Angel leaned on the wall next to the fireplace, held her gun against her thigh and watched us. Her eyes were dark and clueless.
"Look around," Soldier told Angel. "Paco, you watch things. I'm going to find the head." He went in search of the bathroom and Angel went out the back way.
Paco pulled the automatic out of his pants as if the act were tiring, stood by the couch and hardly looked at us at all.
I said softly to Paco, "Guess this is what you meant by a truck going downhill."
"Guess so," he said.
"You should have robbed the World Savers," Leonard said. "Fat boy would still be with us if you'd done that."
"I didn't want that to happen," Paco said. "But what happens happens. Soldier's got some possibilities for me. I'm willing to gamble for the bigger score. I robbed these fools I'd have that money and that's it."
"You could have set your own deals," I said.
"Soldier, he's got better connections. He's done some big deals."
"Drugs?" Leonard said.
"Drugs," Paco said.
"But the guy's crazy," I said. "He may have some connections, but he's not firing on all cylinders. He thinks he's some kind of gangster."
"He is ... and he's fucked in the head. I don't like him any, but I've seen the kind of dough he gets. I invest my part here, I could make millions, then I'm out of the shit for good. I'll buy me a face and a life."
"You don't have to do this," I said.
"Think I don't know that?" Paco said. "I throw in with you, what do I get? Your gratitude? I can't buy a thing with that. Guy like me, record I got, way I look. This is the end of the line, and I'm going to throw the dice for the big one this one last time."
Soldier came back.
"Got a slow flush in there, nigger. Water pressure's down."
Angel came in the front door.
"How's things?" Soldier asked her.
She nodded.
Paco returned the automatic to the front of his pants and placed a couple of logs on the kindling and lit the pile with one of the big matches. It smoked a little, began to catch. "I'm going to light the heaters," he said, and he went about the house doing just that. When he came back into the room he returned to the fireplace and poked another log into the flames.
Soldier watched him, pushed his hat back on his head and let his right hand-rest on the hilt of the automatic jammed into the front of his pants. His face still had that unhealthy sheen of sweat. He worked his tongue around inside his bottom lip and said, "You going to make some sandwiches next, Paco? Get cozy, maybe have a little picnic?"
Paco turned and said, "Look here, Soldier, don't give me a hard time. I'm sick to death of being cold. And I ought to make a sandwich. We could all use a sandwich. None of us have eaten."
"You got to think about this kind of shit ahead of time. Me and Angel we ate, didn't we, Angel?"
Angel nodded.
"When was it, right at noon, when you're supposed to eat? Had some sandwiches. What was it we had, Angel?"
"Bologna."
"Yeah, bologna. Listen here, now, we get through with this little deal, I'll buy you a steak. Hey, I'll even buy these shits a steak. Okay? Hey, you, the dick, what is it? Harry?"
"Howard," Angel said.
"Come on, let's go do some digging," Soldier said. "Hell, all of you come. I'm going out in the shit, you're all going. We need a shovel for this?"
"Yes," Howard said. "It's in the barn."
"Maybe you and the girlie drew a little treasure map. Something with an X on it, you know. Says Dig Here. You do that, Howard, draw a little treasure map?"
"We dig up the money, you'll let us go?" Howard said.
Soldier spread his hands. "Hey, you don't show me the money, you got no luck. I see some money, I can get happy. Nice things might happen. Let's go."
We went out to the barn. The dogs barked at us as we went by their pens. "Tell 'em to shut up," Soldier said, "or I'll blow their fucking heads off. I hate dogs."
"Quiet," Leonard said. "Hush down."
The dogs softened their barks, and we went inside the barn through the side door. It was only slightly warmer inside than out. Soldier leaned on Trudy's Volkswagen and breathed out a cloud of vapor. "Up north they heat barns. Okay, whatcher name, what's the scoop on the money?"
"We buried it here in the barn," Howard said.
Soldier folded up his umbrella neatly and put it on top of Trudy's car. He said, "Didn't want to be cold while you were digging, that it? Get the shovel."
"It won't do any good," Trudy said.
