Dog Soldiers (25 page)

“
You have something in common,
”
Hicks told her.
“
You want to guess what it is?
”

“
I don
’
t know. We
’
re both friendly. And we can
’
t do enough for you.
”

“
You both do dilaudid. He does more than you.
”

“
I better lay off, then. I wouldn
’
t want to get like Eddie.
”

“
Give it a shot.
”

“
What is Eddie
’
s scene? Is he an actor?
”

“
Not exactly. He
’
s just around. All the warped shit that goes down — he
’
s around it. He does favors. He
’
s not stupid. But he
’
s funny.
”

“
Are people scared of him?
”

“
Some people are very scared of him.
”

“
Are we scared of him?
”

“
We don
’
t know the meaning of scared,
”
Hicks said.

They ate lunch in Schwab
’
s, and Hicks bought a pair of sunglasses for fifteen dollars. It was Converse
’
s money.

The Strip was not as pleasant an experience as it had been in the early morning; the dew had dried on the potted shrubs, and everyone was settling into the day. Marge and Hicks wandered along.
Whenever they encountered some
one who looked as though he might know what Quasi
’
s was, they inquired after it. As it turned out, quite a number of people knew and it was not difficult to obtain directions.

In Quasi
’
s there were ligh
ted alcoves with distorting mir
rors and water sculpture with phosphorescent water. It was very dark and it seemed to be crowded — though they could make out little more than phantom shapes against the tinted lights. Each shape was encircled with a gray aura that was an after image of the sunlight outside. Uncle John
’
s Band was on the box and there was a lot of laughing.

They groped their way to a plastic table and sat facing the swaying shadows at the bar. It seemed to Marge that their laughter was oddly cadenced, slow in the throat. Quaalude laughter.

Marge and Hicks waited a long time for the sight of Eddie Peace. They drank round after round of ice-cold beer and, after their eyes had adjusted to the light, they exchanged indifferent glances with the other patrons. The other patrons were youthful in manner and imaginatively dressed. After an hour had passed Marge went to her bag and fingered the plastic pill bottle there, but Hicks placed his hand over hers, warning her not to produce it. She managed to remove a Percodan and swallow it guiltily. At the end of a second hour, Hicks looked at his watch and said that if there was no Eddie within the next half hour they would drive back up to the canyon and come back after eleven.

Marge was tired and drunk — even with the Percodan she felt as though she might be catching cold. When Eddie Peace emerged from the darkness a few minutes later, she was genuinely glad to see him.

He came in like Escamillo, saluted by a chorus. People raised their glasses. There was a blond woman with him who wore heavy eye makeup and a dress made of leather.

Eddie was introducing her around.

Hicks waited for a few minutes, then walked over and seized Eddie by the forearm. Eddie waved him off. Hicks shrugged and came back to the table to finish off the going beer.

“
Let him do his number.
”

When the introductions and the double takes were done, Eddie whispered in the blond woman
’
s ear and sauntered over to their table.

“
What
’
s happening?
”

Hicks pulled a chair from the next table for Eddie to sit on.

“
I got something for you if you want
”

Eddie seated himself and called to the waitress for tomato juice and beer.

“
How
’
d you know I was in Gardena?
”

“
Well,
”
Hicks said,
“
we saw Lois.
”

“
You saw Lois. What was that like?
”

“
She was kinda uptight. She told us to get lost
.
”

Eddie looked pained.

“
A dumb cunt. What you want to tell me?
”

“
I want to move some skezag. I can sell you a key for twenty. I
’
ll give you a rate for three.
”

Eddie looked about the room as though he were looking for someone. He thrust two fingers under the turtle neck of his polo shirt in the manner of one suffering from the heat.
“
You know what I mean?
”

“
I don
’
t foresee any trouble,
”
Hicks said.

Eddie seemed reluctant to look at him.

