Bandits (1987) Read Online Free Page A
Author: Elmore Leonard
with a few items. ' I said, ' yBut then my name ' s in a burglary report, huh? Stuck in a police file they might happen to look at some time in the future. No, I don ' t think so. ' Buddy goes, ' yYou might do okay, you ' re not dumb. But have you got the balls to walk in a room where you know the people are sleeping? '
Mario shook his head. Not me, man.
Yeah, but what was funny, the guy ' s talking about balls while I have his right in my pocket. Still, I never threatened him. Give me the keys or I turn you in. Never, not a word. Later on, the next time I saw him, he said he was impressed I never tried to act tough. It showed class.
Jesus, Mario said.
And now he ' s dead.
You want another hit?
No, I ' m gonna switch.
Jack was at a table now, tired of standing. He looked up to see Leo coming away from the bar and noticed they ' d turned the lights on. It was raining and looked greenish out on Canal Street, through the big plate-glass window, the sky pale green and everything else dark. Leo stopped and took a sip of the martini so he wouldn ' t spill any of it. His thin hair was pasted to his head, his raincoat soaking wet, his expression, Jack saw, concerned, very serious.
You okay?
Jack thought of saying, Compared to what? But kept it simple and said, I ' m fine, giving it just a hint of innocent surprise. He felt himself alert, his body floating comfortably while his mind buzzed with words and pictures, wide awake. He said, How ' s Buddy doing?
Buddy ' s done, Leo said, ready to receive visitors. He looked at Jack ' s glass. What ' s that you ' re drinking?
It ' s a Sazerac.
When ' d you start drinking Sazeracs?
I think about an hour ago. I don ' t know what time is it? It ' s getting dark out.
Half past five, Leo said. He placed his martini on the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. I ' m driving over to the Bay. I told Raejeanne I ' d be there for supper. With his serious expression. You gonna be all right?
I know I ' m safe here, Jack said. I go outside I ' m liable to get run over by a car.
You ' re going to Carville tomorrow. You won ' t forget, will you?
I ' m looking forward to it.
I ' ll be back by seven. There ' ll be a rosary for your friend Buddy. Some priest from Kenner, Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Something he always wanted, Jack said, a rosary.
Leo said, Oh, I had a call from Sister Teresa Victor at Carville a while ago. There ' s somebody wants to go with you to pick up the body. You don ' t mind, do you? Have some company?
Jack said, Aw, shit, Leo. You know I can ' t talk to relatives, they ' re in that state. You ' re asking me to drive a hundred and fifty miles up and back, my head aching trying to think of words of consolation, Jesus, never smiling. Going to the cemetery ' s different, you don ' t have to say anything. Sometimes they even seem happy. . . . Shit, Leo.
Leo sipped his martini. He said, You through? and took another sip. The one that ' s going with you isn ' t a relative, it ' s a sister, a nun, who knew the deceased when she was in Nicaragua and, I think, brought her up here for treatment. I was still prepping your friend while Sister Teresa Victor ' s telling me this on the phone. Then something came up, she had to cut it short.
The one I ' m picking up is a nun? The dead one?
Look, Leo said. The deceased is a young Nicaraguan woman, twenty-three years old. I wrote her name down, it ' s on the counter in the prep room. Also the name of the person that ' s going with you, a Sister Lucy. You got it?
What ' d she die of?
Whatever it was you can ' t catch it. Okay? You pick up Sister Lucy at the Holy Family Mission on Camp Street, tomorrow, one o ' clock. It ' s near Julia.
The soup kitchen.
That ' s the place. She ' ll be waiting for you.
We run out of conversation we ' ll say a rosary.
There you are. Leo finished his martini. You gonna be all right?
I ' m fine.
You won ' t forget. One o ' clock.
No problem.
Wouldn ' t be a bad idea you stayed in
Mario shook his head. Not me, man.
Yeah, but what was funny, the guy ' s talking about balls while I have his right in my pocket. Still, I never threatened him. Give me the keys or I turn you in. Never, not a word. Later on, the next time I saw him, he said he was impressed I never tried to act tough. It showed class.
Jesus, Mario said.
And now he ' s dead.
You want another hit?
No, I ' m gonna switch.
Jack was at a table now, tired of standing. He looked up to see Leo coming away from the bar and noticed they ' d turned the lights on. It was raining and looked greenish out on Canal Street, through the big plate-glass window, the sky pale green and everything else dark. Leo stopped and took a sip of the martini so he wouldn ' t spill any of it. His thin hair was pasted to his head, his raincoat soaking wet, his expression, Jack saw, concerned, very serious.
You okay?
Jack thought of saying, Compared to what? But kept it simple and said, I ' m fine, giving it just a hint of innocent surprise. He felt himself alert, his body floating comfortably while his mind buzzed with words and pictures, wide awake. He said, How ' s Buddy doing?
Buddy ' s done, Leo said, ready to receive visitors. He looked at Jack ' s glass. What ' s that you ' re drinking?
It ' s a Sazerac.
When ' d you start drinking Sazeracs?
I think about an hour ago. I don ' t know what time is it? It ' s getting dark out.
Half past five, Leo said. He placed his martini on the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. I ' m driving over to the Bay. I told Raejeanne I ' d be there for supper. With his serious expression. You gonna be all right?
I know I ' m safe here, Jack said. I go outside I ' m liable to get run over by a car.
You ' re going to Carville tomorrow. You won ' t forget, will you?
I ' m looking forward to it.
I ' ll be back by seven. There ' ll be a rosary for your friend Buddy. Some priest from Kenner, Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Something he always wanted, Jack said, a rosary.
Leo said, Oh, I had a call from Sister Teresa Victor at Carville a while ago. There ' s somebody wants to go with you to pick up the body. You don ' t mind, do you? Have some company?
Jack said, Aw, shit, Leo. You know I can ' t talk to relatives, they ' re in that state. You ' re asking me to drive a hundred and fifty miles up and back, my head aching trying to think of words of consolation, Jesus, never smiling. Going to the cemetery ' s different, you don ' t have to say anything. Sometimes they even seem happy. . . . Shit, Leo.
Leo sipped his martini. He said, You through? and took another sip. The one that ' s going with you isn ' t a relative, it ' s a sister, a nun, who knew the deceased when she was in Nicaragua and, I think, brought her up here for treatment. I was still prepping your friend while Sister Teresa Victor ' s telling me this on the phone. Then something came up, she had to cut it short.
The one I ' m picking up is a nun? The dead one?
Look, Leo said. The deceased is a young Nicaraguan woman, twenty-three years old. I wrote her name down, it ' s on the counter in the prep room. Also the name of the person that ' s going with you, a Sister Lucy. You got it?
What ' d she die of?
Whatever it was you can ' t catch it. Okay? You pick up Sister Lucy at the Holy Family Mission on Camp Street, tomorrow, one o ' clock. It ' s near Julia.
The soup kitchen.
That ' s the place. She ' ll be waiting for you.
We run out of conversation we ' ll say a rosary.
There you are. Leo finished his martini. You gonna be all right?
I ' m fine.
You won ' t forget. One o ' clock.
No problem.
Wouldn ' t be a bad idea you stayed in
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