Sharky's Machine (21 page)

‘There’s not enough physical evidence at this point. I agree,’ Barret said.

‘I think,’ said Sharky, ‘it’s time to have a chat with the security man.’

‘Look,’ Friscoe said, ‘if we are gonna do this we can’t even tell the press she’s dead. We can’t even n3tify her next of kin. What the fuck are you going to tell the security man?’

Sharky smiled for the first time since Domino had been killed. ‘I’m goin’ to con him,’ he said. ‘How do you think I stayed alive on the street for eighteen months?’

The security guard was in his office watching an old Randolph Scott movie on television when Sharky appeared at the doorway. He smiled and said, ‘Hi.’

The guard nodded back. ‘Everything copasetic up there?’ he said.

‘Yeah, sure,’ Sharky said. He lit a small cigar. ‘Old Randy was tough, wasn’t he?’

The security guard said, ‘Don’t make ‘em like that anymore,’ without taking his eyes off the screen.

Sharky blew smoke towards the ceiling and decided it was time for a long shot. ‘How long were you a cop?’ he asked.

The guard Looked up, surprised, ‘How’d you know?’ he said.

Sharky took out his wallet and flipped it open, baring his shield.

‘I’ll be a son of a bitch,’ the guard said. ‘You know somethin’? I had a feelin’ all along that story about the elevators was a lot of crap.’ He leaned towards Sharky and said very softly. ‘What in hell’s goin’ on, anyway?’

‘We need to trust you,’ Sharky said. ‘What I’m going to tell you is very confidential.’

‘Hey, I was nineteen years on the College Park force. I’d still be there only I piled up a blue-and-white chasing some goddamn teenagers and almost lost a leg. Had to retire early.’

‘That’s tough,’ Sharky said. ‘What’s your name?

‘Jerry. Jerry Sanford.’

‘This stays between us, right?’

‘Tellin’ Jerry Sanford is Like talkin’ to a grave.’

‘Okay. The boys up there with me, we’re all a special team from burglary. For three weeks now we’ve had a cat burglar working the high rent apartments and condos along Peachtree. He’s very good, driving us up the wall. He always knows exactly what he’s after, who to hit, and who not to hit. He knows when people are out of town. He can pop a double-lock LaGard box easier than opening a can of beans. So far he’s been two feet ahead of us all the way. We figure he’s got to take this place sooner or later,’

‘We got good security,’ Sanford said.

‘He’s hit just as tough.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Believe me, this guy is first rate. He’s into tricks we never heard of.’

‘No shit. What’d you say your name was again?’

‘Sharky.’

‘Tell you, Sharky, Raymond Security is tough.’

‘Here’s the thing. We figure he does a real number before be hits. Checks out the residents. Maybe even has a method for scoring financial statements. He usually hits apartments or condominiums where the tenants are out of town for a while. Business, maybe, r travelling. He might even ca1 ahead, ask questions about the tenants. But very clever.’

‘We don’t tell nobody nothin’ about our occupants.’

‘He’s clever, like I said. Maybe passes himself off as a delivery man. A salesman, like that.’

‘No solicitations in the building.’

‘Maybe a door-to-door thing?’

‘Nobody gets by this desk without we check who they’re going to see and get an okay from the occupant.’

‘How long are you on? What’s your shift?’

‘I’m on two to ten right now. The graveyard man takes over from ten to six in the A.M. Then the early man does six to two. We revolve the shift every six weeks. I been on the evening trick for a month.’

‘How about the other men?’

‘First rate, everybody. I’m telling you, Raymond Security is the best.’

‘And there hasn’t been anyone around? No phone calls?’

‘No, sir.’

‘Nobody suspicious hanging around?’

‘If there was, you’d be the first to know. We’ve had a couple of people looking at apartments, asking about vacancies. The place stays a hundred per cent full. We got four on the waiting list now. The two empties are bein’ renovated. They’re both leased already.’

‘Which ones would they be?’

‘Let’s see, there’s 10-B west and 4-C east.’

‘10-B west?’

‘Yeah. They’re puttin’ in the carpeting now. It goes to an elderly lady. A widow. Very well fixed. The other one goes to a young couple. He’s a doctor.’

‘Anything temporarily vacant? You know, people away on vacation, anything like that?’

