“I can’t buy that stuff.”
“Well, I’m sure as hell not goin’ to buy it for you.You’re big enough to—”
“I can’t afford to buy so many clothes at one time.I ain’t got the money for that.”
“I do.So go buy the clothes.”
“But I can’t pay you back!”
He thought he saw the ghost of a smile on Eugene’s face.“Call it a gift.But get a move on.We haven’t got all day.”
That ghost of a smile bothered him.He didn’t like being made fun of.“I ain’t no charity case.”
“You sure as hell are, since you haven’t done much of a job looking out for yourself.But that’s goin’ to change.Now, get the clothes.Andunderwear,you need underwear.”
“I know,” Cutter snapped.
“I wasn’t sure you did.”
That irritated him all the more.“Maybe I’ll just take the money and run.”
“You won’t do that.”
“How do you know?”
“Because in the past hour you’ve had more ’n one chance to take something from me and run, but you haven’t.You’re not stupid.You smell a good thing when it’s stuck in front of your nose.You’re not ready to walk away from that yet, no matter what it turns out to be.”
Cutter was furious at having been read so well.“Damn right I’m not,” he vowed.“When I find a sucker, I take him but good.”He slammed the car door, leaving Eugene’s chuckle to die in the rain.
Needless to say, Leroy Robichaud was suspicious.“I heard what you tried at Judd’s b’fore, Cutter Reid.If you think you’re gonna do that in my store, you got another think comin’.I ain’t leavin’ this cash register till you’re outta here.”
Money had a way of making a man confident, and the bills Eugene had given Cutter felt warm and full in his hip pocket.So he didn’t rise to Leroy’s barb.Instead, he picked out the clothes he needed, then sauntered to the cash register and pulled the money from his pocket as though it were an everyday thing for it to be there.
“Where’d you get those bills, Cutter Reid?”When Cutter jerked his head toward the street, Leroy craned his neck to look out the window without leaving the till.“Eugene gave ’em to you?What’s Eugene doin’ givin’ you money like this?”
Cutter didn’t answer.Instead, he took a two-pack ofHostess cupcakes from the counter display, said, “Add these in,” opened the pack, and devoured its contents.
Unable to deny that Eugene’s car was parked out front with Eugene apparently alive and well inside, Leroy tallied up the bill and gave Cutter his change.“What I hear, you got a trip to Portland comin’ up.Tryin’ to look nice for the judge?Huh, Cutter Reid?Is Eugene gettin’ you a lawyer, too?”
“That ain’t your affair,” Cutter said.Pocketing the change, he stalked out of the store carrying the things he’d bought.
Eugene scanned the packages.“Where’s the food?”
“What food?”
“Didn’t you get any food?”
“You didn’t say nuthin’ about food.”
“For God’s sake, boy, where’s your brains?You got to eat, don’t you, or do you just love havin’ the walls of your stomach rub against each other?”
“If I’m goin’ to jail, what do I got to buy my own food for?”
“If you were goin’ to jail, what would you have to buy your own clothes for?”Eugene retorted and stuck out his hand.“Where’s my change?”
Reluctantly Cutter dug it out of his pocket and handed it over, then watched Eugene leave the car and head into Leroy’s.This time Cutter looked at the keys dangling from the ignition.He could drive; he’d lied to Eugene about that.He could get away if he wanted to.
Still, something held him back.Eugene had a plan, and it didn’t sound like it involved going to jail.He wanted to know what that plan was.If it turned out to be worse thanjail, he’d steal the car.Eugene had given him ample opportunity already; he was sure to do it again.
