monsignor.'
'The town does a lot for the yacht clubs,' said Macomber, 'and if they were told that the Selectmen were unanimous about this, they'd damn well have to stand for it.'
'But dammit,' said Nute, 'you can't ask the yacht clubs to let a Jew rabbi bless their boats, no more than you could ask them to let him christen one of their kids.'
'Why not? Who blessed them before the Chamber of Commerce dreamed this up?'
'Nobody.'
'Then the boats don't require any blessing. And I haven't noticed that they've been making any faster time since we started blessing them. So the worst anyone could say was that the rabbi's blessing wouldn't do any good. I don't think it would either, not any more than the pastor's or the monsignor's. But I don't suppose anyone would argue that it would hurt.'
'All right, all right,' said Nute. 'What do you want us to do?'
'Not a damn thing, Heber. I'll go see the rabbi and extend the invitation. Just back me up if we ran into trouble with the rest of the Board.'
Joe Serafino stood at the entrance to the dining room and checked the house. 'Good business, Lennie,' he remarked.
'Yeah, it's a nice crowd.' Then without moving his lips the headwaiter added, 'Note the fuzz-third table from the window.'
'How do you know?'
'I can smell a cop, I know that one anyway. He's a state detective.'
'Did he speak to you?'
Leonard shrugged his shoulders. 'They've been around you know, ever since that business with the girl. But this is the first time one of them came in and ordered a drink.'
'Who's the woman with him?'
'Must be his wife.'
'So maybe he wants a little relaxation.' Suddenly he stiffened. 'What's the kid doing here, that Stella?'
'Oh, I meant to tell you. She wanted to see you. I told her I'd let her know when you came in.'
'What's she want?'
'I suppose she wants to talk to you about a regular job. I can give her the brush-off, if you like. Tell her you're too busy to see her tonight and that you'll call her.'
'Why don't you do that. No, hold it. I'll talk to her.'
He left the doorway and began to meander among the tables, stopping every now and then to greet an old customer. Unhurriedly, without looking in her direction, he maneuvered to the table where she was sitting. He said, 'What's the score, kid? You come to ask me about a job, you don't sit at a table.'
'Mr. Leonard said I should. He said it would look better than waiting in the foyer.'
'All right, what do you want?'
'I've got to speak to you-in private.'
He thought he detected a threatening note in her voice, so he said, 'All right. Where's your coat?'
'In the checkroom.'
'Get your coat. Do you know where my car is?'
'In the same place you always keep it?'
'Yeah. You go there and wait for me. I'll follow along.'
He continued his rounds of the tables until he reached the kitchen door. He drifted on through and a minute later was hurrying through the parking lot.
Easing in behind the wheel he said, 'All right, what's on your mind? I haven't got much time.'
'The police came to see me this morning, Mr. Sera-fino.'
'What you tell them?' he said quickly. Then he realized his mistake and, almost casually, asked what they wanted.
'I don't know. I wasn't home. The woman I live with, they spoke to her. They left a name and a phone number I was supposed to call, but I told her if they should call back, to say I hadn't been home all day. I wanted to talk to.you first. I'm scared.'
'What are you scared about? You don't know what they want you for.'
In the darkness he could see her nodding her head. 'I got an idea, because they asked her if she knew what time I got home, you know, that night.'
He shrugged his shoulders in an elaborate gesture of unconcern. 'You were working here that night, so they got to question you. They questioned everybody in the place. Just routine. If they come back again, tell them the truth. You were afraid to go home alone that late at night, it being your first time here, so I drove you home and left you oft about a quarter-past one.'
'Oh, no, it was earlier, Mr. Serafmo.'
'Yeah? One o'clock?'
'I looked at the clock when I came in, Mr. Serafmo. It was only half-past twelve.'
Now he was angry-angry and a little frightened. 'You trying to pull something, sister? You trying to put me in the middle of a murder rap?'
'I'm not trying to do anything, Mr. Serafino,' she said stubbornly. 'I know it was half-past twelve when you dropped me off at my house, a little earlier even, because it was haif-past when I got in. I'm not very good at lying, Mr. Serafmo, so I thought maybe if I were to go to New York-I got a married sister there-and try to get a job, like in a show, if this was just a routine checkup like you say, they might not bother with me if I wasn't around.'
'Well, you got a point there.'
'I'd need a little expense money, Mr. Serafino. There'd be my fare, and even if I could live with my sister-and I think maybe it would be better if I didn't, at least at first-I'd still have to pay her board and room rent.'
'What'd you have in mind?'
'If I got a job right away, it wouldn't have to be so much, but I ought to have maybe five hundred dollars to be safe.'
'A shakedown, eh?' He leaned toward her. 'Listen here. You know I had nothing to do with that girl.'
'I don't know what to think, Mr. Serafino.'
'Yes, you do.' He waited for her to speak, but she remained silent. He changed his tone. 'This business of going to New York-that's no good. If you were to disappear, the cops would get suspicious right away. And they'd find you, believe me. And five hundred bucks-forget about it. I don't have that kind of money.' He drew out his wallet and took out five ten-dollar bills. 'I don't mind giving you a stake. And if you need it, you can count on a ten-spot now and then-but nothing big, you understand. And if you behave yourself, I can maybe work you in on a regular job at my club. But that's all. And when the cops ask you what time you got in that night, you'll say you don't remember, but it was late, probably after one. Don't worry about not being a good liar. The cops will expect you to be flustered.'
She was shaking her head.
'What's the matter?'
In the dim glow from the club's electric sign he saw a smug little smile on her face.
'If you didn't have anything to do with it, Mr. Serafino, I don't figure you'd give me anything. And if you did, then what you're offering is not enough.'
'Look, I had nothing to do with that girl. Get that through your head. Why am I doing this? I'll tell you. Any guy who operates a nightclub, he's fair game for the police. They can raise hell with him, see? If they start bearing down on me, my business goes to pot. That Bronstein guy that they picked up and then let go, he sells cars. So if he finds it hurt his business, he drops his prices or gives better trade-ins for a little while, and that's all. But if the same thing happened to me, I'd have to close up for good. And I'm a married man with a couple of kids. So it's worth a few bucks to me to avoid trouble. But that's all.' She shook her head.
He sat very still, his fingers drumming lightly on the steering wheel. Then he turned away from her, as if talking to someone else. 'In this business, you run up against all kinds of characters. You need like a kind of insurance, if you're to have any peace of mind. A character starts pushing you, so you try to make a deal. If you can't you get in touch with your-uh-insurance agent. You'd be surprised what kind of service you can get for five
