chest, big in the belly, too. He was wearing a summer-weight burgundy blazer and a pair of white pants. He was wearing a tie, too. He almost always wore a tie.
The woman with him was short and slender, with light brown hair that showed red highlights. She was wearing tight faded jeans and a pink button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She looked very tired, and a little drunk.
He said, "You guys know Carolyn? Course you do." We all said hello to her. He said, "I got a car parked around the corner, plenty of room for everybody. Drop you guys off."
"It's a nice morning," Billie said. "I think I'd as soon walk, Tommy."
"Oh, yeah?"
Skip and I said the same. "Walk off some of the booze," Skip said. "Wind down, get ready for bed."
"You sure?No trouble to run you home." We were sure. "Well, you mind walking as far as the car with us? That little demonstration backthere, makes a person nervous."
"Sure thing, Tom."
"Nice morning, huh?Be a hot one today but it's beautiful right now. I swear I thought he wasgonna shootwhatsisname, Tim Pat. You see the look on his face at the end there?"
"There was a moment," Billie said, "it could have gone either way."
"I was thinking, there'sgonna be shooting, back and forth, I'm looking to see which table to dive under. Fucking little tables, there's not a lot of cover, you know?"
"Not too much."
"And I'm a big target, right? What are you smoking, Skip, Camels? Lemme try one of those if you don't mind. I smoke these filters and this time of night they got no taste left to them. Thanks. Was I imagining things orwas there a couple of cops in the room?"
"There were a few, anyway."
"They got to carry their guns on or off duty, isn't that right?"
He'd asked the question of me, and I agreed that there was a regulation to that effect.
"You'd think one of 'emwould have tried something."
"You mean draw down on the holdup men?"
"Something."
"It's a good way to get people killed," I said. "Throwinglead around a crowded room like that."
"I guess there'd be a danger of ricochets."
"Why'd you say that?"
He looked at me, surprised by the snap in my tone. "Why, the brick walls, I guess," he said. "Even shooting into the tin ceiling the way he did, a bullet could glance off, do some damage. Couldn't it?"
"I guess," I said. A cab cruised by, its off-duty light lit, a passenger sharing the front seat with the driver. I said, "On or off duty, a cop wouldn't start anything in a situation like that unless someone else had already started shooting. There were a couple of bulls in the room tonight who probably had their hands on their guns toward the end there. If thatfellow'd shot Tim Pat, he'd probably have been dodging bullets on the way out the door. If anybody had a clear shot at him."
"And if they were sober enough to see straight," Skip put in.
"Makes sense," Tommy said. "Matt, didn't you break up a bar holdup a couple of years ago? Somebody was saying something about it."
"That was a little different," I said. "They'd already shot the bartender dead before I made a move. And I didn't spray bullets aroundinside, I went out into the street after them." And I thought about that, and missed the next few sentences of the conversation. When I came back into focus Tommy was saying he'd expected to be held up.
"Lotof people in that room tonight," he said. "Night workers, people closed up their places and carrying cash on 'em. You'd think they would have passed the hat, wouldn't you?"
"I guess they were in a hurry."
"I only got a few hundred on me, but I'd rather keep it than give it to a guy with a hanky on his face. You feel relieved not to getrobbed, you're real generous when they pass the jug forwhatchacallit,Norad? I gave twenty bucks to the widows andorphans, didn't think twice."
"It's all staged," Billie Keegan suggested. "The guys with the handkerchiefs are friends of thefamily, they put on this little act every couple of weeks to boost theNorad take."
"Jesus," Tommy said, laughing
The woman with him was short and slender, with light brown hair that showed red highlights. She was wearing tight faded jeans and a pink button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She looked very tired, and a little drunk.
He said, "You guys know Carolyn? Course you do." We all said hello to her. He said, "I got a car parked around the corner, plenty of room for everybody. Drop you guys off."
"It's a nice morning," Billie said. "I think I'd as soon walk, Tommy."
"Oh, yeah?"
Skip and I said the same. "Walk off some of the booze," Skip said. "Wind down, get ready for bed."
"You sure?No trouble to run you home." We were sure. "Well, you mind walking as far as the car with us? That little demonstration backthere, makes a person nervous."
"Sure thing, Tom."
"Nice morning, huh?Be a hot one today but it's beautiful right now. I swear I thought he wasgonna shootwhatsisname, Tim Pat. You see the look on his face at the end there?"
"There was a moment," Billie said, "it could have gone either way."
"I was thinking, there'sgonna be shooting, back and forth, I'm looking to see which table to dive under. Fucking little tables, there's not a lot of cover, you know?"
"Not too much."
"And I'm a big target, right? What are you smoking, Skip, Camels? Lemme try one of those if you don't mind. I smoke these filters and this time of night they got no taste left to them. Thanks. Was I imagining things orwas there a couple of cops in the room?"
"There were a few, anyway."
"They got to carry their guns on or off duty, isn't that right?"
He'd asked the question of me, and I agreed that there was a regulation to that effect.
"You'd think one of 'emwould have tried something."
"You mean draw down on the holdup men?"
"Something."
"It's a good way to get people killed," I said. "Throwinglead around a crowded room like that."
"I guess there'd be a danger of ricochets."
"Why'd you say that?"
He looked at me, surprised by the snap in my tone. "Why, the brick walls, I guess," he said. "Even shooting into the tin ceiling the way he did, a bullet could glance off, do some damage. Couldn't it?"
"I guess," I said. A cab cruised by, its off-duty light lit, a passenger sharing the front seat with the driver. I said, "On or off duty, a cop wouldn't start anything in a situation like that unless someone else had already started shooting. There were a couple of bulls in the room tonight who probably had their hands on their guns toward the end there. If thatfellow'd shot Tim Pat, he'd probably have been dodging bullets on the way out the door. If anybody had a clear shot at him."
"And if they were sober enough to see straight," Skip put in.
"Makes sense," Tommy said. "Matt, didn't you break up a bar holdup a couple of years ago? Somebody was saying something about it."
"That was a little different," I said. "They'd already shot the bartender dead before I made a move. And I didn't spray bullets aroundinside, I went out into the street after them." And I thought about that, and missed the next few sentences of the conversation. When I came back into focus Tommy was saying he'd expected to be held up.
"Lotof people in that room tonight," he said. "Night workers, people closed up their places and carrying cash on 'em. You'd think they would have passed the hat, wouldn't you?"
"I guess they were in a hurry."
"I only got a few hundred on me, but I'd rather keep it than give it to a guy with a hanky on his face. You feel relieved not to getrobbed, you're real generous when they pass the jug forwhatchacallit,Norad? I gave twenty bucks to the widows andorphans, didn't think twice."
"It's all staged," Billie Keegan suggested. "The guys with the handkerchiefs are friends of thefamily, they put on this little act every couple of weeks to boost theNorad take."
"Jesus," Tommy said, laughing
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