Comeback

3

In a not-very-good restaurant in St. Louis, with old bored waiters and old-fashioned dark red-and-brown decor, Parker and Mackey and Brenda ate dinner, taking their time over it. Liss had said he'd get the pigeon here between eight and ten, and it was already nine-thirty. "I gotta go to the john again," Brenda said, fooling with her coffee cup, "but I know, the minute I leave the table, they're gonna walk in."

"Then do it," Mackey told her. "I'd like to see something make them walk in."

"Only for you," she said, and left the table, and a minute later Liss walked in with a sandy-haired nervous-looking guy in his late twenties, wearing tan slacks and a plaid shirt.

"There, you see," Mackey said. "That's why I keep Brenda around. She's magic."

Parker said nothing. He already knew why Mackey kept Brenda around—she was his brains—and his interest was in the guy over there with Liss. And also with whoever might come into the restaurant next.

Which was nobody. If Carmody was being watched, it was a very long leash. Watchers couldn't have been planted in the place ahead of time, because Liss wouldn't have told Tom where they were going until they got here. "This looks like a good place, Tom. I'm ready for dinner, how about you?"

And why would a watcher wait outside, when the whole point of keeping an eye on your bait was to see who came around and what happened? So Tom was not under observation. Which didn't mean he wasn't a Judas goat, only that, if he was, they were letting him float on his own. Not important to them, in other words, or not yet. Not until he starts to come home with somebody.

Liss had seated himself at the table in a chair where he could give the doddering waiter his good side, about which the waiter cared nothing. Tom Carmody, across from Liss, was quiet, low-key, ordering as though he didn't care if he ate or not, then sitting there in a funk. Liss gave him a minute or two of cheery conversation and then ate rolls instead.

Brenda came back to the table and Mackey said, "Your magic worked."

"So I see."

While Mackey signaled to the waiter for the check, Brenda studied the guy sitting over there with Liss. Mackey repeated his hand gesture at the waiter—signing his name in the air—then turned back to Brenda to say, "What do you think?"

"He's too gloomy."

"I don't want you to date him, honey."

"I don't want you to date him, either," she said. "That's what I mean, he's too gloomy."

Parker listened, while across the way Liss and Carmody got their salads. Liss tucked in, while Carmody pushed the lettuce and tomato slice around in the shallow bowl.

Meantime, Mackey said, "Explain yourself," and Brenda said, "He already gave up. Look at him, Ed. He doesn't care if anything good happens or not. You know what a guy like that does when there's trouble? He lies down."

"Good," Mackey said. "He'll give us traction."

The waiter brought the check then, and stood around as Mackey brought out his wallet and, despite the hand signal, paid in cash. While he did that, Brenda said to Parker, "How's Claire?"

Unlike Mackey, Parker didn't bring his woman to work. "She's fine," he said.

"Will I be seeing her?"

"I don't think so."

Mackey left a little tip, and said, "Let's go look at our boy up close."

Parker let Mackey and Brenda go first; they were better at the social niceties, like pretending to be happily surprised at the sight of Liss sitting there: "George! How you doing, old son?"

"Hello, Ed! How are you? And Brenda!" Liss rose, shaking Mackey's hand, kissing Brenda's cheek, giving Parker a bright-eyed look of non-recognition.

Mackey said, "George Liss, here's a pal of ours, Jack Grant."

"How you doing, Jack?" Liss said, grinning, extending his hand.

"Fine," Parker said, shaking the hand briefly. Play-acting wasn't what he did best.

On the other hand, Liss was having a good time. "And this is a pal of mine," he announced, with a big wave at the pigeon. "Tom Carmody. Tom, this is Ed and Brenda Fawcett, and a pal of theirs."

Tom Carmody had been raised as a mannerly boy; he got to his feet and managed a smile at Brenda, with his how-do-you-dos. Mackey squeezed Carmody's hand, grinning hard at him, saying, "I'm a salesman, Tom, but I guess you can see that. Most people pipe me right away. You I don't get, though. You teach?"

"Not exactly." Carmody was clearly uncomfortable at having to explain himself. "I'm in rehabilitation," he said.

Mackey did a good job of misunderstanding. Looking concerned, he said, "Hey, I'm sorry. Whatcha rehabilitating from?"

"No, I'm—I—" Carmody's confusion made him blush. He finally managed to get it out: "I work for a preacher. We do rehabilitation work for, uh, people."

"Well, that's fine," Mackey told him. "There's a lotta people need that stuff." With a big jokey grin he said, "What about old George here? You gonna rehabilitate him?"

Carmody began to stumble and stutter all over himself again, but this time Liss came to his rescue, saying, "Not me. I'm a hopeless case."

"Us honest citizens shouldn't be seen with the likes of you," Mackey said, and whacked Liss playfully on the arm. "See you around, George."

Everybody said good-bye, Carmody sat down with obvious relief, and Parker and Mackey and Brenda went out to the parking lot, where Mackey had a laughing fit, leaning over the hood of their car. When he got himself under control he said, "That was touching, Parker. Do you know that? He didn't wanna blow the gaff on George being on parole. I call that touching."

"He's a very straight citizen," Parker agreed.

Mackey leaned against the car, wiping his eyes, and said to Brenda, "Well? What do you think? Still too gloomy?"

"I think you can take a chance," she said. "If everything else is okay. If Parker's going in."

"Yeah?" Mackey was interested. "How come the change of heart?"

"He isn't a liar," Brenda said. "He isn't trapping anybody, or double-crossing anybody, or anything like that, because that fella couldn't lie about what time it is without the whole thing showing on his face."

"Well, that's true." Mackey nodded, thinking it over, then grinned again and looked at Parker. "Ever work with a guy on that recommendation before? He can't tell a lie. Parker, we're signing on with George Washington."