Bad News

“Borrow from somebody else,” Kelp suggested.

“Well, the problem with that,” Little Feather told him, “anybody that wants to invest in a casino, they gotta be investigated by the government, make sure they’re not mobbed up. Only, most people that want to invest in casinos are mobbed up, so it takes a while to prove you’re not.”

Dortmunder said, “How long?”

Kelp said, “She’s go

“If everything goes smoothly,” Little Feather said.

“Everything goes smoothly,” Dortmunder repeated in a quiet and contemplative way, as though wondering what those pretty-sounding words meant.

Tiny said to Little Feather, “So what it comes down to is, we don’t get no money because you didn’t get no money, and you aren’t go

Kelp said, “It sounds pretty final when you put it that way.”

Tiny, looking like Grendel between meals, said, “How’d I wind up here anyway?”

“Fitzroy,” Little Feather promptly answered. “Fitzroy and Irwin got us into this.”

Kelp said, “Well, don’t leave out Oglanda and Fox.”

“Maybe I’ll rush the courthouse, too,” Tiny decided.

“Well,” Dortmunder said, “I’m go

“I know you meant to ask me to come along,” Kelp told him, “and just forgot, but in fact, I’m go

They looked at him. Little Feather said, “Why, you sick?” as though she was about to go for the Lysol.

“No, I need a car,” Kelp said. “A

Tiny grumbled and moved his shoulders around. “It’s New Year’s Eve,” he said. “I’m goin down to Brooklyn, find a good bar, start a fight.”

Dortmunder said, “How about you, Little Feather? You heading back north?”

“In a few days,” she said. “We’re go

Kelp said, “We?”

“Well, if the business part of the meeting is over,” she said, “I’ll bring him out.” Turning, she called over her shoulder, “Be

Be

Dortmunder and Kelp and Tiny had nothing to say. Little Feather gave them her own unreadable smile and said, “Be

“Uh-huh,” he said, and gulped, his Adam’s apple bouncing like a golf ball.

“That’s nice,” Dortmunder managed to say.

“I been needing a protector,” Little Feather said. “Be

Be