Page 10 (1/2)

"All of it? Or did you give up a tenth of your crop as a burnt offering to the gods?"

"Well," I said

So ten percent of what money I received into the first church collection box I ca eccentricity, and one he assuot most of my money, if only because their sanctuaries were more likely to be open, and on my way home I’d detoured to pay my respects to the poor box at St Paul the Apostle And while I was there I lit a couple of candles, one of them for Jack Ellery

"You’re still a few dollars ahead of where you were yesterday," Jim pointed out, "and you still don’t sound very happy"

"I took the money," I said "Now I have to earn it"

"By finding out who killed your friend"

"By finding out if there’s a na on to Red"

"Can’t you just eliive him whoever’s left?"

"Stillman could have done that hi a probleh he may not be innocent of much else"

"Some nasty people on that list?"

"I don’t knoho’s on it," I said, "except for Jack’s father, and he’s been dead for a few years now"

"Which would constitute exculpatory evidence, wouldn’t it? You haven’t read the list?"

"I was too tired last night, and this o read it now"

"That’s probably a good idea,"I wanted to do, and I went back to the roo the fantasy that themy absence The maid--whose weekly visit was a day aould have co hth Step to the incinerator Or a burglar would have broken in and, annoyed at having found nothing worth stealing, would have walked off with it Or spontaneous combustion, or a flash flood, or--

It was there I sat down and read it

By the time I was done I’d skipped lunch, and the sun was down I went out and had so at St Paul’s I had the urge to leave at the break but oing to pass on coffee tonight," I told Jio to a bar instead"

"You know, there’s been htlist," I said, "and it took forever, because I kept stopping and staring out the "

"At the liquor store across the street?"

"At the Trade Center towers, I suppose, but I wasn’t really looking at anything Just gazing off into the distance It was hard going, Jiuy’s heart and soul"

"So what else would you want to do but go to a bar?"

I gave hiot a slip of paper with five nauy I want to run them past"

"And the bar’s where you have to meet hian’s Pub He switches back and forth"

"A et stuck in a rut," he said "You think it ood idea to take so to drink"

"No," he said, "you’re not, but you "

I thought about it, weighed that against the inhibiting effect of a stranger at the table "Not this time," I said "I’ll be fine"

"Whichever bar you’ll find hiot plenty of quarters, don’t you?"

"Quarters and subway tokens Although I won’t need a token I’ll be on West Seventy-second, I’ll walk there and back"

"That’s fine," he said "The exercise’ll do you good"