"Yeah," Soldier said. "Tell you what, cunt. Shut up! Angel, she says another word, you fix her nose a little."
Angel nodded.
Howard got the shovel. He went around front of the Volkswagen and began to dig.
"Barns in the north," Soldier said, "they got floors. Maybe you niggers and white trash should go on and do it right. Forget the fucking walls too."
Howard stopped digging, got down on his hands and knees, moved his fingers in the dirt. He looked up at Soldier. "It's ... not here."
I thought immediately of last night and Trudy's second walk, the clay and gravel on her pants and boots. She had moved the money somewhere near the creek. She may have hardened in her dedication, but her final trust of men hadn't changed. She was for damn sure the one on the steed now.
I looked at Trudy. She was staring straight ahead. Howard was looking up at her with eyes like a kicked puppy. She'd done it to him again.
"I see," Soldier said. He said to Angel, "It's gone, honey, whatda you think?"
Angel shrugged.
Soldier pulled his automatic out of his waistband, then put it back. He took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. He put the hat back on and took a small packet of Kleenex out of his windbreaker pocket, carefully peeled it open, and pulled one out. He returned the packet to his pocket and used the Kleenex to clean his glasses. He put his glasses on again and dabbed his face with the Kleenex.
"Okay," he said. "The money isn't there." He tossed the used Kleenex on the ground. "Howard, give me the shovel."
Howard was still squatting by the hole, trying to sort things out. He used the shovel to help himself up, gave it to Soldier.
Soldier said, "Thanks, Howard. Stand over there, will you? About there." He looked at the hole, looked at Howard. "You're sure you dug deep enough?"
Howard nodded.
Soldier got a good grip on the shovel near the top of the handle and swung it around smoothly and caught Howard above the ear with the back of the shovel blade. Howard's head rang as if it were hollow. He fell out on his back and didn't move. Soldier put the blade of the shovel against Howard's neck, raised his foot to stomp it into him.
Trudy yelled, "Leave him alone! I took the money and hid it, you cretin! You rotten sonofabitch! Leave him alone!"
24
Soldier took the shovel from Howard's throat and flung it aside. It went by me, missing my head by about a foot.
"Goddammit, Paco," Soldier said. "You said this would be an easy score. Just wear our leotards, dance in and take the money. This hasn't been easy. This is boring. This is bullshit!"
"Trudy," Paco said. "Give us the money. We'll let you go if you do. There's no other way."
"You lying double-crossing shit," Trudy said.
"That's me," Paco said. "Now give us the money. It'll only go hard for you if you don't."
"It damn sure will," Soldier said.
"I'm talking here," Paco said. "You're not the only one's killed somebody, you know."
"Oh," Soldier said, "listen to you. The goddamn creature from hell, and now you're talking some orders. Don't you forget, freak. I'm the one gives the orders."
They stared at one another for a hard moment. Paco had his automatic in his fist and Soldier's was still in his pants. He had his hand resting on it.
"This is some shit, Paco," Soldier said. "You and me trying to showdown on one another. We're partners. Right, huh
? Right?"
"Close enough," Paco said. His voice was firm but I could see his legs were vibrating slightly.
"Let's don't say some things we'll regret," Soldier said. "Let's go on to the house, talk a little. Trudy here, she'll see to reason. Won't you, Trudy?"
"I'm not telling you where the money is," Trudy said.
"All right," Soldier said. "You're not telling. Not now. Things can change, though. You, Happy Man. You and the nigger. Get what's his name here, Howie, Howard, whatever the fuck. Carry him to the house."
We put Howard on the couch and Trudy and Paco took chairs and me and Leonard sat on the brick hearth before the fire. Angel stood in front of us with her gun. She seemed as natural as part of the furniture.
Soldier sat at the kitchen table and called out to us. "Maybe Paco's right. We all get a little something to eat, we'll feel better. More cooperative, you know. He awake?"
Angel went over to the couch and turned Howard's head with her hand. I could see a knot the size of an orange at the front of his ear and the middle of the knot was cut and oozing blood.
