and this afternoon I bring it.’
There was a knock at the door. Yancy raised a hand. ‘There he is.’ He went over and opened the door and told the boy there, ‘Jack Daniels, a fifth. You’ll pick it up for me?’
‘Yes, sir.’
Yancy gave him money. ‘And a bucket of ice. Do it in under five minutes and the change is yours.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Yancy’s smile was the same for everybody; Parker, the bellboy, the three guys yesterday in the other boat. Now he turned it on Parker again and said, ‘Well, what do you think of Galveston?’
