Gillis finished his whisky and slid a five-dollar bill across the counter.
‘Hang on to the change,’ he said. ‘What was the other guy like?’
‘Tal , lanky, with a crew hair cut.’
Dallas!
‘Thanks, Jack,’ Gil is said, and pushed himself away from the bar. For the first time since he started on this business he felt uneasy. If Dallas was watching him — how much had he found out?
He stood hesitating for a moment, then walked quickly to a pay booth and shut himself in.
VII
Rico sat huddled up, staring miserably at the two pools of light from the headlamps that raced ahead of the Packard. He was sure now he had seen the last of the Frou-Frou Club, and the future yawned before him as a dark, menacing chasm. If Baird didn’t pull this job off, he would have to start all over again. Baird had nothing to lose, but it was different for him: he had established himself; he was a man of substance. He was leaving behind him a flourishing business, a newly furnished apartment, a wardrobe full of clothes, and a Buick. He must have been out of his mind to have got himself in a jam like this.
Baird said, ‘In another fifteen miles we’l be across the State line. We can get an air taxi from Lincoln Falls to Shreveport. If we get the breaks we should be in Red River Basin by tomorrow night.’
Rico didn’t say anything. He thrust his hands in his coat pockets and huddled further down in his seat.