Backtracker (56 page)

"
Make it a buck,
"
shrugged the guy.
"
Fifty cents a draft.
"

While Billy fumbled with his billfold, the bartender slipped a huge paw toward the Rolex. Dave was so engrossed in inspecting the mysterious inscription, he jumped when the guy
'
s hand appeared before him.

"
Uh, here you go,
"
he said nervously, dropping the watch into the bartender
'
s palm.
"
That
'
s, uh...that
is
a nice watch you got there.
"

"
Yup,
"
nodded the guy.

"
Here ya
'
go,
"
said Billy, slapping a bill on the bar.
"
Just keep the change, man. We appreciate your helpin
'
us out.
"

"
Yeah, we, uh...we really do,
"
chimed Dave, staring at the money which Billy had deposited, noting with some surprise that it was a ten
-
dollar bill.

"
No sweat,
"
sniffed the guy.
"
Thanks for the tip.
"

Taking a step away from the bar, Billy bobbed his head to one side, signaling Dave to accompany him.
"
Later on, man,
"
he tossed pleasantly, swinging up one hand in a nonchalant wave to the bartender.
"
Hope ya
'
get what ya
'
want for that Rolex.
"

"
Me, too,
"
said the slovenly proprietor.
"
I gotta
'
get this damn place in shape. Need some new
posters
.
"
At that, he sniffled and shook, jiggling with amusement.

Chuckling good
-
naturedly, Billy gave a last wave and led Dave out of the dingy barroom.

"
Well,
that
was interesting,
"
said Billy as Dave followed him outside and shut the screen door.
"
That was
real
interesting. I
'
m glad we stopped here after all, man.
"

"'
Kimmel
'
,
"
muttered Dave.
"
Who
'
s
'
Kimmel
'
? Do we know any
'
Kimmels
'
?
"

"
Not personally,
"
replied Billy, proceeding along the sidewalk with Dave in tow.
"
By the way, don
'
t forget you owe me ten bucks for those beers.
"

"
You
'
re kidding, right
?
"
chafed Dave.
"
I
didn
'
t tell you to put down ten bucks, for cryin
'
out loud.
"

"
It was a
tip
, man! We
had
to give the guy something for his trouble.
"

"
Yeah, but ten
bucks
?
"
griped Dave.

"
Don
'
t knock it,
"
advised Billy.
"
It was worth every penny. We found out a
lot
,
y
'
know? For one thing, we found out Larry
'
s on the move, right? He left this place in a hurry, and he isn
'
t coming back. We also found out
he had
a bunch of jewelry and a Rolex watch.
"

"
Where did he
get
that stuff, though
?
"
wondered Dave.
"
I mean, did he steal it, or what?
"

"
I think that
'
s a safe bet,
"
Billy said wryly, casting a frank sideways glance at his friend.
"
I don
'
t think he bought it with his pay from Double
-
Doubleyoo, that
'
s for sure.
"

"
I don
'
t get it,
"
mumbled Dave.
"
I really don
'
t
get
it.
"

"
Anyway,
"
continued Billy,
"
we know he moved outta
'
this place, we know he paid his rent with a Rolex, and we know he
'
s used at least three different names. He told
us
he
'
s
'
Larry Smith,
'
he goes by
'
Frank Moses
'
at the youth center, and the bartender
here
thinks he
'
s
'
Mike Hoffman
'
.
"

"
He said he moves around a lot because he doesn
'
t like to stay in one place,
"
said Dave,
"
but I sort
'
a figured it was because he doesn
'
t want people finding out about his psychic powers. Maybe that
'
s why he uses different names...so if people hear about what he can do, they won
'
t be able to track him down.
"

"
Sure,
"
said Billy,
"
or maybe he
'
s just a crook. Maybe he
'
s a con artist or something. Maybe he doesn
'
t want the
cops
to track him down.
"

"
I don
'
t think so,
"
grimaced Dave.
"
I mean, that
can
'
t
be what he is...not after everything that
'
s happened.
"

"
Hey, anything
'
s possible,
"
shrugged Billy.
"
You
'
d be surprised at what a good con man can make you think.
"

"
I don
'
t think he
'
s a con man or a crook,
"
said Dave as he stepped from the sidewalk to the street.
"
I mean, he doesn
'
t seem like the
type
who
'
d
rob
somebody.
"

"
Hey,
"
shrugged Billy.
"
How do you know
what
type he is? He
'
s lied to you already, hasn
'
t he? He
'
s been lying to us all along, right? We know he
'
s dishonest, so how hard is it to believe he
'
s a crook, too?
"

For a moment, Dave paused at the door of the Torino; car keys in hand, he frowned at his friend, realized just how possible it was that Billy
'
s ideas were on the money. Larry
had
proved to be an adept liar, had managed to fib and mislead with great skill; if he could so easily conceal the truth, was it not likely that
he'd
fooled Dave about the nature of his character? Recalling Larry
'
s heartfelt confession, Dave found it difficult to believe that Larry was a criminal of some sort...and yet,
he'd
seen the Rolex, he knew that it was probably stolen. As much as he hated to think that Larry was anything less than noble, he
couldn
'
t
ignore the Rolex,
couldn
'
t
dismiss his new doubts.

"
We
'
d better get going,
"
he said at last, opening the door of the car and glancing at his watch.
"
It
'
s ten till noon now. We
'
re already running late.
"

"
There
'
s no hurry,
"
said Billy.
"
I think it
'
ll be better if we get there a little late, so we can sort
'
a sneak around without Larry seeing us. If we get to the place before him, he
'
s liable to spot us and bolt outta
'
there before we can get to him...
if
he
'
s even gonna
'
be
there, of course.
"

"
Yeah,
"
grunted Dave, sliding into the car.
"
If. Everything
'
s
'
if
'
these days.
"
Shoving the key into the ignition, he started the engine, let it idle as Billy dropped onto the seat beside him.

"
Y
'
know,
"
said Billy as he pulled the door shut,
"
I can only think of one Kimmel off the top of my head...only one who could afford a Rolex, anyway.
"

With a tug of the gearshift and a turn of the steering wheel, Dave started the Torino down the alley.
"
Who
'
s that
?
"
he asked.

"
Roger Kimmel,
"
Billy replied thoughtfully.
"
You know...the big shot. The guy who owns Kimmel Corporation.
"

Dave searched his mind, quickly made the connection.
"
Oh yeah. The developer. I hadn
'
t thought of him.
"

"
He
sure has the money for a Rolex,
"
said Billy.
"
He could probably buy the whole Rolex
company
if he wanted to.
"

"
You think Larry stole the watch from
him
?
"
Dave asked disbelievingly.
"
Isn
'
t that kind of far
-
fetched?
"

"
Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows what Larry
'
s been up to?
"

"
Yeah, but...Roger Kimmel
?
"
said Dave.
"
If Larry wanted to rob somebody, why would he pick Roger Kimmel, of all people? I mean, he
'
s probably the most powerful guy in
town
.
If Larry robbed him, Roger Kimmel would have the whole police
department
hunting him down.
"

"
Wait a minute,
"
said Billy.
"
Y
'
know, I didn
'
t think of it till just now, but I remember hearing about something that happened to that Kimmel guy. I heard about it on the news, oh...I don
'
t know, about two weeks ago.
"