James Chase: Strictly For Cash

“He’s had enough,” I said. “You don’t want to break your hands on a lump like him. Take it easy.”

The girl came over and put her arms round him. I left him to her and joined the two men in singlets and the trucker who were staring down at the big fellow.

The fat man was trying to bring him round without much success.

“Bust his jaw,” the trucker said, and drew in an excited hiss of breath. “I’ve never seen a punch like it! Didn’t travel an inch — and socko! Well, the bum certainly asked for it.”

“Get him out of here,” I said. “Come on, boys, hoist him up and get him outside.”

The fat man looked up. He had eyes like pools of beer, and from his expression I thought he was going to burst into tears.

“You’ve broken my boy’s jaw,” he said, “and he’s fighting on Saturday.”

“I should have broken his neck,” I said. “Get him out of here before I change my mind and finish the job.”

The big fellow opened his eyes, groaned and sat up. The lower part of his jaw sagged hideously, and an ugly red patch showed on his right cheek where I had slapped him.

The two guys in singlets hauled him to his feet and supported him. He went with them without looking at me, his head on his chest, his eyes glazed and his legs like rubber. The fat man brought up the rear. He looked as if he were following behind his mother’s hearse.

The trucker turned to gape at me as if I were the miracle boy come down from the sky on a cloud of fire.

“Well, for crying out loud!” he exclaimed. “Do you know who that was — the guy you socked? That’s Joe MacCready, the local champ. He’s fighting the Miami Kid on Saturday, and there’s a load of dough spread on the fight. Take my tip, brother, and get out of town. When Petelli hears what you’ve done to MacCready, he’ll blow his top. I’m not kidding. Petelli’s as dangerous as a rattlesnake. Get your skates on and beat it!”

I pushed back my chair and reached for a cigarette, but Roche beat me to it. Everything was on the house this night. I had just climbed outside the best meal I had eaten in years, and while I ate Roche and his wife, Alice, kept me company. I liked them. They were the kind of folk I could get along with, and we were on first-name terms before I had finished the meal.

They had done most of the talking while I was eating, and now I knew it was my turn.

“Maybe you’re wondering what I’m doing here,” I began, when Roche had lit my cigarette. “Well, I’m from Pittsburgh. My old man ran a café bang opposite the Carnegie Steelworks. You’d have thought a café situated outside the biggest steelworks in the world would have paid off, wouldn’t you? But it didn’t. Don’t ask me why. I never got around to figuring it out myself. There was damn-all when he died. A good thing or I might be still there. As it is I had to sell up to pay what he owed, and that left me without a home. So I thought I’d take a look at Florida, and boy am I glad I did.”

Roche scratched the side of his jaw and squinted at me.

“What’s so special about Florida?”

“Ever been to Pittsburgh? Soot, dirt, noise and fog — that’s Pittsburgh. That’s what’s so special about Florida.”

“Maybe you’re right. I’ve lived here all my life. I get sick of the sun sometimes.”

“Brother, you don’t know when you’re well off! I’ve had the finest three weeks of my life riding trucks this far. This country’s terrific.” I leaned forward. “And that reminds me. I got a ride off a guy named Williams. He told me to come here. You know him?”

“Yeah: known him years.”

“He said you could fix me a ride to Miami. Can you do it?”

“That’s easy. Josh Bates is on the Miami run. I keep his mail for him. He’ll be in tomorrow morning. I’ll fix it for you. So you’re going to Miami?”

“You bet.”

“Hey, Alice,” Roche said, “how about some more beer? Can’t you see this fella’s dying of thirst?” While she was in the kitchen getting the beer, he went on, “That’s the finest hook I’ve seen outside anything Dempsey threw. You in the game? I guess you must be. That late shift of yours and the way...”

“I’ve been in it, but I’m through now. It’s too much of a racket.”

He eyed me over.

“With that build and that hook you could be sensational. Who have you fought?”

“I had three rounds with Joe Louis when he ran out of sparring partners during his Army exhibition tour. Nice guy, Joe. He said I had a good right hand.”

“Joe said that?” Roche seemed impressed.

“The best scrap I ever had was when I deputized for Abe Linsky. I put Jack Weiner away in the second.”

Roche gaped at me.

“You mean — Jack Weiner? The Californian champ?”

“That’s the fella. He wasn’t champ then, but he was quite a scrapper. I was lucky to hang one on his jaw. I guess he was a shade too confident.”

“Jeepers!” Roche said. “Well, that’s something. What made you quit?”

“I guess I like to keep my face the shape it is, besides, I’ve got other ideas.”

“Sounds like a waste of talent to me,” Roche said, shaking his head. “If you could take Weiner...”

“That trucker told me to get out of town. He said Petelli would have something to say about MacCready.”

“You don’t have to worry about Petelli. Solly Brant will tell him what happened. Besides, the Miami Kid is getting Petelli’s backing. If it had been the Kid you hit, then you would have had to get out fast, but Petelli hasn’t any time for MacCready.”

“This Solly Brant you just mentioned. Is he the fat guy with MacCready?”

“That’s right. He owns MacCready, and I bet he wishes he didn’t. He’s not a bad fella, but what can you do with a bum like MacCready?”

Alice returned with two pints of beer.

Roche had insisted that I should stay the night at the café, and I welcomed the suggestion. For the past three weeks I had been sleeping rough, and the thought of a night in a bed was tempting.

After we had talked a while, I pushed back my chair.

“If it’s okay with you I’d like to turn in now. I’ve been truck riding for eight hours, and I’m about asleep on my feet.”

“Go ahead. Alice’ll show you the room,” Roche said, and stood up. He offered his hand. “And thanks again for what you did.”

“Forget it,” I said, shaking hands. “Thanks for the meal. It was great.”

Alice took me upstairs to a small room that looked on to the waterfront.

“If there’s anything you want...”

“Not a thing. That bed sure looks good.”

“You can take a bath if you want to. It’s right next door.”

“I’ll do that. You know this is pretty nice of you.”

“We’re very grateful for what you did, Johnny. That brute might have hurt Tom badly. He’s not very strong.”

“But he’s got a lot of guts. I guess you’re pretty proud of him.”

“Oh, I am.” She put her hand on my arm, and her eyes were shining. “He’s been through some bad times, but he’s always been good to me. But if you hadn’t come in when you did...”

“Forget it. I was glad I was around.”

“I just want you to know I think you’re splendid,” she said, and went away, leaving me a little hot and flustered.

I took a bath, lying in the hot water for half an hour or so. I could hear them talking downstairs, and when I got into bed, Roche came up and put his head round the door.

“All set?” he asked, edged his way in and stood at the foot of the bed looking at me.

I grinned at him.

“You bet.”

He shifted from one foot to the other, rubbed the end of his nose with the back of his hand while he stared seriously at me.