‘Sure. But we got the list. Let’s see. There’s the Cliffords, 9-C east. They’re in Florida for the holidays. Go down every year. He’s retired. And then there’s Mrs. Jackowitz. She’s in Hawaii with her daughter. They take a trip every year this time. The daughter’s a travel agent. Mr. Jackowitz passed on about two years ago.’

‘Where’s her apartment?’

‘That would be 12-C in the east tower.’

‘That would face?’

‘West. A and B are on the east side of the building. C and D on the west. Four apartments to the floor.’

‘So the Jackowitz apartment is on the twelfth floor of the east tower facing the west tower?’

‘Right.’

‘And the Cliffords?’

‘9-C, east.’

‘Both apartments face the other tower, right?’

‘Right.’

‘And nobody soliciting, no calls, nothing like that?’ The guard shook his head.

‘Okay, Jerry, thanks. We’ll be in and out for a couple of more days.’

‘You want to stake out one of the empties, it’s okay with me. I got a passkey.’

‘Thanks, we may just take you up on that.’ Sharky started out of the office and brushed against a tall corn plant in the corner, its leaves turning brown at the tips. ‘You’re over- watering your plants,’ he said to Sanford. ‘You can always tell when the leaves turn at the ends like that.’

‘I got the original brown thumb. I already killed one of the Jackowitz plants and two more in here.’

‘You go in the Jackowitz apartment?’

‘Yeah, I water the plants for her. I hate to do It, too. I don’t have the feel for it, know what I mean?’

‘Yeah. When’s the last time you were in there?’

‘Jackowitz? Lessee, it was Sunday. I water them on Sundays.’

‘Thanks. We’ll keep in touch.’

Sharky started to leave and Sanford suddenly snapped his fingers. ‘Hey, I just thought of something. There was a call. I just thought about it when you started talkin’ about those plants. It was. . . uh. . . day before yesterday. He was with some plant store. I’ll think of it here in a minute.’

‘What did he want’?’

‘It was a new service. Plantland, that’s the name of the place. Right up the street. What they do, they water and fertilize plants for people.’

‘Did you tell him anything?’

Sanford chewed on his lower lip fr a moment. ‘What I did — see, I hate takin’ care of the plants, like 1 said. I told him to send them some literature.’

‘Who. Send who?’

‘Everybody in the place. I was afraid, you know, I’d forget if he sent the stuff to me.’

‘Did you tell him the Cliffords and Jackowitz were away?’

‘Uh, well, I told him I was having trouble, y’know. I thought maybe he could gimme a tip or two.’

‘Did you tell him they were out of town?’

‘I didn’t say anything specific. I told him they were potentials, see. Send the stuff direct to them but that it may be a little while before they get baclc.’

‘You gave him the names and addresses?’

‘Yeah, four or five different people who travel a lot, not just them.’

‘But did you mention specifically that the Cliffords and Jackowitz women are out of town now?’

‘Just so he’d know it might be a. while before they got back to him.’

‘I see.’

‘I fucked up, right?’

‘Maybe not.’

‘I’ll call them right now, check it out.’

‘No,’ Sharky said quickly. ‘I wouldn’t do that. If it is a possibility you’d just warn them, right?’

‘Oh, yeah. I didn’t think of that.’

‘Let us handle it.’

‘Sure, sure.’

‘I’ll keep this between us.’

‘I-Icy, Sharky. that’s damn white of you. I appreciate it.’ ‘Any time, Jerry. Any time.’

Forty minutes in the Cliffords’ apartment yielded nothing but bruised knees. Barret was a fanatic. He checked everything. Under the beds, in the commode, behind pots and pans in the cabinets, the disposal, the windowsills, under chairs and couches.

Forty minutes later he said, ‘Forget it,’ and they headed to the Jackowitz apartment on twelve. I3arret told Sharky and The Nosh to stand back until he vacuumed the carpeting around the door and dusted the doorknob. He carefully swept the small camel’s-hair brush on the brass handle, smoothing out the black powder.

He looked up and grinned.

‘What d’ya know,’ he said. ‘Clean as a new dime.’

‘So?’ The Nosh said.

‘So how many people do you know polish off the doorknob when they enter or leave their place?’

Sharky stepped close to Barret. ‘You through here?’ he asked.

‘Yep.’

‘Then why don’t you step over there out of the way and let Nosh and me take the door, just in case.’

