Catch Me If You Can Page 0,81

my dress and bearing.

"Yes, you can, as a matter of fact," I said easily. "I'm Robert Leeman from Junction, and I need to cash a check, a rather large one. I've all the proper identification and you can call my bank for verification, but I don't think that'll be necessary. J. P. Cashman knows me, and he'll verify the check. You can call him. No, I'll do it myself, since I need to talk to him anyway."

Before he could react, I reached over, picked up his telephone and dialed Cashman's correct extension. Cash-man's secretary answered.

"Yes, Mr. Cashman, please... He isn't... Oh, yes, he mentioned that last week and it slipped my mind. Well, listen, would you tell him when he returns that Bob Leeman dropped by, and tell him Jean and I are looking forward to seeing him and Mildred in Junction for the hunt. He'll know what I mean... Yes, thank you."

I replaced the telephone and stood up, grimacing. "Doesn't look like my day," I said ruefully. "I needed the cash, too. I can't get to Junction and back in time for this deal. Well, good day, sir."

I started to turn and the young officer stopped me. "Uh, how big is the check you wanted to cash, Mr. Leeman?"

"Pretty good sized," I said. "I need $7,500. Do you think you can take care of it? I can give you the number of my bank in Junction." Without waiting for a reply, I dropped back into the chair, briskly wrote out a check for $7,500 and handed it to him. As I figured, he didn't call the bank in Junction. He stood up and turned toward one of the glassed-in offices. "Sir, I'll have to have Mr. James, the vice president, okay this, which I'm sure he will. I'll be back in a moment."

He walked into James's office and said (as I later learned) exactly what I'd conditioned him to say. "Sir, there's a Mr. Leeman here from Junction and he needs to cash this rather large check. He's a personal friend of Mr. Cashman, and he wanted to see Mr. Cashman, but as you know Mr. Cashman's in San Francisco."

"A personal friend of the old man's?"

"Yes, sir, business and social, I understand."

"Cash it. We sure as hell don't want to irritate any of the old man's associates."

A minute later the young officer was handing the phony check to a teller. "Cash this for the gentleman, please. Mr. Leeman, I'm glad I could help you."

I wasn't too well pleased with the Pavlov's-dog swindle. In fact, I didn't enjoy it at all. I left town that day and several days later stopped in a remote Vermont village to do some meditating. Mine were gloomy cogitations. I was no longer living, I decided, I was merely surviving. I had accumulated a fortune with my nefarious impersonations, swindles and felonies, but I wasn't enjoying the fruits of my libidinous labors. I concluded it was time to retire, to go to earth like a fox in a remote and secure lair where I could relax and commence building a new and crime-free life.

I reviewed the places I had been on the atlas of my mind. I was mildly astonished at the extensiveness of my travels, recalling my journeys of the past few years. I had crisscrossed the globe from Singapore to Stockholm, from Tahiti to Trieste, from Baltimore to the Baltics, and to other places I had forgotten I'd visited.

But one place I hadn't forgotten. And its name kept popping into my thoughts as I sought a safe haven. Montpellier, France.

Montpellier. That was my safe haven, I finally decided. And having made the decision, I didn't give it a second thought.

I should have.
CHAPTER NINE. Does This Tab Include the Tip?
Quantitatively, the vineyards of Bas Languedoc produce more wine than the other three great French wine departments combined. Qualitatively, with one or two exceptions, the wine of Languedoc has all the bouquet, body and taste of flat root beer. The considerate host serves an ordinary Languedoc wine only with leftover meat loaf, and preferably to guests whom he'd rather not see again.

It is, in the main, really bad juice.

Fortunately for France, the vintners, grape pickers, bottlers and the vast majority of the rest of the population consume the bulk of Languedoc 's wines. France exports only its great wines from the vineyards of Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne, which are justly famous for quality and excellence.

I learned all about viniculture in Montpellier. The first thing I