The Killers Page #5

head to foot by experts.

- Charleston never talks.

- Good enough.

You know what happened to the Swede?

I know plenty, mister.

Plenty. Only I ain't tellin'.

Old Charleston's the little monkey

with his hands over his mouth.

How well did you know the Swede?

Me?

Mister,

I guess me and the Swede were

about as close as two guys can get.

For nearly two years,

we weren't never more than

eight and a half feet apart.

That's how big the cell was.

- There's Jupiter.

- Mmm.

Jupiter's a planet.

Do you know how many planets

there are circlin' the sun?

- How many?

- Nine.

Jupiter's to the earth like a...

like a football is to a marble.

That big.

Then on the other hand,

Mars ain't no bigger than a bean.

That small.

How come you know so

much about the stars?

Oh, I don't know.

Exceptin' after lights out,

nights I couldn't sleep...

I used to look at 'em

through the bars.

I knew they had names, and pretty soon

I got to wonderin' which was which.

So I got me a book from

the prison library...

and began to study up on 'em.

I don't guess there's a better

place in the whole world...

for learning about stars than stir.

That up there's the

constellation of Orion.

- Where?

- There.

Otherwise known as the "Big Bear."

You see that bright star in the center?

That's Betelgeuse, the "Red Giant."

The brightest star

in all the heavens.

Only it's so far away

it don't seem like it.

Charleston.

Yeah?

- You know what harps mean?

- Angels play 'em.

They mean Ireland.

That's why they call

them Mick's Harps.

Kitty's Irish.

She gave me this.

- A couple of more weeks, you'll be out.

- Yeah.

- I want you to do something for me.

- You name it.

It's been a long time

since I heard from Kitty.

Yeah, I know.

Look her up. See if

she's okay, will you?

- Sure thing.

- Maybe she's sick or somethin'.

I'm worried.

Swede, I studied up on girls

times I wasn't in stir.

And you know what?

A girl don't write,

that don't mean she's sick

like you might think.

Not necessarily.

Yes, sir,

I guess you'd say I knew

the Swede real well.

Did you find out about his girl?

No, sir, I didn't.

I didn't find out a thing.

And do you know why?

Because she didn't

live there anymore.

But you saw the Swede again?

Sure, after he got out.

When was the last time you saw him?

- Mister, did you say when?

- Yes.

Mister, when it comes to dates,

1492 is the only one I can remember.

I can tell you what

was the last time,

but not where nor when

or who was present.

All right. What was the last time?

That's better. Much better.

Word was passed along to me...

that a certain party

wanted to see me.

I was to be at a certain place...

at a certain time and

bring the Swede.

He'd just got out a

couple days before.

Sit down!

Never knew a guy who was in

stir more than ten years...

didn't walk up and down all the time.

Oh, it ain't that. It's just

I get nervous sittin' still.

Well, we get nervous, you walking

up and down all the time.

- What are we waitin' for anyway?

- Want to play some blackjack?

Not with you I don't.

I know your reputation.

- What about my reputation?

- Nothin' about it.

I just don't want to play

blackjack with you, that's all.

Cut for deal.

Anyhow, I didn't come

up here to play cards.

You were going to tell us

about a caper. Go ahead.

- We're waiting for the Swede to show.

- Well, I'm tired of waiting.

You can leave anytime

you want, friend.

Come on, easy does it, fellas.

Easy does it.

I don't like to be asked to come

up here and then told I can go.

Who do you think

you're pushin' around?

A minute ago we were

talking about reputations.

Well, you've got quite

a reputation yourself.

You're supposed to be a troublemaker.

Okay, make some.

- Who's there?

- It's me. Anderson.

- Hello, Swede.

- Good evening.

- Glad to see you, Swede.

- Hello.

- How are you, Charleston?

- Hello, Swede.

Hello.

I take it you know everybody.

- Yeah.

- Grab yourself a chair.

Now that the Swede's here,

maybe we can get started.

- Yeah, what's the pitch?

- It's big.

The biggest caper that's been

pulled around here in years.

It should be good for

better than 250 grand.

- Bank job?

- Uh-uh. Payroll.

Where?

I'll tell you that when you

decide whether you're in or not.

How am I to decide if I don't

know what the layout is?

That's your problem,

but I'll tell you this:

The job's been cased

backwards and forwards.

The getaway's been fixed and we've

got ten days to plan every last move.

- Would just us be in on it?

- Uh-huh.

What'll the split be?

I take the first hundred grand.

The rest you divide to suit yourselves.

Who declared you

in for the big slice?

I declared myself.

If you don't like the setup,

declare yourself out.

And no hard feelings.

What about her?

She's with me.

- It's a four-way split then without you.

- What about it?

I'm in, provided the rest of

us share and share alike.

- No more long splits.

- Okay by me. You?

You twitch a lot, friend.

Nervous, huh?

Carrying the monkey on

your back, ain't you?

- I was. I'm not anymore.

- Is that straight?

He wouldn't be here if it wasn't.

Okay, I'm in.

Charleston?

- Count me out.

- What's the matter?

Oh, I don't know...

Something about the

setup you don't like?

- Maybe it's too big.

- I don't get you.

If it's as big as you claim,

it's not going to be any easy pickin's.

Nothing that big ever is.

And that's what I want from

here on in. Easy pickin's.

It'd go just as hard with you if you were

taken for stickin' up a shine parlor.

Yes, that's right, but the chances

of being taken aren't as many.

I don't know. Maybe...

Maybe I'm just gettin' old.

It's like you were saying

before the Swede come in.

I've done a lot of time.

I've spent almost

half my life in stir,

and I don't intend to spend any more.

Okay, Charleston. So long.

So long.

- No offense.

- No offense.

What about you, Swede?

I'm in.

- Right.

- So long, Swede.

Be seeing you, Charleston.

- Do you want a word of advice?

- Huh?

Stop listening to those

golden harps, Swede.

They can land you

into a lot of trouble.

What are you drivin' at?

I left him, and I

waited out in the hall.

I had hoped he'd walk out too,

but he never showed up.

And I never seen the Swede again.

I was sorry...

'cause him and me...

We had some good talks

about the stars.

- Good morning, Stella.

- Good morning, dream boy.

I got that dope on

Charleston for you.

Working in a Philadelphia pool hall.

1700 block on Chestnut.

- What am I doing here?

- Don't change the subject.

See if you can get anything

on a girl named Kitty Collins.

- Well, the bell rang.

- What bell?

The green handkerchief. I just came

from the library. Take a look at this.

"Bandits rob hat factory

of quarter-million payroll.

Prentiss Hat Company in Hackensack

victim of daring holdup."

- What's the connection?

- Well, read it.

"The Prentiss Hat Company

in Hackensack, New Jersey,

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