"No?" Soldier said. "Well, we can save him a little something for later. Paco, what say you make the sandwiches? Am I bossing again, huh?"
"I'll do it," Paco said.
He did. We had sandwiches made of leftover meatloaf. I don't really remember eating it, which, considering Leonard's meatloaf, is no loss, but I certainly needed it. I felt a small measure of strength return.
"Everybody eaten now?" Soldier said. "All right. We got that out of the way. We're all feeling less grumpy, am I right? Doody, come over here and see me."
"Trudy," Angel said.
"Trudy, then, whatever. Just get over here."
"I'm not telling you where the money is."
"Come here anyway. Angel, give her some help."
Angel pulled Trudy to her feet, pushed her toward the kitchen table. Trudy went over and sat in the chair across from Soldier.
Soldier smiled at her. "Not still hungry, are you? Need a glass of water? No. Good. Now listen here. What we got is a simple problem, but you're making it into one of those whatya call its ... Angel, help me out here."
"Dilemmas."
"Yeah. One of them. It's really a lot more simple than that. You give me the money, and we go away. You don't give me the money, I shoot you. And all your friends too. The nigger and Happy. All of you end up like the fat boy back at the Apache. Brains on the wall. It's not a good way, Trudy."
"You're going to kill us anyway," Trudy said.
"No. No. I'm. going to let you go. I'll take the money, get long gone, and hey, next day you're back to whatever you were doing before we came together here."
"I tell you where the money is, you'll kill us," Trudy said. "And if you're going to kill us anyway, I'm not going to tell you where it is. If I'm going to die, it's knowing you haven't got the money."
"That's tough, Trudy. You're a hard little cunt, I give you that. You seen a man's brains blown out and one get it with a shovel, and you're still talking to me like we got some negotiations here. Last time you and, what's his name, Howie, Henry ..."
"Howard," Angel said.
"Yeah, him. Two of you didn't do so good, you know? I mean, you got no guns. You got nothing."
"And you don't have the money," Trudy said. "That money was for an idea, an important one—"
Soldier made a fiddling motion with his left arm and right hand. His lips drooped at the corners and pursed.
"—and you just want it to spend."
"You think all I want is to spend this money? Any fool can spend money. Buy a gallon of milk, a pound of butter, new economy car. Trip to Tahoe. Bullshit. There's spending, then there's spending. I'm a regular goddamned cona . . . What am I saying here, Angel?"
"Connoisseur."
"That. You see, baby, I've made more money in a day than you got hid out there. This bit of shit, four hundred thousand or so, that's nothing. But this is supposed to be an easy score, see, and you're making it not so easy, and I'm getting hardheaded about it. It's the principle of the thing now. How do you think I'm going to feel about myself I let this go? I said I was going to get the money, and I'm going to get the money. Takes a little time, it takes a little time. But if it takes time, it's going to seem a hell of a lot longer to you, Doody. Hear me? And in the end, no matter what, I'm going to get the money."
"Not if I don't tell you," Trudy said.
"You'll tell. Look, here's what I'll do. To show I'm no hard guy." He pulled out the five thousand Howard had given him and put it on the table. "I give this back. Yours. Not to split with anyone else. All yours. Buy you a little something nice, new dress. Get your hair done. Whatever. Your money. All you got to do is tell me where the main pile is. You give me the big wad, I let you and everyone else go. The nigger too. And you make a little change. And I tell you, I'm in a good mood when I get the money, I might toss in a little bonus for everybody. Whatda you say? We got a deal?"
"Go fuck yourself."
Soldier's sweaty face went red. "Have it your way." He got up and walked around the table. Put his hands on the back of Trudy's chair, bent so that his chin touched the top of her head. My muscles bunched in the center of my back like a knot being tied. "You're sure?" he said. "I'm as sure as I've ever been," Trudy said.
Soldier straightened up, looked around the kitchen. He went over to the cabinet Leonard was building and got the hammer, took one of the long nails from the paper bag. He went back to his chair at the table, said, "Angel. Can you come over here a moment? I'm going to need your help."
"Soldier," Paco said. "Don't."
