them twice. That’s not me. Who’s got a more solid rep? You don’t get that for nothing. It’s like everything else—you pay for it. I make my payments on the installment plan, understand?”
“No. Solly, if—”
“Look, kid. All I’m saying is, I always play it careful, okay? Careful, that’s not something you are; it’s something you do. Every job, every time. That’s how come I’m … trusted, okay?”
“Sure. But I already—”
“Will you fucking let me talk? Just listen, for a damn minute. I got no reason to think this Jessop is … a problem. But I don’t like not knowing where to find him.”
“If he knew your pal, he’s in the business. How hard could it be?”
“What, you think we’re like some fraternity or something? Get together once a year, tell stories about the good old days? I know a few people, sure. But every phone call, that’s somebody else I owe. Besides, this ain’t phone work, understand?”
“Yeah. What I don’t understand is why you’re telling me all this. Tell Big Matt—he’s the one with something to lose.”
“He’s out, Sugar.”
“Somebody took him—”
“No,” he cut me off. “The opposite. He’s gone total Square John. Married, kid on the way.”
“How could he just …?” I couldn’t finish the sentence; I didn’t know what words to use.
“Oh, he told me in front,” Solly said. “That last job, it was gonna be his last job, no matter what. We score, he’s got enough to get a house, all the stuff you need to go straight. That’s what he said. I remember it real clear. ‘When this is over, so am I. No more stealing diamonds for me; I’m going to be buying them. Buying one, anyway.’ His girl, she’s not in The Life. Didn’t have a clue what Big Matt did for a living. His real living, I mean.”
“What did she think he—?”
“He buys houses. Real wrecks. Somewhere way out west, where you can buy them for next to nothing. Then he fixes them up and sells them. Lives in the house while he’s doing the repairs.”
“Pretty smart.”
“It is,” Solly said. “Big Matt, he’s a thinker.”
Meaning, I’m not, I thought, but I kept that to myself. Just sat and waited.
“Prices have gone through the fucking roof since you’ve been away, Sugar. Actually, more of a spike. So the co-ops are down from what they were asking a few years ago, but rentals, they never go back. You’d be lucky to find a decent apartment for under two grand. And that wouldn’t even be the city—probably have to go out to Brooklyn or something.”
“I’m not broke,” I reminded him.
“No, you’re not. But you’re going to have to go back to work sooner or later.”
“Sure.”
“Aah!” he said, like he was throwing the word out of the room. “If Albie said this Jessop was stand-up, that should be good enough for me, right?”
“I didn’t know him.”
“It’s … it’s a respect thing, Sugar. I can’t just go out and cut my losses. I got no feeling from this guy. Nothing. Probably solid as a stone. But …”
I kept quiet. Still couldn’t figure out what all this blah-blah was about. Solly was a talker, I knew. I mean, he liked talking. I guess there weren’t too many people he could talk to anymore.
“How about if you nose around a little? Find the guy, talk to him, see if he’s righteous?”
“What do I care? You said it yourself—I’m in the clear. Even if he walked into a police station somewhere and started running his mouth, how’s that my problem?”
“I got a responsibility.”
“To who? Everyone who sits in takes their chances; that’s the way it is.”
“I got a responsibility to Albie, okay?” The old man was really getting worked up; I never heard him sound angry, like that. “I can’t just … you know. It’d be like one of those preemptive strikes. Tap the guy, and we can all rest easy. But that wouldn’t be fair to Albie. It’d be like I didn’t trust his judgment.
“That happens, you know. Man gets old, he should get respect. Not for being old, but for the wisdom he has. Albie wasn’t soft in the head. Not fucking senile, okay? He still had it up here,” Solly said, tapping his temple.
“That’s good enough for me.”
“For you, sure. For me, it can’t be. A man gets old, he wants to leave a will, make sure he takes care of everyone who he should be taking care of. But you know what nobody should ever leave, Sugar? Loose