‘Why, indeed,’ Barret said and walked ten feet down the hail. The Nosh knelt down and popped the lock with less trouble than it would have taken to open a can of soup. Sharky took out his automatic and, holding his arm close to his side and bent at the elbow, pointed the gun towards the ceiling and slipped the safety catch off. The Nosh took out a snub-nose .38 and leaned back against the wall on the opposite side of the doorway, the pistol nestled in two hands.

‘Here we go,’ Sharky whispered and The Nosh nodded. He twisted the doorknob slowly and then pushed the door open, jumped inside and fell flat against the wail in the dark room. An instant later The Nosh came through and kicked the door shut behind him. They waited for a few seconds, listening to each other breathe. ‘Scares the shit outa me, doin’ that,’ The Nosh said finally.

Sharky clicked on the light. The apartment was empty. They let Barret in. Barret slipped on surgeon’s plastic gloves and went to work. Slowly and methodically he moved through the apartment. The doorknob inside was also devoid of fingerprints. He spot vacuumed the rug, marking each bag of dirt and grit with a small diagram of the room showing the exact location of the sample. He got down on his hands and knees with a flashlight and perused the carpeting. Then he told Sharky to turn off the lights.

‘Kneel down here beside me,’ he said. The finger of light skipped across the piling of the carpet. Barret moved it slowly back and forth. ‘See anything?’ he asked.

‘You mean the marks there on the floor?’

‘Urn hmm.’

There were four deep grooves in the rug. Then Barret saw something else twinkling in the rays of the flashlight under the chair. He took tweezers and picked it up. It was a small red oblong pill.

‘Look familiar?’ Barret said.

‘Looks like a red devil to me,’ Sharky said.

‘Could be, could be. Or some kind of angina medication. Perhaps the woman who lives here dropped it.’ He plopped it in a baggie, then turned his attention back to the chair.

‘Somebody swung this chair around in front of the window,’ Barret said. ‘And see here, on the windowsill, those circles. Still damp. It looks like somebody put a glass of water down here.’ He looked at it under his magnifying glass. Along the edges of the water ring was a slight red discolouration.

‘When’s the last time anybody was in here?’ Barret asked.

‘Last Sunday,’ Sharky said.

‘Hmmm.’

Barret went over the living room in minute detail, then the kitchen and bedroom.

‘Okay,’ he said finally, ‘here’s what we got. Somebody moved the chair. Somebody dropped a pill on the floor. That could’ve happened a week ago, yesterday, or last month. But the water rings on the windowsill — that was recent. No more than a few hours. Still damp. Also there’s water in the sink in the kitchen and one of the glasses is damp. I’d say three or four hours on the outside, or both the glass and the sink’d be dry by now. That red discolouration on the sill could have come from that pill we found on the floor. I took a scraping. The lab’ll confirm that. No prints in the apartment, no recent prints in the apartment. Everything’s latent. Okay, we can expect that. There’s also a trace of oil on the carpet in front of the window. Smells like machine oil but I’ll check that out. It could have been from a gun if somebody laid one there on the floor. The phone is clean. Some old prints and smudges. My guess is somebody wearing gloves picked up the phone. It’s operating, by the way.’ Barret went to the window and parted the venetian blinds with two fingers. ‘Direct view of the other apartment from here.’

He stopped and for several moments he stared into space, saying nothing. Then he said, ‘I think he was in here. Somebody was, and within the last few hours.’ He nodded to himself, still staring.

‘I have one more idea,’ he said.

He took his brush and vial of black powder and went first to the guest bathroom and kneeling down, dusted the handle on the toilet. It was clean. He went to the other bathroom and repeated the procedure.

The loops and whorls seemed far away at first.

Then as Barret dusted them they seemed to jump out at

‘Well, I’ll be a son of a gun,’ Barret said with a grin. ‘Ding,! We got ourselves a fresh print.’ He looked up at Sharky and The Nosh and winked. ‘Keep that in mind,’ he said. ‘Nobody likes to wear gloves when they take a leak.’

Chapter Fourteen

From a table near the railing of the Tai Tak Restaurant Lowenthal watched as a beautiful young Chinese woman dressed in a red silk mandarin dress jumped lightly from the sampan and came up the walkway to the deck of the floating restaurant. She was a tiny flower of a girl, barely five feet tall with an almost perfect body and an ebony ponytail that cascaded over one shoulder.

