He Was Her Man (32 page)

It was then that the phone rang, and it was Sam saying she and Mickey were over at Loydell’s, Jinx had called with Doc’s plan, and they’d just about worked out the last few details of this thing and wanted to tell her her part.

Cynthia nodded, Uh-huh, uh-huh, while Tate said, “Well, sure, Archie, if you want to leave me your number, I think I can put you and Bobbie Sue together.”

33

“YOU’RE A GOOD girl, Pearl.” Sam gave the hound a final pat on the head as she and Jack turned to leave Bobby in the gym above Bubbles.

“I
do
trust you,” said Bobby, “but I don’t understand what makes you think it’s going to be safe for me to come down.”

“Later,” said Sam, meaning that’s when she’d explain. Right now, she needed to get moving.

“How
much
later? Pearl and I are going crazy up here.”

Owwwrhuuuuuu, said Pearl by way of reinforcement.

“We have to work a few things out,” said Jack.

“Do you know who killed Mamaw? You better not, and not tell me. I’m warning you,” said Bobby, shaking a finger in Jack’s face. Olive’s death had pushed him beyond politeness. This, Sam suspected, was more what the old Bobby was like, the Bobby who’d beaned Archie with his shooting trophy.

“No, we don’t,” lied Sam. “Don’t you think we’d tell you if we did?” She wasn’t sure exactly what she thought Bobby would do if he knew about Doc, but she didn’t want to find out. Bobby could just cool his heels a little longer, until Doc was safely behind bars.

“Okay, okay,” said Bobby. “I’m sure you’re doing the best you can to protect me here. Keep me out of trouble with the parole board.”

Oh, son, thought Sam, if you only knew. The parole board was small potatoes compared to the manhunt that Archie was amassing to find his young butt. The last they’d heard, Archie was inflaming the local boys and the state troopers with tales of grandmother-raping in addition to robbing and killing. There were no depths to which the man wouldn’t stoop. But just you wait, Archie Blackshears. Just you wait ’til this whole thing is over, and those old boys get an earful of you loving up to Bobby “Bobbie Sue” Adair.

Now Jack was tapping on his watch. “Come on, Sammy, we’d better scoot. We’ll be right back to you, Bobby, as soon as we can.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“You’ve got everything you need? You’re not about to starve to death?”

“No, sir. You’ve got yourself some wonderful cooks, I’ll tell you that. I’m pounding away four or five hours
on the speedball, the bag, working it off.” He paused. “And it keeps my mind off Mamaw.”

Sam gave him a hug, a Keep the faith, and started out. Jack shut the gym door and locked it, then caught up with her on the landing. “Wait.” He took her by the arm and pulled her around. It was a small landing. “Sammy, I’ve been giving it some consideration, and I think you’ve been right all along. Look, we’ll just call the cops, tell them about Doc, hope for the best. Hell, I’m sure there’s some physical evidence at Olive’s place, they’ll be able to pin this on Doc without Mickey’s testimony.” He put both hands behind her waist and drew her closer. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”

“The same thing you were doing day before yesterday, Jack. Serving great eats in Bubbles, ripping off the suckers downstairs in the casino.”

“Lady,” he said, “we don’t rip off anybody. Fools come in the casino, they know the odds are against ’em, want to have a little fun giving us their money, what can we do? Though, you know, it’s funny, since the second I met you, the take in the casino has doubled.” And that was the truth. Jack couldn’t explain it, unless Sam was some kind of good luck charm working for him, which was the kind of thing the suckers believed. Jack didn’t like to think of himself as a sucker. Then his voice grew tender. “Is this what they call love at first sight?”

“Lust, Jack. They call it lust. It’s the thing you’ve spent your whole life confusing with the other thing.”

“The other thing? You can’t even say the word.”

“I most certainly can, and furthermore, I’ve experienced it many times.”

“Experienced what?”

“Listen, I am not going to continue this ridiculous conversation with you another second. I’ve got to get out to the front and watch for Doc. Is your man in place?”

“He’s there, Sammy. He’s there. Now, look.”

“You’re sure he knows what he’s doing?”

