“He had to pay for ’em or he wouldn’t have tickets in his possession in the first place. I’m sure he didn’t make two trips to Reno. Hell, he didn’t even make one.”

“Maybe he has a refund coming.”

“Maybe he collected the money and spent it all. Who cares?”

“I’m sure Ruthie would appreciate the windfall.”

“Fine. Give her the file and let her figure it out.”

“Such a grouch,” I said.

Dietz was dropping files back into the banker’s box he’d placed in front of him. “What time is it?”

I checked my watch. “Ten fifteen. Why?”

“I told Nick I’d be back in time to take him to lunch.”

“It’s the middle of the morning. We have eight boxes to go!”

“Not me. I’ve had it.”

“I don’t want to do this on my own.”

“Then don’t. Nobody’s paying you.”

“Come on. Don’t you have any curiosity at all about who else he might’ve been working for? Suppose he had half a dozen other clients who were all set to pay?”

“He didn’t. That Bryce fellow was the only one.”

“But suppose there was another one?”

“What if there was? If I’d done business with Pete and heard he’d been shot dead, I’d count myself lucky and lay low.”

Dietz hauled himself to his feet. I extended my hand and he pulled me into an upright position.

He stepped into the kitchenette to wash his hands. Mine were as filthy as his, but I planned to go on working, so there wasn’t any point in being dainty.

He picked up his car keys, looking way too cheerful for my taste. “I’ll check with you later. Why don’t you plan on having dinner with us?”

“You better chat with Nick first. He may have other ideas.”

“You think?”

“Dietz, so far he hasn’t been here one full day. He came to talk to you about his plans and from what you’ve said, he hasn’t even told you the whole story yet. You need to pay attention to these things.”

“How complicated could it be?”

I would have laughed, but he hadn’t meant to be funny. I said, “Forget about tonight. Find out what’s on his mind and we’ll get together some other time.”