Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Three

Ordell just wanted to know: "Did you get it?" Louis had to tell him, though, how he drove to the apartment and saw two guys sitting in a car on Ocean Street.He was sure they were watching the house and thought they saw him drive by.So he goes around the house, and now he's at the Kaiser's, call him from there. Ordell believed that there must be something wrong with the man's nerves.He said with all his might, "I think they're spying on me, Louis; that's why I said check it out. Say, did you get it?" "I got it," Louis said. "Look, there's something else I need to tell you."

"I'll talk about it when I see the money," Ordell said, before telling Louis how they met.He's going to get in his Mercedes like he's going out to buy a cigarette or a six-pack of beer, just in a shirt and a pair of old trousers.He's going to drive down to the boardwalk and let the two guys follow him.He would park the car in the back street and walk across the Kessel's Bar, and Louis would wait for him in the car at the front door.They find another place. ... Ordell said he wanted to find a place and tell Louis.He asked Louis, "Did you count the money?"

Lewis said he hadn't even looked at it yet, the money was still in the shopping bag. Ordell said: "Melanie must be dying to see it." There was silence on the phone.Ordell said, "Louis?" "That's what I'm going to tell you," Louise said. "Melanie's made me suffer.  …" "Forget it now," Ordell said. "I'll see you in five minutes. Keep the car on." As soon as Ordell got into the car, he turned around immediately, took the "Macy" shopping bag on the back seat, put the bag on his lap, and leaned on his arms, saying "hee, Hee, hee" sound.When they got to the Riviera Bridge, he said, "Go straight up to North Lake Avenue, that's the street that sells cars, you know? Let's leave this car in the lot and buy another one that the cops don't know. ’ As they turned north, onto Broadway, he said, ‘Hey, where’s Melanie? "Where's my fat girl?"

"She annoyed me," Louis said. "It was on and on. And she got mad at me because I wouldn't let her have the bag. Started babbling... When we got out, I couldn't remember for a moment where the car was parked." Now she's babbling me again. 'Is it this aisle, Louise? Is it that way?' Dude, she keeps messing it up and driving me crazy .” "So you left her there?" Ordell said. "I shot her," Lewis said. Ordell turned to look at him. Louis noticed. "I think she's dead." Ordell said nothing. There was silence in the car driving down Broadway, and Louis watched the black men strolling on the sidewalk.He didn't know what Ordell was going to do.

"She wanted to split the money on the spot," Louis said. "We went our separate ways and never came back." Ordell remained silent. Louis didn't speak anymore, let him think about it.Everything he said was true and he was ready to apologize for it.He had never shot anyone before.He started thinking about it as soon as he got onto Gardens Drive, and didn't stop thinking about it until he saw two guys in an unmarked car on the Palm Coast waterfront.Occasionally he would think of something else, but then it would pop up again—seeing her ass in a tight skirt, seeing her legs moving down the pavement—and he couldn't believe it for a split second. He did that; but he did.He knew in Stark Prison that some dudes shot people in some unprovoked altercation.One guy looked at another guy's girlfriend, just took one look, and was beaten to death.Maybe hearing them talk about these things made him feel more and more normal.These are the effects of being in a bad environment.

He didn't feel too comfortable. "You shot her?" Ordell said. "Two shots," Lewis said, "in the parking lot." "I can't talk to her anymore." "You know what's up with her." "You can beat her." "I thought about it." Ordell fell silent for a moment. "You think she's dead, eh?" "I'm quite sure." "Well, since you have to shoot, you shoot," Ordell said. "We don't want her to come alive and sue us. Man, that woman is different." They were now on North Lake Avenue, a busy street full of auto shops and rows of trees."Stop at Ford's. Just down the street, you don't have to turn in," Ordell said. He just wanted to look at the money, not pull it out of his shopping bag.Give Louis $10,000 to temporarily buy a nice used car that doesn't attract attention.

Louis asked what it would look like.His expression was abnormal, as if he had just woken up after being frightened. "Just buy a normal car," Ordell said. "You see? It's just a car for normal people. We're going to spend some time in this area and leave at night. I need my car. See if it works." Can't get a buddy to help me get the car out and put on a different license plate. I left the keys. I want to do something else, get some of my clothes from Sheronda. Send someone over there. I If only I'd come out dressed a little better, and don't feel like running away. I might sell the car--I can't make up my mind. But for now, man, let's see what's in here."

Ordell pulled a beach towel from his shopping bag and threw it on the back seat.Pulled out another big towel and said, "It's pretty, huh?" He threw the towel in the backseat again and looked into the bag. "That money definitely won't take up much space." Dude, there's another towel inside.Ordell reached under and touched.Counting one, two, three stacks of money tied up with rubber bands, four, five... He pulled off the third towel, looked into the bag, his heart sank, he felt the rising panic, and had to Gripping the bag tightly, he took a breath and let it out slowly, telling himself to calm down and find out what happened instead of grabbing Louis by the head and smashing the fucking windshield.He said, "Louis?"

