Say, you know, that’s an angle. You wanna consider that? You wanna stroll east to the river and have a look at them piers, them freighters? You actually wanna take a boat ride?

And you say you ain’t nervous, he derided the slow-moving target who sensed that eyes were watching, that every step he took going west on Addison brought him closer to calamity.

Come off it, he told himself. Get your mind on something else. On broads, for instance. Any broad. Now take Nellie—

Or take the riddle she handed you, when she was soused and told all about Rafer’s fairy tale, the fairy tale that reads there’s a million-five and it ain’t doin’ nothin’ for the Chinaman.

And the riddle is—what Chinaman?

Behind him a horn honked softly. He turned and saw a car coming to a stop on the other side of Addison. It was an Oldsmobile, and through the glow of the street lamps and the glare of the headlights he could see who it was behind the windshield, he could see the platinum-blonde hair.

It appeared she was alone in the car. She beckoned to him and he walked slowly across Addison, moving in a diagonal, going toward the car. He wondered if she was really alone, and considered the possibility that someone was crouched below the window level in the rear of the car.

Lita opened the car door. In the instant before he climbed in, he checked the floor below the rear seat. It was empty. Then he sat beside her, closing the door and said to himself, whatever’s gonna happen, let it happen. Just go along with it.

He looked at her. She was wearing a pale green, low-cut blouse and a flimsy skirt, striped green and yellow. Under that she wore nothing. She was facing the windshield; at first she seemed motionless, but then he noticed her hand moving, slowly raising the skirt up her thigh.

He leaned back in the seat and then, conversationally said, “How come you’re out this time of night?”

“Driving around,” she said. “Driving all around the neighborhood. Trying to find that Chink.”

“Chink?”

“That little slant-eyed sneak.”

“The girl? The house maid?”

“She sneaked out again.”

“So?”

“So I won’t put up with it,” Lita said quietly. “I can’t be bothered.”

“Cut that.”

She looked at him. “What did you say?”

“I said cut that. You ain’t bothered about that.”

Lita shifted in the seat, sitting sideways and facing him. Some moments passed and she didn’t say anything.

Corey said, “You didn’t come out to look for the girl. You been looking for me.”

“Really?”

He nodded slowly.

She started to say something, tightened her mouth to hold it back, then said weakly, pleadingly, “Can’t you sit closer to me?”