“I’ll bet Stolz is robbing the tax bulls blind,” Uncle Willy decided with a grudging touch of admiration.

Big Tom leaned his arms on his knees, rubbed his chin, frowned at the open light in the middle of the ceiling. “I don’t know. There’s something screwy about the setup, a chunk like that left unlocked and unguarded in a house with an old woman and a girl. It’s careless-like, and a boy such as Stolz isn’t careless, ever. It’s almost like he’s got some kind of guarantee. Something to keep everybody away.”

“There’s a dog,” Uncle Willy offered.

“Oh, hell, I’m not talking about a dog.”

“Maybe he’s keeping it for a friend.”

Big Tom smiled slightly, as if Uncle Willy had cracked a joke.

They wasted forty-five minutes in the hamburger joint and afterward let Karen out at the corner where the bus stopped. “Now we’ll go on to the vacant place and circle around through those trees,” Skip told her. She was standing under the glow of a street light and staring across the wide lawn at the house. The house was dark except for a small bulb burning in the enormous cavern of the porch.

“Did you hear me, for Chrissakes?”

“Sure. Sure I heard you.”

“The back door. We’ll be at the back door.”

“What about afterwards?”

“Stay and size it up for a day or two. If she gets wise the money’s gone and starts to get hold of Stolz, or makes a squawk for the cops, run. Don’t bother to pack a bag or any of that kind of crap. Just walk off.”

“Where? Where should I walk, Skip?”

“I’ll figure a place. Get going.”

Eddie was alone in the car with Skip now. As the car labored up the grade to the rising ground and the trees, Eddie said, “I felt sorry for her there.”

“For what? We’ll be doing her a favor, getting her out of the dump. The old woman works her tail off, and look at the clothes the chick wears. Not a goddamn thing you wouldn’t put on your old maid aunt. She wears cotton underpants, for Chrissakes!”

“She told you?”

Then Eddie knew that Skip was laughing at him, and he shut up. The car labored up the rise and drew to a stop beside the dark curb. Eddie got out. He heard Skip shut the door on the opposite side, not slamming it, ticking the lock quietly. “I wonder why we’ve never seen a patrol car through here,” Eddie said. “Big homes and all. You’d think they’d keep an eye on things.”

“They’ve got an eye on you right now, friend,” Skip jeered. “They’re reading your mind with a goofus machine. Wait’ll we get to the back door. They’ll jump out of the bushes.”

“Ah, shut up,” Eddie said mildly.