I said, “This message concerns your personal health.”
“My health is good. It’s going to stay good. What the hell’s the message?”
I said, “Don’t cash that cheque.”
“What cheque?”
“The one you just got.”
He took his feet down from the chair. “You’ve got a hell of a crust,” he said.
I said, “Brother, you’ve cashed twenty thousand bucks in cheques through the Atlee Amusement Corporation. That’s just twenty grand too much. You’ve got another check in I hat right-hand coat pocket. As soon as you give it to me, I’ll get out of here.”
He looked at me as though I’d been a funny tropical fish swimming around in an aquarium.
“Now,” he said, “you interest me. Who the hell are you?”
I said, “I’ve told you who I was and what I wanted. Now, what are you going to do about it?”