He stopped coming towards me and said, “What are you reaching for?”
“A notebook,” I said, “and a fountain pen.”
“I told you about your health once,” he said. “You didn’t listen to me.”
“Ever hear about a law covering kidnapping?” I asked.
He laughed and said, “Sure, I’ve heard about it. I’ve heard about a lot of other laws, too. How would you like to get thrown in the can, wise guy?”
I said, “Throw me in, and I’ll bounce right out, and when I do, you know what will happen to you.”
He said, “Oh, you think you’ll bounce right out, do your?”
“I know it,” I said. “Don’t think I came into your territory without making plans in advance.”
He kept sizing me up and sliding his hand over towards his right hip. He said, “In the first place, I think that’s a stolen car. In the second place, a man was killed on the highway a couple of nights ago by a hit-and-run driver. I think this is the car that hit him.”
“Try again,” I. said.