“Okay, let ’em spend it.”
“And,” I said, “if a Los Angeles grand jury got the idea there was something back of that disappearance, it would call witnesses.”
“That’s fine. Let ’em go ahead.”
“The witness who testified before the grand jury would be testifying under oath. Any lies they told would be perjury, and you know what that means. Now, I’m here as a friend. You can tell me whatever it is you know, and I’ll try to find Corla Burke. I could leave you out of it — if I got results. If you appear before the Los Angeles grand jury, the situation might be different.”
“Forget it. I don’t want to appear before no grand jury.”
I lit a cigarette.
Helen Framley said, “Well, I’ll tell you. I—”
“Skip it,” Pug said.
“Shut up, Pug. I know what I’m doing. Let me tell it.”
“You’re talking too much.”