I said, “I guess we go uptown and see if we can locate Louie in any of the bars.”
She studied me a second or two, then burst out laughing, but there was a note of bitterness in her laughter.
I walked over to stand close to her. “Don’t you see,” I told her, “I don’t want anything I’m not entitled to.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Go on from there.”
“You’re right about one thing. I’m a detective. I’m working. It isn’t that I’m working for the B. Cool Agency. It’s that I’m working on a case. I’m trying to see that some other people get a fair deal. They’re depending on me, whether they know it or not. If I don’t do the job, I don’t think anyone else will.”
“And so you want me to tell you what I know about—”
“I don’t want you to tell me a damn thing,” I said. “I’m strong for you. I think you’re one of the nicest girls I’ve ever met. But I’d never have asked you to leave Las Vegas and come out with me if it hadn’t been a matter of business. I’m enjoying it. I’m happy. I like to be near you. I like the way you do things. I like everything about you. But I’m working on a job, and the reason I’m here with you is because it’s along the line I’m following to make a success of that job.”
“And when the job’s over?”
I’d been dreading that question. I said, “I’ll probably have something else tossed into my lap.”
“And you’re not going to ask me what I know about Pug?”
“No.”