“Shoot.”
“What you said last night.”
“What did I say last night.”
“You said, uh, you said maybe we been working together too long.”
“Did I say that?”
“Yeah you sure as shit did. I mean, you didn’t mean that, did you? We’re a team, Quarry, a good one. It bothers me you saying that kind of thing.”
“I must’ve been in a bad mood.”
“That’s an understatement. You didn’t mean it, then?”
“I didn’t mean it.”
He grinned. “That’s a relief. Whew! I’m telling you, I’ve had, well… a few problems in my, uh, personal life. I think I’m straightened out now, but it’s been kinda rough, you know what I mean? I don’t want to bring that into it, but I been feeling, sort of… well a person gets these feelings of rejection sometimes, you know? I know you don’t like discussing personal matters and such, but I really like working with you, I consider you as more than just a working partner, I like to think of you as my friend. You know.”
“We been together a long time.”
“We sure have. I hope we’ll be together a lot longer time, too.”
“Me too, Boyd.”
He nodded and kind of sighed and turned back and watched the window for a while. Then he swiveled around and said, “Look, I’d like to walk down to the taxicab stand and get something to read. You want to take over for me for a minute?”
“Sure. How long you be gone.”
He stood. “Maybe an hour.”
“How the hell far away is this taxicab stand, anyway?”
“Just down the block. But I like to look their books over good, you know, before I pick one out. I won’t read just any old thing. And they got one of those sandwich machines, you heat ’em up in little plastic wrappers, you know?”
“One of those infrared deals.”
“Right. So I thought I’d have a sandwich. So how about you take over for a while?”
“Sure.”
“I appreciate it.” He started to walk out of the room, stopped midway. “Quarry?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re all right.”
“Sure.”
“No, I really mean it. You’re an all right guy.”
“Thanks, Boyd.”
“And I’m glad you said what you said, about not meaning what you said. Like you said, we been together a long time. With a long time yet to come, right?”
“Right,” I said.
15
My eyes opened and focused and saw the face of a clock. Alarm clock, my little travel alarm on the nightstand by the bed. The clock had been set for four, which was how it read, and I looked at it not understanding why the bell wasn’t going. Still half-asleep, I took the clock in my hands and examined it carefully and the bell rang and I jumped upright in bed, scared momentarily shitless.
I sat there for a second looking at and listening to the clock and tried to decide whether to swear or laugh and did neither. Instead I shut off the alarm and laid it back on the stand and climbed out of bed. I got a towel wrapped around me and walked down to the can to brush my teeth and take in a shower and shave. When I came back I put on a T-shirt and socks and sat back down on the bed.
From under the bed I pulled out the suitcase and briefcase and laid them open beside me. I drew my raincoat out of the suitcase and unfolded it and leaned over and draped the coat over the chair at the desk-dresser. Then I took the nine-millimeter automatic from the briefcase and removed the silencer. I cleaned and oiled the gun, then the silencer, though neither needed it, and also cleaned the spare barrel I’d be putting on the gun afterward. I reattached the silencer and returned gun and extra barrel to the briefcase and snapped it shut.
As I finished dressing, I went to the window and drew back the curtain. It was still dark out, though the corners of the sky were touched with a washed-out gray, about the color of the suit I was getting into. When I was dressed I looked at myself in the mirror, in my gray suit and black tie, and I could’ve been a businessman. A salesman maybe, like my cover. Or a pallbearer.
It was still dark when I got to Boyd’s. I parked the Ford in front, three blocks down on the same street as Boyd and Leroy, leaving my briefcase and suitcase in the trunk. I had my raincoat over my right arm, the nine- millimeter stuck down in my belt. I walked around behind the building and used the stairs and found the door unlocked. Boyd was eating a grapefruit in the kitchen.
“Morning, Quarry.”
“Morning.”
“Want something to eat?”
“I don’t eat before a job.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. How do you feel?”
“Okay. Good. Fine.”
Boyd got up from the table. He was in his T-shirt and boxer shorts. “Give me a second to get my clothes on.”
“Hurry up.”
“I will.”
I laid my raincoat on the table and went over to the sink and got myself a glass of water and drank it and Boyd came back. I said, “Set to pull out?”
“Sure.”
“You driving that green Mustang in back? In the alley there?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“I’ve seen that before. You drove it on the last job, too, didn’t you?”
“Course I did, it’s my car.”
“Think that’s wise?”
“You’re getting fucking paranoid, Quarry.”
“Maybe. Maybe I am.”
“Oh, I almost forgot…” He dug in his pants pocket and got out a key and handed it to me.
I looked at the key and shook my head. “A key to the front door.”
“Aw what’s so strange about that, we’ve had it easy before.”
“I didn’t say it was strange.”
“Bullshit, you been talking about what a strange job this was ever since you got here.”
“I’m not talking now.”
“Okay, all right, Quarry. Let’s just do it and get out, huh?” Boyd sat back down at the table. “You be sure to mess things up good. You know. Rip the mattress up a little, why don’t you? You got a knife?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. “
“I take it Mr. X made the drop okay.”
“Fine, real fine. You want to see?”
“Okay.”
Boyd got up and I followed him into the bedroom. He opened his suitcase and got out an envelope that had
