Killer Swell

57

Charlie was in exactly the same pose I’d found him in before. He was in the middle of lighting a cigarette when he saw me coming.

He lifted his chin and blew out a huge puff of smoke. “You made it.”

“You told me it was ready.”

He sucked on the cigarette and brought his feet down off the ledge of his cart. “Yeah, sorry about that. Phones are dangerous, though, man. Never know who’s listening.”

“Right.”

“Fucking government controls everything,” he said, rummaging around in the drawer of the cart. “You think they don’t know exactly what we’re doing every minute of the day?” He tossed his ponytail over his shoulder and grinned sideways at me. “’Specially a guy like me.”

“Sure.”

He looked at me for a moment, then shrugged as if I didn’t understand and he didn’t care either way. He produced a small white envelope from the drawer. “Here it is.”

“What exactly can you tell me, Charlie?” I said, trying to remain patient.

He held the envelope up in his hand, wiggling it as his smile widened, his cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.

“I’m gonna pay you based on what you tell me,” I said. “You tell me where that key goes, one-fifty’s yours. You tell me nothing, you get nothing.”

He pulled the cigarette from his lips and looked hurt. “Dude, you’re Carter’s friend. I ain’t gonna jack you around. Shit, I was pretty sure I knew where this little girl went when you showed it to me this morning.” He handed over the envelope.

I opened it. It contained the key and a small slip of paper with the number seven scrawled on it. I looked at him.

“Amtrak station,” Charlie said, kicking his toe on the ground. “You know the old depot?”

“Yeah.”

“One of the lockers there,” he said, breathing out the cigarette smoke. “I can’t tell you exactly which locker, but it’ll be one with a seven in the box number. Seventeen, twenty-seven, one-oh-seven, something like that. Look for an empty lock and that baby’ll open it.”

“How do you know it’s a seven?” I asked.

“Has to do with the serial number on the key,” he said, then grinned again. “I could tell you how it all works, but then I’d have to kill you.” When I didn’t laugh, the grin disappeared. “Hey, man, if it doesn’t open a locker there, come back and I’ll give you your money back. Like I said, I ain’t gonna jack around a friend of Carter’s.” He shrugged. “But it’s gonna open one.”

I pulled the money from my wallet and handed it to him. “I believe you. Thanks.”

He shoved the money in his pocket and squeezed the cigarette between his fingers. “Anytime.”

As I walked away, I couldn’t imagine another time that I might need Charlie’s help, but I guessed it wouldn’t hurt to be in with a key guy.