He pulled up the bedclothes and snapped out the light. She remained sobbing with rage on the cold floor.
Dillon used Jakie’s Poolroom on Nineteenth for his headquarters. The boys spent a lot of their time pushing the balls around, waiting for something to turn up. Dillon had a little office at the far end of the poolroom. It was quite a place. He had a roll-top desk and several modern chairs of chromium and leather. The door had a ground-glass panel with ‘AUTOMATICS, LTD.’ painted on it, and in smaller letters at the bottom right-hand corner, ‘Manager’. Dillon liked that, it made him feel good.
When Roxy blew in during the early afternoon the poolroom was full. Dillon’s boys were drinking, talking and playing snooker. They glanced up when Roxy came in, looked at him suspiciously and glanced at one another.
Roxy stood in the doorway, his hat tipped over his eyes. “Mr. Dillon around?” he asked.
One of them jerked his thumb to the door. “In there,” he said briefly.
Roxy started across the floor. A big bird suddenly got in his way. “Hey!” he said. “Where the hell do you think you’re goin’?”
Roxy said patiently, “I wantta see Dillon.”
The big bird said, “Wait.” He ran his hands over Roxy, feeling for a gun, then he knocked on the door and put his head round. He withdrew after a moment and nodded at Roxy. “Go ahead,” he said. “You’re okay.”
Dillon was thumbing through a newspaper, half hidden by the top of the desk. He glanced up and looked at Roxy thoughtfully.
“Jeeze! Quite the big shot,” Roxy said.