‘The very best.’ His voice promised it.
‘What happens if somebody finds these people they’re looking for? I don’t want Daniel at any risk.’
‘I can’t guarantee that. All I can tell you is that they won’t be coming here till they’re very cool. This will sort of be the next to last move, a staging stop while the final move is being set up.’
‘How much am I supposed to know about these people?’
Smiling Jack shrugged. ‘Whatever they tell you.’
‘And “take care of them.” What exactly does that mean?’
‘Shop, cook, keep ’em company if you feel like it.’
‘Mostly men?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘What about children?’
‘Possibly. I really don’t know.’
‘I couldn’t do it for long. Daniel should start school in a few years.’
Smiling Jack quit smiling. ‘You ain’t gonna send him to school? There’s nothing he’s gonna learn there but how to get along with other kids under completely weird conditions. Right out that door is the best education in the world. But hell, you do what you think’s best – don’t listen to me. I’m a tar-ass reactionary on the subject. Had my way, no kid would learn an abstract word till they was ten years old. Wouldn’t get their minds so gummed up.’
‘I’ll think about school, but I can’t promise we’ll be staying. I’ll do it for a thousand a month, two years for sure – but after that we’re free to go.’
Smiling Jack’s smile returned. ‘Or free to stay. We can work out the details later. Just needed to know if you were interested. Wasn’t presuming you would be, but I brought a load of lumber to build a little guest room down the hill. Three in here is a tad close.’
‘What would you have done if I’d said no?’
‘Leave you be and find another place.’
‘And what makes you think I wouldn’t betray these people in a cold second for two thousand bucks?’
‘If I thought you’d sell ’em out for
‘Jack, if your criminal friends are half as sweet as you, I’ll give you back the grand a month and call it even.’
‘
That night, after Jack had left to sleep in his truck, Daniel asked Annalee, ‘Can we still live here?’
‘Sure, and as long as we want. But we’ll be having some company occasionally, friends of Jack’s who’ll be stopping by.’
‘He said they would be hiding.’
‘Well,
‘Why are they hiding?’
‘Because they’re outlaws.’
‘Are we outlaws?’
Annalee thought about it for a moment. ‘I suppose
‘When does the time come?’
Annalee slipped her tanned arm around Daniel’s slender shoulders and hugged him against her hip. ‘You’re a good kid, Daniel, but you’ve got to stop beating on me with all these questions that I can hardly answer for myself, much less you. There’s all kinds of things you just have to figure out for yourself. That’s half the fun of being alive.’
‘What’s the rest?’
‘Changing your mind.’
‘Is it as much fun as riding in Smiling Jack’s truck?’
‘Hey,’ Annalee said, tightening her grip, ‘fun’s fun.’
Four months after its completion, the guest cabin remained unused. Annalee, as promised, received a one- thousand-dollar check at the beginning of each month, drawn on the account of Orr Associates Trust Fund in Nashville. She cashed the checks in San Francisco and always stayed a few days to party. Such leaves from the post were permissible, Smiling Jack had assured her, providing she left a time and number where she could be reached. Smiling Jack gave her a ‘location line’ to call when she planned to be away and a confirmation code for their calls.
Annalee used the kitchen phone at an all-night coffee shop on Grant, paying the cooks twenty dollars a month for the service. She happened to be there dunking doughnuts and discussing Japanese tea ceremonies with Japhy Ryder, a young poet of considerable charm, when Louie stuck his head out of the kitchen and called her to the phone.
‘Hello,’ Annalee answered.