“Jethro is the best in the business. He’s worked for Joey the Horse for years. I told you, I called Joey, he flew Jethro up in his own plane. He’s here, he’s ready, and he’s good. But I still think we ought to call it all off. I have a bad feeling about this thing. I really do.”

“Jack, this was
your
idea, and we’re doing it.”

He took a deep breath. “I’ll never understand as long as I live.”

“Understand what? Women? It’s easy, Jack. All you have to remember is we’re these inscrutable, yet cute, deerlike creatures who are motivated by whims and estrogen and flights of fancy that no man could ever begin to decipher.”

“God, give me strength,” he murmured.

“God has nothing to do with it. This is what
you
wanted to do, Jack.
You
.”
She poked him twice in the chest. “And now you want to change your mind. Well, that’s the sort of thing they accuse women of, you know that, don’t you? Can’t trust them in positions of power because they’re always wishy-washing all over the place. Well, you’re the one wishy-washing here, my man.”

“Jesus H. Christ, Samantha! I’m trying to tell you I love you.”

“You do not love me. You don’t even know me.”

He gave her a look.

“One night in the sack does not constitute knowing even if it was a very nice night.” She paused. “A very very nice night. However”—and she held up one cautionary finger—“not only do you not know me, you do not want to know me. I am strong-willed, irreverent, mouthy, and independent as heck; whereas you are a traditional, macho Irish gangster who needs some bimbo on your arm for show and a sweet-faced little Bridget home in the kitchen. And I am neither of those.” She paused. “Though I must say that the fact that you’re not at all uptight about sex surprised me, given that Blessed Virgin/whore stuff you all carry around.”

Whereupon Jack placed one hand on each of her shoulders, pushed her against the wall, and kissed the bejesus out of her. Jack was one of the all-time world-class kissers, and he kissed her and kissed her and kissed her until she was actually seeing stars and thought she was going to faint.

When they finally came up for air, he said, “So, who’s the guy back in New Orleans, Sammy?”

She was going to say, Nobody. She was sure that’s what she was going to say, but her eyes slid, and she hesitated just a second too long.

“Oh, shit.” Jack turned his head, but not before she caught the pain in his eyes. It looked like the real thing.

34

DOC’S PLAN. FIRST, he and Jinx would run a variation of the priest and the jeweler scam on Loydell and nab her diamond. Then he’d leave Jinx in his car with the motor running, and he’d dash into Jack’s restaurant, pop Jack, take off, ditch the beauty queen, be on his merry way to the South Carolina coast, a very cushy retirement, and sweet dreams.

To that end, he and Jinx were cruising Central, searching for a parking spot. Headed down from the big hotels, they tooled along Bathhouse Row.

“There’s the Quapaw.” Jinx pointed. “Bubbles is on the main floor. The casino’s in the basement.”

Doc stared across the street at the long white stucco building. Big mullioned windows with blue awnings marched across the length of the front. Above the red tile roof of the second story was perched a gold and blue dome stately enough for Kubla Khan.

“You made the reservation?”

“Yes,” Jinx said. “Exactly like you told me to. I said I was bringing in a high roller from San Antonio who specifically wanted to meet Jack. They said he’d be there. But I don’t understand.…”

“And you don’t need to.”

There it was again. Boy, she had had just about a bellyful of that dumb blonde routine.

“And you know exactly how the flimflam works?”

“You told me forty-two times.”

“Yeah? Well, I could tell you a thousand and forty-two, you’re an amateur, there’s every chance you’re gonna screw up.”

“I’m not going to screw up.”

“Well, you do, you’re never going to see that bridegroom of yours alive again.”

“I’ve got it, Doc.” Then she pointed. “Look! There’s somebody pulling out.”

That, thought Doc, was a piece of luck. A good omen. Just as they approached, a red Cadillac driven by a man wearing a huge cowboy hat, that’s all you could see of him, was exiting a spot right across the street from Jack’s restaurant.

Early’s timing
was
impeccable, but then, as Jack said, that’s why he paid him the big bucks.

“And Mother’s house is right around the corner and up the hill on Exchange,” said Jinx.

