by Jay Bennett
Eddie’s fingers closed possessively over the handle of the case. And for an instant he forgot the phone call.
“Laura knows how much that scrapbook means to you. You’d keep it close to you like it was your mother.”
“The guy was tough, Al. Tough and hard. But he spoke good English. Like he’d had some education. Can’t make him out.”
“So what? Johnny Antrim was three years in college before he turned sour and went into the rackets. What are you trying to prove?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re rocking, Eddie. And you’d better stop it.”
“I’m rocking,” Eddie said.
Suddenly the voice on the public address system announced their flight.
They began to run.
CHAPTER FOUR
We’ll find you, we’ll kill you.
The words kept coming over and over again, strong against the steady roar of the plane.
Kill you. Kill you.
Eddie looked across the aisle at the figures of Al and Laura. Laura had her head tucked on Al’s solid shoulder, her eyes closed. Her hair massed softly against his lean jaw. The dim light made the scar on Al’s face look like a dull thread. Motionless, Al stared straight ahead of him.
Eddie turned back and looked out of the window into the deep well of the night. The seat beside him was empty. It made him feel more alone than ever. It would have been better if someone was beside him, just to talk away the hours. Talking keeps a fellow from thinking.
Far below, a swath of winking lights suddenly appeared. He watched it, till it was brushed away into the darkness. As if a giant hand had moved in and covered it
We’ll make you wish you were never born.
Born. He thought of the long, dreary years of knocking out a buck. It seemed to him that his whole life had been futile, to no end.
I fought my brains out and what do I come up with? I’m running like a thief in the night. All my life I tried to do the decent thing and now I’m running.
I’ve taken some real beatings. Some guys would find my weakness and go to work on it. Like Alean. He crossed me up in the first round. Suckered me into a hook and had me going from there on in. I was better than him, way better, and he murdered me. I can still hear Al yelling at me to spin away from the hook. How did Alean know I was a sucker for it? He had come up out of Mexico and I took him on for kicks. No record at all. It was kicks and a buck. But the guy beat me.
Al and I had a helluva argument over that fight. He claimed I never listened to him. But what was there to listen to? The guy knew and suckered me. How did he know when he never saw me fight before?
That’s the way it is with some fellows. They’re able to size me up. Maybe that’s why I never went farther than I did. I’d go along okay and then I’d come up against one of these cuties like Alean, and get taken.
Is this Spanish hood the same way? Will he be able to sucker me somewhere along the line, like Alean did?
The phone call was a sucker move. I didn’t even know the guy and already I made a sucker move.
Well take the money out of your blood.
Blood.
Alcan. The poor bastard had to go and jet himself killed in the ring. So I gave his wife and kids four grand. Maybe if I had that four grand today I wouldn’t be on this plane. Al says we all have larceny in our hearts. I don’t know if I buy that. I never had it in me before.
But it’s there now. It’s there now.
He turned away from the window and glanced down at the empty seat beside him. Then he heard Al’s voice.
“How’s it going, kid?” “Okay.”
“Stop thinking so much. Relax.” “Uh-huh.”
“It’s a good flight.” “Yeah. A smooth one.”
Al winked at the brief case on Eddie’s lap. “Smooth,” he said. “Right.”
Al turned his head away, leaned closer to Laura, and shut his eyes. Eddie sat watching the two, till the stewardess came up the dark aisle and paused at his side.
“Still awake?”
“Yes.”
“Would you care for some coffee?”
“No, thanks.”
“Everything all right?”
“Fine. Just fine.”
She smiled pleasantly and went on, but her scent remained, starting a sharp yearning within him. His gray eyes filled with the pain.
I’m lonely as hell, he said to himself. All the years and all the girls, and I’m lonely as hell. Alean had a wife and kids, at least he had that. So his life amounted to something when all is said and done. Even Al there has something.
No, he’s got nothing. They live together and come up with nothing. Maybe that’s why I have no use for her. I can’t see a girl waste her good years on an arrangement like that. Either you go all the way and settle down and have a home and kids, or you call it quits from the beginning.
That’s one thing about Al that always grated on me. He can be a taker when he wants to. He’ll take what he can, all he can, and then he’ll go on. When he’s through with her, he’ll go like the wind.
But that’s not all of Al. No. I wouldn’tve stayed with him all these years if that was all the guy was. He’s been decent to me down the line. I never had a pal like him. Al understands me and I feel right with him. And he’s been pretty good to Laura. That’s one thing about him, he never two-timed her. Never denied her anything. She’s his girl and there’s nobody else.
He was willing to give up the deal for her, wasn’t he?
Yet, sometimes, he’s a hard guy to read. Sometimes I wonder if I can read him at all.
The plane suddenly hit an air pocket and rocked violenty. The brief case slid from Eddie’s lap and onto the floor. A hot, fearful flush went through him as he swiftly bent to pick it up. Only when the handle was back in his tight grip again did the scared feeling leave him.
“Got it, pal?”