If Louis took his money, he would have been prepared for this moment, right?Louis said, "What?" "What about the rest of the money?" At this moment Louis had a look of surprise on his face, maybe playing dumb.He said, "How much is in there?" "Probably fifty thousand," Ordell said. "Maybe more than that." "You said it was five hundred and fifty thousand." "That's what I said, didn't I? So we're short of, uh, half a million." "She came out with this bag," Louis said, "without putting a hand in it, and neither did I."

"Where did you come from?" "From the fitting room. I did everything exactly as agreed." "How long was Melanie in there?" "A minute or so. She'll be out right away." "Louis, are you telling me the truth?" "I swear to God, she came out with the bag and I took it from her." "and after?" "We just left and got out into the parking lot." "Where did you shoot her?" "yes." "She won't wait somewhere with the half a million I earned so hard, will she?" Louis said, "My God."

"You gave me these as my commission?" Louis looked up now, seemingly unable to believe his ears. "What did you shoot her with?" "It's in there," Louis said. Ordell opened the glove box and took out the Barletta.He sniffed the barrel, which gave him no information.He backed off the magazine, counting the bullets as they fell into the Macy shopping bag one by one.Two of the whole bullets were missing. "Maybe I took two," Louis said. "Damn it, I thought you could trust me. Now you'll have to wait and see if it's on the news." Ordell stared at him, thinking.He said, "Well, it must be Jackie Buck. I can trust her, too." "If she takes it," Louis said, "why doesn't she take it all?" Ordell nodded. "I'll have to think about that. Then, I think, I'll have to ask her." He reached into the pouch, pulled out a few bullets, and pressed them back into the magazine. "Look, since the bag is full of towels, it's possible that she didn't get it out of her suitcase in time, and the Authority took it away, and maybe she hid it somewhere on the boulevard. You know, she has to be at the airport Show the money to someone at the Authority. Well, that means, the money's gone and nobody knows where. It must be Jackie, no one else. But she gave me this fifty thousand— Like telling me she took the rest of the money. Do you understand what I'm saying? Like she wants me to know, robbing me in my face." "I don't understand," Lewis said. "It's either she or the feds took it." "Or..." Ordell stopped. "He gave the money to another guy before Melanie went into the fitting room." There was silence in the car. After about a minute, Louis said, "My God," in a calm voice. Ordell, who was loading a magazine, looked up at him. "what?" The man must have been thinking of something that crossed his mind. "You know who I saw in the women's clothing department?" "Tell me," Ordell said. "He's sitting there reading the paper. I don't think so." This person rambled about first, but didn't rush to speak out, because he didn't want people to think he was stupid.Ordell waited. "No—I do wonder what he's doing there, but I don't think he has anything to do with us. You know, he looks like he's going there with his wife or girlfriend." This guy's ramblings should stop.Ordell said, "Are you going to tell me who he is?" "Max Cherry," Louis said. Ordell watched the passing traffic outside the window, then shifted his gaze to the cars lined up in the Ford off-street parking lot, and then returned to Louis. Louis sat there, motionless. Probably something happened to him in prison.Four years in prison just looking at the wall and basking in the sun, the man is exhausted and useless.Ordell said, "You saw Max Cherry in the women's department. And we were getting half a million dollars—man, look at me when I talk to you. You don't think about what he's doing there What do you tell me every time I ask you what's wrong or what's going on?" Louis frowned at him. "answer this question." "I don't understand you." Ordell put the magazine in the pistol, pulled the trigger, and pressed the muzzle of the gun against Louis' side. "I mean what did you tell me?" Louis' eyes widened. "Yesterday I asked you what's the matter, Louis? You said it was Max Cherry who found out where you were. I asked you what happened to Simone? You said Max Cherry must have frightened her , and said it freaked you out, too. Every time I ask, it's always this bail guy, Max Cherry. You worked for that guy, and you know he's like everybody in his line of work. Liars love money and try to get it. You see him and you know what he's like, but you let him take my fucking money right under his nose. Dude, what's the matter with you?" Ordell stabbed the barrel of the gun into Louis's side, and then pulled the trigger, seeing Louis jump up with the muffled gunshot.He saw Louis staring at him with wide eyes.He moved the barrel of the gun up Louis's side to his armpit and fired another shot, and Louis fell against the car door.This time his head hit the window, bounced back, dropped forward again, chin to chest, eyes open, leaned forward, and that was it. Ordell said, "What's the matter with you, Louis?" Ordell left him there.He was walking along North Lake Boulevard, looking for a car no one would have guessed he could drive.He bought a maroon '89 Volkswagen Golf with less than 30,000 miles on it; he spent $5,200 out of the Macy's bag. Now he had to find a place to stay. There was a woman on the Riviera to whom he used to go occasionally.They were old classmates, and she used heroin instead of other drugs, and occasionally got clients.Yes, he had seen her last night when he and Louise were talking in the bar, and she kept looking at him.If only he could remember her name....