The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams - By Lawrence Block Page 0,36
know what you had. You took ’em sometime between eight o’clock an’ midnight, an’ you went out in the middle of the night to visit one of those wide receivers you know an’ sold ’em cheap. You an’ me, Bernie, we coulda done a deal with the insurance company an’ split a hundred grand between us. I’ll bet you didn’t bring home a tenth of that last night.”
“I didn’t take the cards, Ray.”
“You took ’em,” he said. “You were mad at Stoppelgard. You prolly followed him to the Gilmartin place, an’ then when they all went to the theater you went right in. You got back at Stoppelgard by knockin’ off Gilmartin, an’ you got in quick an’ grabbed the first thing you saw that looked like it might be worth somethin’. An’ instead of takin’ the time an’ trouble to find out what you had, you dumped ’em fast an’ screwed yourself good.” He sighed. “You got one chance of gettin’ outta this clean. Have you got the cards?”
“No.”
“Can you get them?”
“No.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” he said heavily. “Well, in that case, I got a card for you. Where’d I put the damn thing? Here we go. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to consult an attorney. If you do not have an attorney…’ ”
CHAPTER
Nine
“Before I forget,” Wally Hemphill said, “I called your therapist. So that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about.”
“Thanks,” I said. “What therapist?”
“Patience Tremaine.”
“You called her? I asked Carolyn to call her.”
“Well, Carolyn asked me to call her, so I did. I told her Mr. Rhodenbarr had to cancel his eight o’clock appointment, and he’d be calling to reschedule as soon as he was able.”
“That’s what you told her, huh?”
“Right, I kept it crisp and professional. I’ve got to say she seems to take more of a personal interest in her clients than most of the shrinks I’ve known.”
“She’s not exactly a shrink,” I said. “She’s a poetry therapist.”
“Oh, yeah? You been having trouble with your poems, Bernie?” He looked puzzled, then shrugged it away. “She seemed more concerned about your digestion than anything else. Something about knishes and burritos.”
“Oh.”
“But I cleared everything up for her. I explained that the cops had you in a holding pen charged with burglary, but that I was on my way to get a writ and I expected to have you out on bail in a couple of hours. Did I say something wrong?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Wally. Don’t you think you may have been overly discreet?”
“Bernie, she’s your therapist, right? Obviously she knows your history and what you do for a living. How else could you expect to get anywhere in therapy?”
“How indeed?”
“Though she did seem taken aback, come to think of it. Maybe she was upset that you were actually arrested and charged with a crime.”
“That must be it.”
“People outside of the criminal justice system, they don’t realize that’s all part of the deal. Anyway, she’ll be waiting for you to call.”
“With bated breath, I’ll bet. Wally, she’s not my therapist. She’s a woman I had a couple of dates with.”
“Oh.”
“We were just starting to get to know each other,” I said. “As far as she knew, I was just a bookseller with a slight case of Delhi Belly. She had no idea I was a burglar.”
“Well, she’s got a pretty good idea now,” he said. “Bernie, I’m sorry as all hell. I guess I really stepped in it.
“Forget it.”
“Were you, uh, sleeping with her?”
“No,” I said, “but I had hopes.”
“Rats. I’m sorry, I really am. But hey, you’ll call her in a day or two and you’ll think of something to say.”
“And so will she. Hers’ll probably be something along the lines of ‘Lose my number, asshole.’ ”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Talking to her, she didn’t seem like the kind of girl to use bad language. Outside of that, you’re probably right.”
“‘If you do not have an attorney,’” Ray had intoned, “‘one will be provided for you.’”
Fortunately, that hadn’t been necessary. I had an attorney. You can hardly be in business without one these days, and this is doubly true if your business comes under the broad heading of felonies and misdemeanors. You really need a lawyer you can call your own, and he ought to be the kind you have to pay. I’m sure the fellows and gals at Legal Aid do a commendable job for their clients, but I’m happier personally with legal counsel that’s