Yet, the reason for the increased business was the same as that which had caused me to seek her out. Regardless, after that first session, I sincerely hoped future encounters would be affordable, even within the realm of the earnings of a hard working cab driver. She did indeed satisfy my hunger. Also, I found her most likeable.
However, as April progressed and Mother Nature loosened her fist, the days warmed, buds formed on the trees and the fear seemed to wear off somewhat as the lack of further developments kept the story out of the newspapers. No killings followed, no clues materialized and the coming of spring reduced the student populace to absolute giddiness. A high temperature of a mere forty degrees and students sashayed around town in shorts! Mostly the Scandinavians, of course, with their flowing Nordic blonde hair and long sinewy legs, but soon everyone followed their example.
Then, came that one-week vacation from classes, known as spring break, andMadison was a ghost town, leaving me tormented by Tacitus, which I was again attempting to read, feeling in a mood for self-flagellation. Thankfully, a call at Buck'sMadisonSquareGarden spared me the tedium.
And thankfully, the gentleman was actually watching from inside the bar and promptly emerged after I had pulled up, for once disproving the image of this particular establishment as represented by Dexter, who so frequently would refer to the place as "Buck's Madison Square No-Load."
It was a good call as well, going all the way to the far north side of town. This call could be a cornerstone of my shift, a good run on the meter, with a good tip, except I found myself wordless, my mind rendered into a stupor by that infernally dull Tacitus.
Unfortunately, my passenger filled in the blanks left by my silence, babbling drunkenly the entire trip. The thought entered my mind to bite him, or at least take momentary control of his consciousness, just to get him to hold his peace, but alas, the man sat in the backseat well out of my reach.
To compound matters, he wanted to pay with a check. "I am sorry, sir," I was forced to say. "We do not accept checks."
"What do you mean, you don't take checks?"
"Just what I said, sir. We do not accept checks. If the check is returned for insufficient funds, I am held personally responsible."
"There is nothing wrong with my check."
"Perhaps, there is not, but I have no way of knowing that."
"Hey, I know your owner. We play golf together. If he were here, he'd tell you there's nothing wrong with my check."
Dale's words during orientation echoed through my skull. "We are a cooperative," I replied, more sharply than I would have expected, surprised to be defending the serfs for once. "We are all owners. We are owned by no one but ourselves."
"Yeah, that's what you think." The man slapped the top of the front seat loudly. "You must be pretty new if you don't know my friend. We go back a long way. Wake up and smell the coffee. My friend, he's the one who really owns you guys. You might not know him now, but you'll get to meet him someday - when you fuck up and he tells you to hit the bricks."
It seemed obvious that Kern would say this guy was using the oldest line in the book. Much to my surprise, I found myself getting angry that he was attacking our cooperative.My cooperative!
After a moment's consideration, I replied, "Right on the outside of the cab it says, 'worker owned and operated.' We are a cooperative, all owning an equal part, as per very specific guidelines from state law. Sir, it seems apparent that you are living in a fantasy world."
"Jesus fucking Christ, what planet areyou living on?"
"Obviously, not the same as you are, sir."
The man said not another word, loudly tearing free a check, tossing it over the front seat and exiting the cab. I considered chasing him, but after studying the check, it seemed best to just leave it be. He had paid the whole fare, plus a two-dollar tip. The check was numbered in the 6000s, and this neighborhood was fairly affluent. If the check did in fact bounce, as the Americans say, I would hunt this man down and collect my pound of flesh.
I left the man to his folly, drove back uptown and found a free cab stand where I languished with only Tacitus for company. Out of boredom, I closed the book