Eddie nodded. Al smiled and closed his eyes again. His face became dull and slack, as if in sleep. Yet Eddie felt that beneath the closed lids the eyes were ever alert, ever awake.
He’s in on the dough, and he’ll want his full cut. I guess that’s why I couldn’t turn the money over even if I wanted to. Al is going to get his fifty grand, come hell and high water. I guess there’s no backing out anymore. Even if I wanted to.
“Eddie?”
Al came over to him and sat down in the empty seat. Eddie waited for him to speak again.
“I’ve been doing a little thinking,” Al said in a low voice. “About this baby.”
He tapped the brief case.
“We’re going to ditch it,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. We’ll take the dough out and put it in a vault. And get rid of this.”
“In a vault?”
“One of the banks on Lincoln Road will be okay. We’ll do it the first thing in the morning.”
“I never even put anything in a vault. I don’t know how you go about it.”
“Because you never had anything to put in. No jewelry, no important documents. That’s what people put into vault boxes.”
“I don’t know,” Eddie said. “I just don’t like the idea of carrying the stuff into a bank. I got a feeling I’ll never get it out again.”
“The safest place to put it, Eddie. You going to carry this around with you all the time? You can’t leave it in the motel room, can you? You saw the way it dropped to the floor before. Too damn risky.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Eddie said slowly.
“You got any better ideas?”
“No.”
“Then it’s settled. We’ll go down in the morning and take care of it.”
“How does it work?”
“You get a box and a key. Any time you want you can go to the box. With the key.” “Who keeps the key, Al?”
“The guy who puts the dough in. That’s the way it works. Nobody else can use the key.”
“I don’t like going in
to the bank with all that dough. I’ll make a wrong move. I don’t like it.”
“There’s nothing to it, Eddie.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“All right, then I’ll do it.”
Eddie was silent.
“Got to be done, Eddie. You’re not carrying around a bag of paper.”
“It’s not paper,” Eddie murmured.
“Well?”
“I always trusted you, Al.”
“We wouldn’t be on this plane if you didn’t, Eddie.”
Eddie looked out at the wall of darkness. It seemed to press in on him. His hands clenched and slowly opened again. The big fingers rested slackly upon the smooth brief case.
“All right, Al,” he said. “You can have the key.”
Their eyes locked. Then Al got up and went back to his seat. The plane went on, piercing the black night, like a deadly sword.
CHAPTER FIVE
He waited for Al to come up the stairs from the shadowy vault room. There was a tightness in his chest, hard and stifling. And a feeling swept over him that unseen eyes were watching him. Watching and noting everything. Eddie’s face was drawn with anxiety.
He longed for the reassuring sight of Al’s solid figure. The more he waited, the more his anxiety grew.
Then he saw her.
She was standing across the wide terrazzo floor, at one of the glass-topped counters. Her back was to him, her dark shining head inclined. A burst of sun came through the bank window and onto the tall, slim figure. Her dress was white and shimmering in the light.
Eddie hesitated, then turned and slowly walked across the floor, till he was near her. His eyes studied the absorbed face, the clean, delicate profile, the black, glistening hair.
She stood unaware of him, busy with the deposit slip that she was filling out. He gazed at the sparkling olive skin, and then said, “Mia.”
She slowly turned and looked up at him.
“Mia Alvarez?”
“Eddie? Eddie Doran.”
“That’s right.”
The pen clattered onto the glass and lay still. Her dark, liquid eyes laughed. She put her hands out and grasped his. It sent a tremor through him.
“Eddie Doran. What are you doing down here?”
“Just down.”
“A fight?”
He shook his head and smiled; her hands still lingered upon his. He stared at the dark beauty of her face. He felt a sudden aching hunger well up within him. But his voice was gentle.
“That’s all done with, Mia.”
“I’m glad? Eddie.”
“It’s done with.”
He reluctantly let go of her hands, but their touch still lingered with him.
“It’s a long time since we saw each other, Mia.” A shadow flickered over her eyes. “A long time.”
“You were just a kid then. I’d say no more than fifteen, Mia?”
“I always looked younger than I was, Eddie. And Father was always older than he claimed to be.”
He nodded. “I never knew till a little while ago that Joey was six years older than the records show. One of the fight managers told me.”
“Yes, Eddie. Father changed his name from Alvarez to Alean when he came to this country. It helped cut the years away. And get him more fights.”
“Joey was good. Real good.”
“He was a good man,” she said, and her voice trembled.
He didn’t say any more. Then he felt her touch him again.
“Mother keeps saying prayers for you, Eddie. We’ve never forgotten what you did for us.”
“It was nothing.”
“It was everything.”
“Forget it,” he said gruffly.
She shook her head. Her face was now tender and glowing. “I’ve often thought of you. Eddie. It’s not forgotten.”
He flushed and shrugged his big shoulders. Then he said, “How’re they making out?”
“Struggling along. The family’s in Mexico City. I live here.”
“How long?”
“Five years.”
