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"Well, hell," he said "I can re to the bar for the first one of the day, and really needing it You know, feeling like I was going to ju"

"And once the drink was poured I could relax I hadn't had it yet, it wasn't inpeace and love to every cell init was there had the same effect But what can be so bad that you're actually driven to call your sponsor?"

"Oh, the joy of the season"

"Uh-huh Everybody's favorite ti within recent o"

"That a fact What's keeping you busy these days, besides guilt and self-pity? You hot on the trail of Will's replaceot half the cops in town after him," I said, "and all the reporters He doesn't needthe case?"

"Of course not I'd just get in everybody's way"

"So what is it you're doing, if you're not doing that?"

"Nothing, really"

"Well, there's your answer," he said "Get off your ass and do so up the phone and looked out theThe city was still out there I went out to take another crack at it

19

I couldn't do ed was to figure out which people to see and what questions to ask the Meanwhile Elaine and I caught the new Woody Allenho to me

"Well, I'm not an alcoholic," she said, "and I'ets to everybody Why should you be different?"

"What drew me to you in the first place," I said, "was your wonderfully incisive ht it was otten it"

"When we get ho I put on a suit and tie and went don to the Chase branch on Abingdon Square where Byron Leopold had done his banking The bank officer I sat doas a bright young wo Early on she said, "I can't help it, I have to ask Does this have anything to do with thethose letters?" I assured her it didn't "Because I recognized your naht away from the newspaper stories You're theappropriately nition It certainly greased the wheels, and I walked out of there with a photocopy of a check payable to Byron Leopold in the aton, Texas, and the name of the account was Viaticom

"Viaticom," I said "Have you ever heard of an insurance company by that name?"