"Paco," Soldier said, "I've let you fuck with me a lot. Don't think my good humor's going to hold out forever. There's money and I want it. You want it, don't you? Want what I can do for you?"
Paco paused.
"Well?" Soldier said.
"Yeah," Paco said, and he was barely audible.
"Then," Soldier said, "we got to get this show on the road." He took off his hat and tossed it in the corner.
"Angel, take hold of her left hand."
Chapter 25
I had only thought I had been helpless before. I could see what was coming and I wanted to stop it, wanted to do something heroic like leap over the couch and go for Soldier and break his neck. I had the ability to break his neck, but I had no reason to believe I could reach him. Paco might not want things to be like they were, but he had cast his lot, and would shoot me before I had gone six feet. And if he didn't, there was Angel. She had her gun in the waist of her jogging pants, but she was far enough away she could draw and fire. And then there was Soldier.
If I died, that left Leonard and Howard and Trudy against this bunch, and Trudy wasn't going to be worth much in a moment. Howard was out of it. I had to bide my time.
I could tell them I knew the money was along the creek, but even so, I didn't know where. Bottom line was I couldn't lead them straight to it, and I couldn't depend on luck. And even if they got the money, Trudy was right. Soldier was going to kill us.
"Open your hand and put it on the table," Soldier told Trudy.
Trudy didn't move. She sat with her hands in her lap staring straight ahead.
Angel took hold of Trudy's hand. Trudy made a fist. Angel slapped her. Trudy let out a cry. Angel opened Trudy's hand with both of hers and pushed it flat against the table, palm down, and held her by the wrist.
"Do it, you pig," Trudy said. "Do it!"
Soldier put the nail against the back of Trudy's hand and the hammer came down quick and the nail went through and Trudy screamed and the table rocked. Her fingers thrashed like heated caterpillars.
Angel let go of Trudy's hand and stepped back from the table. She turned to look out the kitchen window, as if distracted by a bird.
"Now," Soldier said. "The money. Or the other hand."
Trudy opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"That's all right," Soldier said. "Rest a little. You'll get your voice
back. But you don't tell me about that money, it's the other hand. That don't work, we got to do a tit."
I had stood up when the hammer came down, but there was nowhere to go and nothing to do that wouldn't get me killed.
"Sit down," Paco said.
I sat down. I felt small in my clothes. I could see the side of Trudy's face. Her eyelid was fluttering rapidly. Soldier said, "That had been me, I think I'd have passed out. You got balls on you, sister. I give you that. But hey, this has got to hurt. Am I right? Let's stop this unpleasantness. I want you to stop being obstrap, ob . . . What am I going for here, Angel?"
"Obstreperous."
"There you go. Obstreperous. Where's the money?"
Trudy's voice was a rasp, but the words were clear. "Eat shit."
Soldier leaned over the table and slapped her. She fell back out of the chair and the table turned over and the edge of it hit her in the neck. The fall stretched her hand to the limit the nail would allow. She lay there and made little sobbing noises while the five thousand dollars fluttered all over like a shattered head of lettuce.
In that instant I wanted her to tell what she knew. Let them have the money and shoot us, get it over with, and in that same instant my survival instincts rose up in me and I knew I had maybe one card to play, and I had to play it now or fold and count the lot of us out.
"I know where the money is," I said.
"What?" Soldier said. "You, Happy Guy. What's that?"
"I know where the money is."
"He's lying," Paco said. "He never left this house. He wouldn't know where she buried it. If he did, he wouldn't have let her go through this. He's stalling."
Leonard was watching Paco like a dog watched a favorite bone. All right, Paco was Leonard's. I'd count on that.
That left Angel and Soldier.
"It just came to me where it is," I said. "I remember when she came in, what she had on her shoes."
"Shoes?" Soldier said. "We're talking shoes? I'm talking money, I don't know from shoes, Mr. Happy. Money, the moola, the green."
"I know where the money is because of her shoes."
"I see," Soldier said. "One of those clue things, huh?"
"Something like that," I said. "Give me a shovel, and I'll give you the money."
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