Eddie’s response was stupid with surprise. “Five? I’ve been down here ten, twenty times. Never saw you.”
She laughed, a low melodic laugh that rippled through him. “Miami’s a big town, and maybe you never looked in the right places. I’m a librarian. I work just over the Causeway in Miami.”
“I don’t go to libraries much.”
Again she laughed, and he noted how the slim body quivered in the white, sparkling dress.
“Maybe you should.”
“That an invitation?”
And he was surprised at himself for saying that. An amused twinkle came into the dark, liquid eyes.
“If you want it that way?”
He flushed again, then said awkwardly, “I . . . I guess I do.”
“Fine. The hours are nine to five. Come in any time you wish.”
He was about to speak when he became aware of Al standing by them. In his hand was the brief case, flat and empty. Eddie tightened involuntarily.
“Ready?” Al said, not even noticing Mia. It was as if she weren’t standing there.
“Yeah.”
“Let’s go.”
“You remember Mia, don’t you?”
“Can’t say I do,” Al said curtly.
“Joey Alcan’s daughter. The only one he had.”
“I don’t believe we ever met,” Mia said.
She glanced at the brief case and then at Al. He stared coldly at her, then muttered, “No. We never did. Let’s go, Eddie.”
“So long, Mia,” Eddie said.
“So long, Eddie.”
When he was outside, he turned furiously to Al. “What the hell did you have to give her the cold treatment for?”
“What the hell did you have to start talking to her for?”
“She’s Joey Alcan’s daughter.”
“I know that.”
Al walked over to the car they had rented and got in. He left the door open for Eddie who followed sullenly. The motor started up angrily and they drove away, the empty brief case on the seat between them.
Al broke the silence. “I know she is. And her name’s Alvarez. That mean anything to you?”
“No.”
Al swung the wheel hard and headed for Collins Avenue. The sun glared down on the two of them.
“It’s Spanish, you jerk. Stay away from that. She saw me with the case. Stay away from her.”
“So she saw the case. So what. What the hell does she know what it’s all about?”
“She’s Spanish. And for a hundred grand I don’t trust anybody with a Spanish name.”
He hit the horn hard, again and again. Its sound blared out against the clear sunshine. There was no one in their way.
“I don’t like her being there when I come up from the vault. I don’t like the goddam telephone call you made. I don’t like the way it’s all starting out.”
“Stop hitting me with that telephone call.”
“It was a crazy move to make.”
“I’m a crazy guy.”
“All right, crazy guy. Stay away from her. I know you’d like to bang her, but stay away.”
“Shut up, Al.”
“You’ll get a knife in your gut yet. I don’t trust anybody with a Spic name, do you get me? You’ll stay at the motel and keep away from town. Just keep away.”
The sweat was pouring down Al’s face. “The money’s in a grave now. I got a feeling that before we get it out again there’s going to be some dead bodies lying around.”
“Now you’re the one who’s talking crazy,” Eddie said.
“I got a feeling.”
When they came to the motel, Eddie went into his room and slammed the door shut.
For a long time he stood motionless, thinking.
CHAPTER SIX
He sat on a chair and gazed through the window out at the ocean. The sun was low and dying; it threw its last red gasp out over the sky and onto the
wide water. There was quiet and stillness over everything that his eyes looked upon.
A vast, deadly stillness.
Far, toward the rim of the ocean, he saw the burnished sail of a small fishing boat. It hovered and gleamed and fell out of sight. A bird suddenly winged before him. Caught in the red glow, it veered gracefully and vanished.
He sat there watching till the sky darkened. It was then that he heard the door open and quietly close. He turned and saw the figure of Laura standing in the gloom.
She had just come out of the pool, and her bathing suit was wet and glistening.
“Eddie?”
“What do you want?”
“Mind if I come in?”
“You’re in.”
She came over and sat on the bed across from him. A bit of light left in the room fell faintly over her lithe, wet body.
“You’re getting the bed wet.”
“It’ll dry.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re in a bad mood, Eddie.”
“I’m always in a bad mood when you’re around.”
“Why?”
He looked into the darkening ocean. A soft wind had come up. Far out, near the dead horizon, whitecaps began to show. Soon the wind will rise, he thought, and the surf begin to pound.
“Al went downtown to pick up some papers.”
“I know that, Laura.”
He heard her shift her body on the bed. He didn’t turn. He looked out at the stirring ocean. Her voice came softly through the gloom to him.
“It’s nice down here, isn’t it?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What’s he so interested in papers for?”
“I guess he likes to read.”
She didn’t speak for a while. The thin light faded out of the room and they sat silently in the darkness.
“It’s cozy without lights, isn’t it, Eddie?”
“Sometimes I like it that way.”
“Is this one of the times?”
“What do you want, Laura?”
“Just felt lonely and thought I’d talk to you, Eddie.”
“I see.”
“You got a cigarette, Eddie?”
“There’s a pack on the bureau.”
“Mind if you get it for me?”
“I mind.”
“Will you, Eddie? Please?”