‘Well, you’re right about that, too,’ Turley agreed. ‘We’re coming to an intersection up here, which way you want to go?’
Stoneveldt was to the right. ‘Left,’ Parker said.
14
It was almost three o’clock. He was out of that city at last, away from the airport and the gathering cops, but he wasn’t finished. He couldn’t stay in this car much longer, because they’d be putting planes up soon, to look for him. There were two hours of daylight left, far too much, and they were running southwest-ward away from the city over this tabletop.
Parker said, ‘What’s out in front of us?’
‘Corn,’ Turley said, but then corrected himself. ‘Not this time of year. Farms, a few little towns, railroad towns.’
Railroad towns sounded good. Wouldn’t the rails run east-west? ‘Take your next left,’ Parker said, which would send them more southerly, to cross a railroad line eventually. Sooner, rather than later.
An intersection grew ahead of them, a gas station and convenience store on one corner, farm equipment dealer diagonally across, nothing on the other two corners but breezy fields with billboards. The intersection was marked by a yellow blinker; Turley waited for a pickup to go by, then turned left. There was little traffic out here.
They rolled along for a while and then Turley said, ‘Where’s Williams?’
‘Long gone,’ Parker said.
Turley nodded. ‘Dead?’
‘No, just gone. Some other state.’
‘You two didn’t stick together?’
‘We had different things to do.’
‘You were both in the jewelry heist, weren’t you?’
Parker said, ‘You hearing my confession?’
Turley chuckled and shook his head. ‘I’m just interested,’ he said. ‘You know, I knew you wouldn’t work inside the system, so you didn’t surprise me. It’s Marcantoni I underestimated.’
Just as Parker had known what Turley was doing underneath his words back in Stoneveldt, he understood now what this cosy chat was all about. Turley was a good cop, but he was also mortal. His second job, if he could do it, was to bring Parker in, but his first job was to keep himself alive. Talk with a man, exchange confidences with him, he’s less likely to pull the trigger if and when the time comes. Like Mackey deciding to do it the more difficult way because Henry had made him lunch.
That was all right. Part of Parker’s job right now was to keep Turley calm, and so long as Turley devoted his mind to his little strategies he would remain calm. So Parker said, ‘Underestimated Marcantoni? How?’
‘I didn’t think he’d team with a black,’ Turley said. ‘I could see the three of you working something or other, but I thought it’d go a different way.’
‘That was the way we had,’ Parker said.
Turley thought about that. ‘You mean, your original bunch was broken up. You needed to work with the population around you, and most of that, as you know, is pretty sorry stuff.’
‘That’s what you get in there,’ Parker said.
Turley nodded, agreeing with him. ‘So you did a little talent search,’ he said, ‘came up with the best team, didn’t care about any other qualifications.’
‘Nothing else to care about,’ Parker said.
‘Is that right? Walheim didn’t make it, you know.’
The abrupt change of subject left Parker blank for a second, and then he remembered. Walheim had had a heart attack. He said, ‘So he escaped, too.’
‘You could look at it that way.’
They drove in silence a minute, and then Turley said, ‘You didn’t ask me about Bruhl.’
‘Ask you what about Bruhl?’
Turley looked at him, then faced the road again. ‘I guess you don’t care, but I’ll tell you anyway. Bruhl will live and do time. More than Armiston, and in a harder place.’
Parker said, ‘Armiston was dealing with you before you ever talked with me.’
‘Well, around that time,’ Turley agreed.
Far away, miles away, a few low buildings were clustered around the road. At the moment, there was no nearby traffic. Parker said, ‘Pull off the road and stop.’
Turley did, and said, ‘Engine on or off?’
‘On. In Park.’
Turley did that, and faced Parker. ‘What now?’
‘You know the easy way to take a piece out of its holster,’ Parker said. ‘Thumb and forefinger, just holding the butt.’
Affecting surprise, Turley said, ‘I thought you weren’t going to take my weapon. I’m keeping my dignity that