They climbed out of the Mercury, and Doc locked it. He passed on feeding the parking meter.

“You’re going to get a ticket,” Jinx said, adjusting her little pink shorts suit with the yellow daisy trim. She was wearing matching pink stiletto sandals with daisies on the toes. She’d redone her manicure and pedicure to match.

Doc just gave her a look. Then he took her arm as they started down the sidewalk past a row of art galleries, souvenir stores, and coffee shops. “You think you can do this? You understand about the bank?”

“Yes, I understand, Doc.”

Doc wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure she could pull this off at all. But what the hell? What did he have to lose? If the scam fell apart, he’d just do Jack, climb back in the Mercury, and ride ride ride. Of course, he’d have to switch the Mercury pretty quick for another car, which was a shame because he liked the glide of the big boat. It reminded him of those great gas guzzlers from the late fifties, early sixties. He’d had a two-tone purple Bonneville, those loooong tailfins and acres of chrome. Now, that was a car. Like the Sunliner, which was less luxe, though still a beauty. It was a shame, that old sweetie sitting at the bottom of a lake, but them was the breaks.

“Well, hi!” Jinx said suddenly. “How’re yeeeew?”

Doc looked up, and Jinx was hugging a tall, curly-headed brunette, he’d put her in her late thirties. She was dressed like him, in khakis, with a white shirt—though she was wearing an expensive-looking blue-and-white seersucker jacket, and Doc was sporting an off-the-rack navy blazer and an ugly red-and-navy tie. The brunette was saying, “Why,
I’m
just fine. But how are
yew
?”

“I’m holding on.” Jinx shook her head, and her curls swayed.

“I know it must be hard. Speed just dying on you like that. It’s so awful. I just don’t know how you can bear it.”

Speed dying? What the hell was the broad talking about? Doc gave Jinx a hard look, but she didn’t see it because just then the tall brunette hugged her again, and Jinx stepped backwards off the curb.

“Owh!” she screamed. “Oh, my God!”

Damn! Doc thought. She’d sprained her ankle. Well, hell, wasn’t that par for the course? No way this town was good for anything except killing Jack. He wasn’t going to make a penny here. Why didn’t he just give it up?

“I broke the heel right off my shoe!” Jinx cried. She was dangling her high-heeled sandal.

“You just come right on in here into Frank’s and let me buy you a new pair,” said the tall brunette. “This is all my fault.”

“Dr. Dolittle,” said Jinx, “do you mind?”

It took Doc a second to realize she was talking to him. Dan Little was the bogus handle he’d told her to use. Blondes, Jesus.

“I don’t know what I’d have done without the doctor. He’s been so kind,” Jinx said to the brunette whom she introduced as Samantha. Sam bustled them into the shoe store, whose windows were draped with silver tinsel and gold bunting.

“Hello, ladies, sir. Welcome to Frank’s,” said a cute young girl right inside the door of the old-fashioned high-ceilinged store. It still had its original pine wainscoting and a tin ceiling that was festooned with gold and silver balloons. The river of dark hair that flowed down the young girl’s back was two inches longer than her little silver skirt. Her hair bounced around as she said, “I don’t know how to tell you this, but
you
,”
and she rounded on Doc and threw her arms around him like he was her long-lost love, “are the one-hundredth person who’s walked through our doors since yesterday morning, and that means you are the winner of our Diamond Jubilee door prize!” She was fairly squeaking with excitement. “Yes, sir,” she crowed, “this is the one-hundredth anniversary of Frank’s Shoes, and you are the hundredth one! Aren’t you thrilled?”

Jinx was grinning at him like she’d forgotten what the hell they were doing here, and this shoe business was the main event. But on the other hand, now that Doc thought about it, a Diamond Jubilee, it had to be a good sign.

The little brunette was pulling him by the arm over to a chair cushioned in brown velour. “The prize is any pair of shoes of your choice, for free! And I can see from your boots that you have excellent taste, and we just happen to have a pair of genuine alligator Luccheses that I bet are going to be exactly your size. Eleven A, am I right? You have an elegant foot there, sir, if you don’t mind my saying so. So long and narrow. Now, would those alligator boots interest you?”