hedrankuphisdrinkandsignaledthewaiter.「becausehecouldn’trefuse.」

thewaiterbroughtfreshdrinksandisaid:「that’sjusttalktome.ifbyanychancetheguyowedyousomething,thinkofhisend.he’dlikeachancetopaysomethingback.」

heshookhisheadslowly.「iknowyou’reright,ofcourseididaskhimforajob.butiworkedatitwhileihadit.asforaskingfavorsorhandouts,no.」

「butyou’lltakethemfromastranger.」

helookedmestraightintheeye.「thestrangercankeepgoingandpretendnottohear.」

wehadthreegimlets,notdoubles,anditdidn’tdoathingtohim.thatmuchwouldjustgetarealsousestarted.soiguessmaybehewascuredatthat.

thenhedrovemebacktotheoffice.

「wehavedinnerateight-fifteen,」hesaid.「onlymillionairescanaffordit.onlymillionaires’servantswillstandforitnowadays.lotsoflovelypeoplecoming.」

fromthenonitgottobeasortofhabitwithhimtodropinaroundfiveo’clock.wedidn’talwaysgotothesamebar,butoftenertovictor’sthananywhereelse.itmayhavehadsomeassociationforhimthatididn’tknowabout.heneverdranktoomuch,andthatsurprisedhim.

「itmustbesomethinglikethetertianague,」hesaid.「whenithitsyouit’sbad.whenyoudon’thaveit,it’sasthoughyouneverdidhaveit.」

「whatidon’tgetiswhyaguywithyourprivilegeswouldwanttodrinkwithaprivateeye.」

「areyoubeingmodest?」

「nope.i’mjustpuzzled.i’mareasonablyfriendlytypebutwedon’tliveinthesameworld.idon’tevenknowwhereyouhangoutexceptthatit’sencino.ishouldguessyourhomelifeisadequate.」

「idon’thaveanyhomelife.」

weweredrinkinggimletsagain.theplacewasalmostempty.therewastheusuallightscatteringofcompulsivedrinkersgettingtunedupatthebaronthestools,thekindthatreachveryslowlyforthefirstoneandwatchtheirhandssotheywon’tknockanythingover.

「idon’tgetthat.amisupposedto?」

「bigproduction,nostory,astheysayaroundthemovielots.iguesssylviaishappyenough,thoughnotnecessarilywithme.inourcirclethat’snottooimportant.there’salwayssomethingtodoifyoudon’thavetoworkorconsiderthecost.it’snorealfunbuttherichdon’tknowthat.theyneverhadany.theyneverwantanythingveryhardexceptmaybesomebodyelse’swifeandthat’saprettypaledesirecomparedwiththewayaplumber’swifewantsnewcurtainsforthelivingroom.」

ididn’tsayanything.ilethimcarrytheball.

「mostlyijustkilltime,」hesaid,「anditdieshard.alittletennis,alittlegolf,alittleswimmingandhorsebackriding,andtheexquisitepleasureofwatchingsylvia’sfriendstryingtoholdouttolunchtimebeforetheystartkillingtheirhangovers.」

「thenightyouwenttovegasshesaidshedidn’tlikedrunks.」

hegrinnedcrookedly.iwasgettingsousedtohisscarredfacethationlynoticeditwhensomechangeofexpressionemphasizeditsone-sidedwoodenness.

「shemeantdrunkswithoutmoney.withmoneytheyarejustheavydrinkers.iftheyvomitinthelanai,that’sforthebutlertohandle.」

「youdidn’thavetohaveitthewayitis.」

hefinishedhisdrinkatagulpandstoodup.「i’vegottorun,marlowe.besidesi’mboringyouandgodknowsi’mboringmyself.」

「you’renotboringme.i’matrainedlistener.soonerorlaterimayfigureoutwhyyoulikebeingakeptpoodle.」

hetouchedhisscarsgentlywithafingertip.hehadaremotelittlesmile.「youshouldwonderwhyshewantsmearound,notwhyiwanttobethere,waitingpatientlyonmysatincushiontohavemyheadpatted.」

「youlikesatincushions,」isaid,asistooduptoleavewithhim.「youlikesilksheetsandbellstoringandthebutlertocomewithhisdeferentialsmile.」

「couldbe.iwasraisedinanorphanageinsaltlakecity.」

wewentoutintothetiredeveningandhesaidhewantedtowalk.wehadcomeinmycar,andforonceihadbeenfastenoughtograbthecheck.iwatchedhimoutofsight.thelightfromastorewindowcaughtthegleamofhiswhitehairforamomentashefadedintothelightmist.

ilikedhimbetterdrunk,downandout,hungryandbeatenandproud.ordidi?maybeijustlikedbeingtopman.hisreasonsforthingswerehardtofigure.inmybusinessthere’satimetoaskquestionsandatimetoletyourmansimmeruntilheboilsover.everygoodcopknowsthat.it’sagooddeallikechessorboxing.somepeopleyouhavetocrowdandkeepoffbalance.someyoujustboxandtheywillendupbeatingthemselves.

hewouldhavetoldmethestoryofhislifeifihadaskedhim.butineverevenaskedhimhowhegothisfacesmashed.ifihadandhetoldme,itjustpossiblymighthavesavedacoupleoflives.justpossibly,nomore.