Дэвид Балдаччи - A Gambling Man

“Is that your car?”

“Yes ma’am,” said Archer.

“It’s a Delahaye.”

Surprised, Archer said, “Yes it is. How’d you know?”

“I’m French. I came over long before the war. I don’t really sound French anymore, do I?”

“No ma’am, you don’t.”

She looked upset by this. “Well, that’s my problem, isn’t it? J’ai perdu la beauté de ma culture. Je suis américaine maintentant. ”

“If you say so,” replied Archer.

“And you are?” asked Callahan.

“You may call me Madame Genevieve.”

“You’re married, then?” said Archer.

“Not anymore,” she said.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not. Come in and sign the register and I’ll show you to your rooms. I take a week’s rent in advance. No exceptions.”

“Seems like a nice town. You like it here?” asked Archer.

“I like it fine. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t stay.”

She turned and walked off down the hall. Archer and Callahan exchanged a glance and then followed.

Archer took a moment to look around the small room that he would be calling home at least for a while. Everything in it was old, but the place was spotless and smelled of soap and furniture polish. He pocketed the large metal key, put his suitcase down, dropped his hat on the small bed, and went over to the rear window. His immediate view was the back of another building. But rising behind that and the rest of Bay Town were the Santa Ynez Mountains. The high rock dwarfed the town like Goliath had David.

But then look who won that fight.

He crossed the room and looked out the front window. They weren’t on the ocean side of town, but the elevated position of the boardinghouse allowed an unobstructed view of the Pacific. To the right of that was a long wharf where ships were docked, and Archer could see large cranes either taking off or loading on cargo. Men swarmed around this operation like ants on a hunt. Archer knew that directly up the coast was the Army’s Camp Cooke. Farther down he saw a couple of oil derricks bowing and straightening like ostriches pecking for food as they lifted black gold from the earth. He knew off the coast and farther to the south were the Channel Islands.

Archer unknotted his tie, pulled his flask, and took a sip of his rye. It quenched his thirst just enough to persuade him to take another belt. From his suitcase he hung up the clothes that needed hanging and put away the others in the chest of drawers stacked against one wall. They held the scent of Murphy’s Oil soap, a product he’d often used in prison to clean his own cell. He would have to find a board and an iron to press everything.

He went back downstairs and out to the Delahaye after finding out from Madame Genevieve where he could park the car. He drove it into a two-bay garage behind the boardinghouse. After that he went back up to his room, took off his jacket and shirt and undershirt, but kept his pants and shoes on.

He had just lighted a Lucky when someone rapped on his door.

Callahan had taken off her turban but was otherwise dressed the same. She came in without invitation and looked at his space. “Seems every room is the same.”

“Nice views.”

She eyed his bare torso. “Yeah, they are nice. Hey, where’d you get all those big muscles, Archer?”

“Sears and Roebuck. They were having a sale. Got ’em cheap.”

She slid a hand along his right shoulder and down his arm. Archer breathed in her perfume but remained unbowed by conjuring the image of her shooting a man dead.

She said, “Remind me to place an order with them sometime. The quality is really good.” She slowly slid her fingers free but scraped his bare skin with her nails as she did so.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“I put my things away and now I’m bored.”

“We just got here, Liberty.”

“I’ve got a low tolerance for having nothing to do. I need to find a place to work.”

“I can ask around.”

“I already did that.”

“When?” he asked in a surprised voice.

“Madame Genevieve. She said there’s a place outside of town. Like a burlesque theater. It’s called Midnight Moods. She said it sounded right up my alley.”

“How would she know what was up your alley?”

“She’s already got her opinion of me, Archer, after one look and two minutes of conversation. Women tend to do that a lot faster than men. She sees me, I’m sure, as what she would call a ‘loose’ lady. And maybe I am. And I don’t really care what she thinks. But I do care about supporting myself. Maybe you can drive me over there at some point and I can see if they need a new girl.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Hey, you want to take me to lunch?”

“No, but I’ll take you to dinner.”

“Okay. See you around, Archer.”

She went back to her room. Archer put on his undershirt and grabbed the letter from Willie Dash. Then he walked down to the main floor and slipped into the phone box in the small foyer just outside the rectangular-shaped dining area. He closed the booth door, dropped in his coin, and dialed the number.

A moment later: “Willie Dash, Very Private Investigations,” said a female voice.

“Hello, this is Archer. I’m in town. I’d like to set up a time to meet with Mr. Dash today.”

“Yes, Mr. Archer. This is Connie Morrison. I’m Mr. Dash’s secretary.”

“Nice talking to you, Miss Morrison. So when can I see him?”

He heard paper being shuffled. “He has an opening now if you want to come by.”

Archer checked his timepiece. “I’m staying over at a boardinghouse on Porter Street, down by the wharf. How long do you reckon it would take me to get there?”

“Depends. Do you have a car?”

“I do.”

“Then ten minutes should do it. Do you have our address?”

“Yeah, it’s on the letter. 1533 Encino Street.”

She gave him directions and added, “It’s a four-story brick office building with a green awning out front. We’re on the top floor. Suite 401.”

“Thanks. Um, I saw one of his billboards in town.”

“I’m sure you did. But they’re pretty old.”

“I’ll see you shortly.”

He rushed back to his room and put on a fresh shirt, wound a tie around his neck, lined his pocket square just so, and angled his hat the same. He was bouncing down the stairs when she called out.

“Good luck, shamus-to-be.”

He looked back up to see Callahan standing at the top of the stairs. She had taken her dress off and was wearing a pale blue robe that hung only to midthigh and was clingy enough to get Archer’s undivided attention. In her right hand she held a lit cigarette, its burning muzzle pointed straight down.

He made a show of checking his watch. “You look like you’re going to bed,” he said.

She played with the belt on the front of the robe. “Then I’d have to take off all my clothes.”

“That surely won’t take you long.”

Her fingers undid the knot on the belt. The panels of the robe parted ever so slightly.

Archer let that sink in and said, “You trying to seduce me?”

“Not trying , no.”

“You told me good luck. How do you know where I’m going?”

She said, “I don’t need to be the world’s greatest gumshoe to figure that one out. You have the look of a guy just itching to get going.”

“Okay. Maybe you should go see Willie Dash about the job instead of me.”

“Dressed as I am, you probably think I’m just a floozy with a bottle of hooch behind my back and pegging you as a sucker I briefly need for a good time.”

“I don’t think you’re anything like a floozy unless you’re pretending to be one, and I don’t need to be the world’s greatest gumshoe to deduce that the only thing behind your back is you .”