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Pete met Co
Co
Pete took Co
“Come in.”
Co
Rocky squinted at Co
“An offer.”
Rocky motioned Co
Today, Rocky wore a dark gray suit, obscenely bright floral tie. He spread his hands, indicated Co
Co
A plastic fish on a wooden plaque. Rocky snapped his fingers near the fish’s head. The fish sprang to life, body twisting, mouth opening and closing to the mechanical sounds of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” It sang a few lines, then went still again.
“What exactly do people do with these?” Rocky asked.
“You’ve never seen those?” Co
Rocky sighed. “And we have an entire truckload.” Rocky tossed it over his shoulder, and it landed in a pile of junk behind him. “So, let’s hear your offer.”
Co
“What are they?”
“Paintings.”
“I can see that,” Rocky said. “Specifics.”
“By a guy named Jasper Dybek. He’s getting famous. His last painting went for nearly twenty thousand dollars.”
Rocky looked embarrassed. “I don’t usually take items in barter.”
“There’s like sixty grand worth of art here.”
Rocky considered, picked up the phone. “Julie? Get me Burt Rosenthal at Sotheby’s. Yes, I’ll wait.” He put his hand over the phone. “Only because Otis vouches for you. I really am becoming a ridiculous softy. Sometimes I think- Hello, Burt? Yes, it’s Rocky. How’s your boy? He still at New Haven? That’s grand, really. Super. Listen, I’m calling about the usual. You know what I mean. Uh-huh. I know it takes time. No problem. Three abstracts by an artist named-” Rocky looked at Co
“Jasper Dybek.”
“-Jasper Dybek,” Rocky said into the phone. “Yes, it does look like some sloppy work. I’ve never been a fan of abstract myself. Can we move them? Uh-huh. Right. No, that’s good for now. Call me later with the details. Thanks, Burt.” He hung up.
Rocky sighed. “Okay, I’ll take them.”
Co
“Your cut of what?”
“That’s sixty thousand dollars worth of art!” Co
“We’re square.” Rocky’s voice was flat, a warning tone.
“But-”
“Co
Co
“Don’t pout,” Rocky said.
At least Co
Co
Planet X was a small shop in a plaza on the navy base side of town, wedged in between a pizza joint and a computer store. Co
The owner of Planet X had gone all the way. Models of spaceships and dragons hung from the ceiling on fishing line. Life-size cardboard cutouts of Batman, Green Lantern, Spider-Man, and the Punisher. Movie posters on the walls, Star Wars, Blade Ru
Somebody had a lot of time on his hands.
Co
“Co
Co
Randy Frankowski looked just as awkward in denim shorts and a Wookie Anti-Defamation League T-shirt as he did in a tuxedo, but the kid seemed happy and comfortable, in his element with the Star Trek collectibles and comic books and sci-fi stuff all around.
“Did you hear about the Dybeks?” Randy said. “Somebody stole them. Can you believe it? Right in the middle of the reception. Professor Dan was livid.”
“Wow. Do they know who did it?”
Randy shook his head. “Not that I’ve heard. The cops crawled all over the place looking for clues or whatever, but last I heard they were stumped.”
Good.
“I really didn’t expect you to come in here,” Randy said. “You didn’t seem like a comic-book sort of guy. Unless you want to start reading The Incredible Hulk again. We have the latest issue.”
“Do you guys buy baseball cards?” Co
Randy pointed to a poster on the wall. It depicted a triple-breasted, green woman riding a unicorn and wielding a flaming whip. “That’s one of mine over there. I drew it and went to this place and had a hundred posters run off. We sell them here in the store, and I’ve sold like eight or nine already. That’s pretty cool, huh?”
“Focus, Randy. I asked about baseball cards.”
Randy looked at the binder, nodded. “Ah. You want to unload the collection, huh?”
“I could use some cash.”
“The boss set up two standard methods,” Randy said. “First, we can sell them on consignment. We’ll put them on display with whatever price you want, and when they sell, Planet X gets 15 percent. You get more money that way, but it’s a slow sort of system.” He pointed at a card in the case. “That Wade Boggs has been in the case a year. I could have sold it ten times, but the owner won’t come down on the price.”
“I don’t have time for that.”
“The other way, Planet X buys the cards from you outright, but only at half the Price Guide value.”
“That’s good.” Co
“Are you sure?” Randy asked. “You lose a lot of the value that way.”
“Start adding them up.”
Randy shrugged, went around the other side of the counter, and pulled out the Price Guide. Randy went through the binder, finding the prices in the guide, writing the numbers in a long column on a legal pad.
Selling Folger’s old cards wouldn’t be enough to get out of town, but it might carry him awhile. Co
What he really needed was the ten grand from the DiMaggio card, but he didn’t know where it was. Maybe Randy knew something that could point Co