In The Company of Deceit

Chapter 15 - Decisions, Decisions

Arlie and Boots sat in the window seats at the restaurant looking out onto the wide street of downtown Salt Lake. The weather was cool but the sky was clear and sharp and Arlie was enjoying one of the best hamburgers he had ever eaten.

"Man is this the best."

"You have ketchup on your chin."

"Don't you think they's the best, Boots?"

"I'm having a salad, Arlie, in case you didn't notice."

"Yeah but─"

"I'm sure it's very good." Boots opened the envelope showing the photos of the bus passengers that had been provided to the newspaper and through a connection of High Hat's, to he and Arlie.

"The greaser is in jail, so we can't ask him anything. The old dame's daughter is in hospital so we can count her out." He shuffled through the photos. "Nice looking woman this Kate Semple. She looks like someone our friend might hit on. Could be worth a question or two."

"Lessee." Arlie placed a mustard covered thumb on the picture and turned it around to see.

"Could you use your napkin first." Boots snatched the picture back and scrubbed the stain off the finish.

"That another broad?" Arlie pointed to Virginia's photo.

"Yeah, not bad either. Why do good-looking broads ride on crap bus lines?"

"Yeah, all they hasta do is flash a little tittie or leg and they could get a ride anywhere."

Boots held up Benjamin's picture and studied the weak chin and the sad droop to the mouth. He had more hair than most men at that age but all it did was give him a vulnerable look, not the macho stuff of commercials.

"I think we start with him."

"Why?"

"He looks like he would tell us his mother's bank account if we make a fist at him."

"Good, let's do the guy first, that leaves the broads 'til later."

"Get this straight, Arlie. We're here to find Mickey not mess with any chicks that are still under police interest." Boots put the pictures away. "Finish that mess and let's go."

******

Rose sat at her kitchen table with another huge tumbler of liquor, her eyes red and puffy from crying, her hands shaking from the shock of Mickey's action and the realization that she could be an accessory after letting him load Edwin into the trunk of her car. A night's sleep had changed nothing except allowing her to sober up and recall with apprehension the reason for her monster hangover.

"Get a grip, Aunt Rose. Look what you gained." He dumped the briefcase contents onto the table in front of her and sat down, chuckling as he sorted it into piles.

"What are we going to do?"

"Because you're my blood relative I'm going to give you a good share of this and you will be able to do whatever you goddamn well please." He moved several stacks to one side of the table.

Rose watched the manoeuvre and a stirring deep inside brought some clarity to her thinking. "I think fifty-fifty would be a very nephew-like thing to do."

Mickey stopped counting and stared at her. "Fifty-fifty? Mind explainin' how you arrived at that?"

"First off, I brought him here. I told you he had the money and it's my car you're using to get rid of him." She pushed her glass away and gave her hair a confident flip.

He considered her words and went back to counting. "That's a big trunk in that car, Aunt Rose." She stiffened and felt the icy slide of fear course down her back. "I think I mentioned a fair share didn't I?"

"Maybe so, but I'm also an accessory to this mess and it would be good insurance to look after me in the manner I suggested." Her heart slammed against her chest and her face was suffused with red. If her knees banged together any louder, she thought, he'd get up and answer the door.

"You got balls, Aunt Rose, I'll give you that." He took another stack and moved it to the side of the table. "Know how much is there?"

"Considerable... but not as much as that pile." She felt that if she was going to be gutsy she might as well ride it the whole way.

"There is a total of sixty-seven thousand dollars here." Mickey's voice hardened. "I could take the whole damn thing and there's nothin' you could do about it. Instead, I'm generously giving you fifteen plus your original five hundred."

"Try getting a little more generous, nephew, unless you want to have to get rid of me too because I'll rat you out faster than you can stuff that in your pack."

Mickey leaned back and just gazed at the woman who moments ago had been a crumbling wreck. He shook his head; amazing what money can do to people. Look what the twenty he stole from High Hat had done to him. Now he could hide in style. With this kind of money High Hat would never catch him.

His focus returned to his aunt and he chewed over whether to negotiate or double down in the trunk. Same sentence for two, just a little more work. She was staring back, her lip trembling and he knew she was spending the last of her courage in trying to score.

"Tell you what, Aunt Rose. Twenty-five plus your five and I'll leave right away."

Rose felt her strength wane and she had to lean on the back of the sofa for support, her head still thick from the drink. Mickey seemed to split into two and surround her as she began to lose her concentration. Her stomach gave a lurch and she turned away, stumbling back against the wall and sliding down to the floor.

"Overwhelmed ya did I, Aunt Rose?" Mickey laughed and put all the money into his pack, leaving the five hundred scattered about the floor where it had been thrown. "Deal time is over, I'm leavin' now. If you have any brains left you won't say a word to anyone about this because if I get caught you'll be right beside me in court."