“
I gotta tell you this comes as a surprise to me, fella. It
’
s not what I would expect from you personally.
”

“
There
’
s a different attitude about scag today,
”
Hicks said.
“
With the situation over there, anyone who travels can run it.
”

“
That
’
s the fuckin
’
war for you,
”
Eddie said.
“
It
’s stu
pid.
”

“
I couldn
’
t agree with you more. But there it is.
”

Eddie was shaking his head in stern disapproval.

“
I
’
m not an expert,
”
he said to Hicks.
“
Is that a good price?
”

“
My dear fucking man,
”
Hicks said,
“
you better believe it.
”

Eddie drank thoughtfully for a while.

“
Terry and the Pirates,
”
he said. He was looking at Marge.
“
I bet you lead an interesting life.
”
She shrugged and tried to smile.
“
The big dealer and the woman of mystery,
”
he said, looking her in the eye.
“
I love it.
”

Hicks leaned forward to engage Eddie
’
s attention.

“
I think we
’
ve both had
enough of consorting with hood
lums, right? That
’
s why I
’
m talking to you. Ideally, I
’
d like to approach a select circle of responsible people.
”

Eddie turned to him smiling.

“
You
’
d like to sell scag to the film industry? Is that what you
’
re saying?
”

“
Man,
”
Hicks said,
“
I don
’
t even go to the movies. But I
’
m thinking, like, if there was a dude who had a personal clientele — then this would be perfect for him. Cheap — no risk — no hoodlums. It moves like coke — among friends.
”

“
Attractive in theory,
”
Eddie said.

“
This is not a theory, Eddie.
”

Eddie was watching Ma
rge in a way which made her par
ticularly uncomfortable.

“
She
’
s stoned,
”
he said to Hicks,
“
your Marge.
”

“
This is not a theory, Eddie. It
’
s pure shit, man, it can be cut to infinity.
”

Eddie seemed to glow with some inward laughter.

“
What
’
s life without a dream, hah Raymond?
”

Hicks did not smile back.
“
Raymond is a dreamer, isn
’
t he, Marge?
”

“
That
’
s a side of him I
’
ve never seen,
”
Marge said.

Eddie was delighted.

“
Jesus Christ,
”
he said. He leaned over to inspect her more thoroughly.
“
You
’
re a schoolteacher, aren
’
t you? You give head?
”

Marge stared at him blankly. She had never heard the expression
“
give head
”
before.

“
Schoolteachers give head,
”
Eddie declared.
“
That
’
s what they say.
”
Hicks had moved his body back from the table. He sat upright with his hands folded.

“
Isn
’
t that changing the subject a little?
”

“
I
’
m thinking,
”
Eddie said.
“
Lemme think.
”
His happy eyes wandered about the room and settled on the blonde who had come in with him. She was in conversation with a gray-haired man in a paisley suit. Eddie nudged Hicks.

“
What do you think of that, Raymond? Cute?
”

Hicks shook his head impatiently.

“
Does she give head?
”
Marge asked. She thought it an interesting turn of phrase.

“
Not for you, she don
’
t,
”
Eddie said. He nudged Hicks again.
“
Her husband is a spastic. I
’
m not shitting you, he really is. He talks like duh duh duh. But you can
’
t laugh, right?
”

Hicks finished a beer and looked into his glass. Eddie watched the spastic
’
s wife.

“
So you got all this skezag under your mattress. Doesn
’
t it make your heart go pitter-pat?
”

“
Not in the least,
”
Hicks said.

“
So. You
’
re experienced now?
”

“
I
’
m just doing what everybody else is doing.
”

“
Yeah but, Jesus, Ray,
”
Eddie said in an earnest voice.
“
Here in the big town with all that shit. I
’
d be scared, man.
”

Watching Eddie, Marge began to think that she had seen him before. She thought it might have been at the Ulrich Studios in New York when she had studied there. He would have been fifteen years younger then — a young John Garfield. It seemed to her that she could remember him doing
Streetcar
for Ulrich.

She decided not to ask him about it.

“
I can
’
t waste time worrying, can I?
”
Hicks said.

“
What I wonder, Raymond, is where you got it.
”

“
I got it overseas. It
’
s practically legal over there.
”