Backtracker (10 page)

"
Honor among thieves, huh
?
"
said Larry, a sly smile drawing up his mustache and goatee.

"
Right
!
"
laughed Billy.
"
One for all and all for one!
"

"
So, in other words,
"
said Larry,
"
if I have a snack in the prep room or walk
-
in or wherever, and one of the other employees happens to stroll in and see me, I shouldn
'
t worry about it.
"

"
Exactly,
"
nodded Dave.
"
If it isn
'
t a manager, don
'
t worry. Just the other day, for example, I was drinking chocolate milk in the freezer, and Peggy Kutz walked in. She just laughed, and we kidded around about it.
"

"
Peggy Kutz, Peggy Kutz,
"
muttered Larry, narrowing his eyes.
"
I think I may have met her. What
'
s she look like?
"

"
Well, she
'
s tall,
"
described Dave.
"
About six
-
two, six
-
three, and she
'
s got black hair and glasses.
"

"
And a big butt,
"
Billy added with a cruel gleam in his eye.
"
A
really
big butt. Bigger than this table.
"

"
I
remember now,
"
sparked Larry, snapping his fingers.
"
She was doing the salad bar this afternoon. I talked to her a little bit.
"

"
She
'
s cool,
"
said Dave.
"
We get along pretty well.
"

"
She
'
s okay,
"
grinned Billy,
"
as long as that big
butt
of hers doesn
'
t knock you over. You gotta
'
watch out for that thing, man.
"

"
She
'
s the one who saw you with the chocolate milk, huh?
"
Arms crossed, Larry tilted his chair back on its rear legs and stared thoughtfully at Dave.

"
Yep,
"
nodded Dave.
"
Like I said, she didn
'
t care.
"

"
You sure of that
?
"
asked Larry.

"
Oh, yeah,
"
said Dave.
"
I
'
ve known her a long time, and I know she
'
d never turn me in.
"

"
Never say never,
"
said Larry, raising his eyebrows.

"
What do you mean
?
"
asked Dave, frowning slightly.

"
I just mean maybe you oughtta
'
be more careful,
"
Larry said slowly.
"
Maybe you shouldn
'
t assume that no one
'
s going to turn you in.
"

"
How come
?
"
wondered Billy.
"
Are you planning on finking on us, man?
"

"
No,
"
Larry said flatly, shaking his head.
"
I
'
ve never been a backstabber, and I never will be. In my opinion, backstabbers are the lowest form of life on the planet.
"

"
Then what are you talking about
?
"
pressed Dave, feeling a fresh tingle of suspicion.

"
I don
'
t think you should take it for granted that everyone
'
s going to cover for you,
"
explained Larry, his eyes coolly meeting Dave
'
s.
"
You can
'
t always depend on people to keep secrets, especially if the secrets give them some kind of power over you.
"

"
Sure you can,
"
clipped Billy.
"
I
'
ve been at Wild West almost six years now, and the whole time I
'
ve worked there, no one
'
s ever turned anyone in for swiping food.
"

"
We
'
re all pretty tight,
"
added Dave.
"
We all look out for each other.
"

"
People are funny,
"
said Larry.
"
They can turn on you in a second.
"

"
Not at Double
-
Doubleyoo,
"
asserted Billy.
"
Most of us have been working together for years, and we don
'
t sell each other out.
"

"
Hey,
"
said Larry, crumpling his empty beer can in one hand.
"
All I
'
m saying is that it doesn
'
t hurt to cover your ass. You never know when someone
'
s gonna
'
have a change of heart.
"

"
Well, we appreciate the advice,
"
Billy said sincerely, crushing his own empty can as well.
"
It makes sense, but it just isn
'
t something we have to worry about.
"

"
Okay,
"
shrugged Larry, letting his chair fall forward so that all four legs touched the floor.
"
If you say it
'
s all clear at Wild West, that
'
s your call.
I
'
m
still gonna
'
be careful, though.
"

"
You mean you don
'
t want any more snacks
?
"
asked Billy, his eyes glittering impishly once more.
"
You don
'
t want any of those delicious porterhouses?
"

"
I didn
'
t say
that
,
"
smirked Larry, rising from his chair.

"
I mean, if you really don
'
t want to chance it, I won
'
t send back any more
'
practice
'
steaks. I don
'
t want you to get
busted
or
anything,
Larry.
"
Grinning like a leprechaun, Billy sounded obliging, as if he were truly concerned about Larry Smith
'
s well
-
being.

"
No no,
"
chuckled Larry, walking around the table.
"
You just keep those steaks coming. There
'
s no need to be
too
careful here.
"

"
Okey
-
doke,
"
laughed Billy.
"
As long as you
'
re sure you can
trust
me.
"

"
Oh, I
know
I can trust
you
two,
"
announced Larry as he flipped his mangled beer can into the trash bucket beside the refrigerator.
"
I
'
m not worried about you guys at all.
"

"
How come
?
"
wondered Dave.

"
Because I know I can trust you,
"
said Larry as he opened the refrigerator.
"
I can read people pretty well, and I can tell you two are okay.
"

"
So how often are you right about people
?
"
asked Dave.

"
Always,
"
said Larry, reaching into the refrigerator for a beer.
"
It
'
s a knack I have.
"

"
Did you meet anybody at Double
-
Doubleyoo you don
'
t think you
can
trust
?
"
queried Billy, his voice laced with amusement.

Larry nodded.
"
Just a few, but then I haven
'
t met everyone who works there yet.
"

"
So who are they
?
"
asked Billy.

"
Tom Martin, of course.
"
Larry tugged a beer from the refrigerator and waved it at Billy, who nodded.

"
That
'
s an easy one,
"
said Billy as Larry lobbed the beer to him.
"
Who else didn
'
t you like?
"

"
I
'
d rather not say,
"
evaded Larry, drawing his own beer from the refrigerator and closing the door.

"
Aw, c
'
mon,
"
coerced Billy.
"
Who else?
"

"
I won
'
t say,
"
insisted Larry.
"
I don
'
t want you avoiding certain people just because I have a hunch about them.
"

"
Yeah,
"
said Dave,
"
but you told us you
'
re never wrong.
"

"
There
'
s a first time for everything,
"
countered Larry.

"
Oh, great,
"
muttered Billy.
"
First you tell us there
'
s people at the steakhouse you can
'
t
trust
, and then you won
'
t tell us who they are.
Thanks a
lot
, Larry.
"

"
Personally, I can
'
t think of anyone there who I might not be able to trust,
"
shrugged Dave.
"
Besides Mr. Martin, I mean.
"

"
Then don
'
t let me rain on your parade,
"
said Larry, returning to his seat.
"
You just go on the way you
'
ve been, and forget my stupid hunches.
"

As Larry suggested, Dave indeed forgot the hunches, and the conversation soon turned to other matters, like who the best
-
looking girls at the steakhouse were. Dave forgot other things, too, like the studying which
he'd
planned to do; as the evening wore on and he soaked up more and more beer, he thought less and less about his upcoming exams and the preparations
he had
to make for them.