Free The Take by Mike Dennis

offer, when Felina smiled and said, “Oh, that’s very
nice of you, Mr. Garner. We’d love to.”
    “Mighty
fine, said Garner. “Here we are. You can park in the hotel lot, Eddie. And by
the way, y’all, please call me Lowell.”
    Eddie
pulled into the hotel’s auto entrance. The attendant handed him a ticket, then
slid into the driver’s seat, all in one practiced motion. Garner was still talking to Eddie, arm draped around
his shoulder. But Eddie’s nervous attention remained riveted to the car as it
whisked up the ramp, tires squealing, with the hot fortune in the trunk.

 
 
 
 
 
 
13

 
    T he restaurant
of the Louis Philippe Hotel reeked of class. Eddie had never been in such a
place. He was impressed by the sheer size of the handsome chandelier hanging
over the center of the room, even though he had no way of knowing that it was
made of Spanish crystal from another century. Nor could he ever spot the
high-priced original artwork on the walls.
    Eddie,
Felina, and Garner were shown to a table. As soon as they ordered drinks, Eddie
said, “I’ll be right back. I gotta make a phone call.”
    He
stepped out into the small, smart lobby with his cell phone and dialed a
number. A woman answered.
    “Hey,
Linda. This’s Eddie.”
    “Eddie?
Eddie? What —” She made no attempt to mask her surprise. “What the hell —”
    “I didn’t
know if you were playing tonight or what. I was hoping I’d catch you at home.”
    “Yeah,
I’m playing tonight. Just getting ready to go in. But what the hell’s going on?
Is it Christmas already?”
    He
slipped into his friendliest gear. “Hey, can’t a guy call his sister if he
happens to be in town?”
    “You’re
in New Orleans? What’re you doing over here?”
    He just
had to melt her suspicions. He knew what a tough trick that would be. She’d
always been sharp-eyed and quick, a lot quicker than he, even when they were growing up.
    She had
just turned fourteen when their mother died, so she had to take charge.
Cooking, cleaning, taking care of Eddie, and of course going to school and
waiting tables — it all honed her feminine softness to a steely edge.
    Her musical
talent didn’t really develop for another three or four years. It had to wait
around while she learned so early the painful lessons of adulthood. But when
she finally sat down at a piano, it all seemed to just flow out of her, like
water from a downturned canteen.
    “Well,”
Eddie said, “we were just out driving, and I got to thinking I haven’t seen you
since, uh … when’s the last time you was back in Houston? About a couple of
years ago? Anyway, we were out driving, and the next thing you know, here we are.”
He hoped she could hear his smile through the phone.
    “We?”
    “Yeah.”
He was still smiling. “Me and my new girlfriend. We were just —”
    “Okay,
Eddie. Okay. How much this time?”
    “No,
no, Linda. You got it all wrong! I don’t need any dough. In fact, I’m fixed for
li — I’m — I’m fixed pretty good right now. What I want to do is
pay you back for what you’ve loaned me over the years.”
    “Pay me
back? What the hell are you —“
    “I
figure when you add it all up, it must be close to six or seven grand. Let’s
make it an even ten, including the interest.”
    Linda
didn’t bite. “Behave yourself, Eddie. You didn’t drive all the way from Houston
just to drop ten Gs in my lap. Now what’s the pitch?”
    “No
pitch, Linda! No pitch! I just wanted to pay you back. And I thought maybe we
could stay by you for a few days until we get our bearings. I’m thinking of
leaving Houston.”
    “Leaving?
Leaving Houston?””
    Why
yeah, I am. I —”
    ”Eddie,
Eddie, who do you think you’re talking to here? Outside of a few trips to Beaumont and Galveston, and maybe once or
twice to Dallas, I don’t think you ever been outside Harris County in your
whole life. And now you show up in New Orleans? With ten thousand dollars to
give me? With