She obviously did not follow that. This was the democracy we deified.
"They wouldn't print a story like that if it wasn't true. It would be as much as their life's worth. You a detective?"
"Part time," Robert said.
"How much do you get an hour for that?"
"Not nearly enough."
"No, I suppose not. Haven't got a Union, I suppose. You don't get your rights in this world unless you have a Union."
"Too true," said Robert. "Let me have my bill, will you?"
"Your check, yes."
At the Palace, the biggest and newest of the cinemas, the restaurant occupied the floor behind the balcony and had carpets so deep that one tripped on them, and lighting so subdued that all the cloths looked dirty. A bored houri with gilt hair, an uneven hem to her skirt, and a wad of chewing gum in her right jaw, took his order without ever glancing at him, and fifteen minutes later put down a cup of washy liquid in front of him without letting her eyes stray even approximately in his direction. Since in the fifteen minutes Robert had discovered that the never-look-at-the-customers technique was universal-presumably they were all going to be film stars the year after next and could not be expected to take any interest in a provincial clientele-he paid for the untasted liquid and left.
At the Castle, the other big cinema, the restaurant did not open until afternoon.