Wan Shu, the chef of the restaurant, motioned her to the table. He was almost a parody of the stereotyped Chinese, a fat man, Buddha-like, with thin moustaches that drooped down over the corners of his mouth and a perpetual smile on his lips.

‘Is Heida,’ he said as she joined Lowenthal and DeLaroza, ‘from Wanchai section. Three weeks here. Okay?’

‘A splendid choice,
p’eng-yu,’
DeLaroza said.

Wan Shu beamed. ‘You drink before dinner?’

DeLaroza nodded and turned to Lowenthal. ‘What would you like?’

‘Would Scotch be irreverent in present company?’

‘Hardly. You forget, Hong Kong is a crown colony. There is probably more Scotch consumed there than anything else. Ice?’

Lowenthal nodded and DeLaroza gave the order to Wan Shu in Chinese. He rushed away, snapping his fingers and issuing commands to waiters.

‘Where do you live in Wanchai?’ DeLaroza asked Heida. ‘On Jaffe Road near O’Brien. I live with my mother who sews for Jau Pun in Kowloon.’

DeLaroza nodded. ‘I know him well. One of the finest of all tailors in the city. He has made many suits for me. How old are you?’

‘I am nineteen,’ she said in a high. melodic voice. ‘I have gone to the university for one year. I study history. I hope to work for one year here and save my money so I may finish.’

‘What’re you going to do with the history?’ Lowenthal asked.

‘I hope to be a school teacher, perhaps in the British settlement at Tseun Wan.’

‘Very ambitious,’ DeLaroza said. ‘I assume you know the legend of Kowloon and T’un Hai well, then?’

‘Hal. My father told me the story many times before he died. It was a special thing between us.’

‘Mister Lowenthal here does not know the story. Would you honour us?’

‘Of course, nm. It is my honour.’

‘Would you like something to drink first?’

‘Urn, dor-jeh. I have had too many Coca-Colas already. I will be fat like T’sai-Shen if I am not careful.’

‘Who is T’sai-Shen?’ Lowenthal asked.

‘The god of wealth and happiness. He is so-o-o big,’ she said, holding her arms in front of her in a large circle.

‘I doubt that,’ Lowenthal said with a smile.

‘Should I begin then?’

‘Please,’ DeLaroza said.

She stood b wing, pressing her hands together in an attitude of p aye-, and then began reciting the myth in her bell-like voice, acting it out in pantomime; moving slowly in place, each gesture a ballet of grace. Lowenthal could not take his eyes off her.

‘In the land of my father the most wondrous and ancient of all creatures is the dragon, for the dragon represents both earth and water.

‘The dragon has the power of the rains, he puts colour in the cheeks of the flowers. He brings the bountiful rice crop.

‘But if the dragon is offended by the misdeeds and dishonour of the emperors, he becomes angry. The rains do not come. It is a time when the earth is like the wrinkled face of the prophet. The crops die in the ground, the rivers become like dusty pathways. The harvest is a time of sorrow and weeping.

‘And so, once a year the ministers and lords of the empire honour Chiang-Yuan, the Dragon of the Ten Toes, and it is a great celebration which is called the Feast of the Dragon Door and they adorn the dishes from which they eat, the robes they wear, even their thrones, with the countenance of Chiang-Yuan.

‘In the time of Fu Hsi, who was by legend the first of all the great emperors of China, a dragon horse arose from the Yellow River and presented himself to the emperor. He was sent by Yu-huang-shang-ti, the August Emperor of Jade, and god of all gods, to serve Fu Hsi and give to him the wisdom of the gods. On the back of the dragon horse was a mystical chart from which all of the written language of China was taken. And in the time of Fu Hsi there was peace in the land and it was a time of plenty.

‘And so, from that time on, the Dragon of the Ten Toes has been the imperial symbol of all emperors.

‘His enemy was T’un Hai, the two-headed blood snake of the dark world, for it was believed that the snake tore the souls of the dead to pieces and scattered them to the sea. Only Chiang-Yuan could save them and lead them to everlasting peace in the kingdom of the Jade Emperor.

‘And so it was in the time of the boy emperor Ping, eight hundred years ago. The young king loved Chiang-Yuan and believed that when an emperor died his soul lived on in the body of the dragon. And he believed also that in the eight mountain peaks surrounding I-long Kong there lived eight dragons, each with the soul of one of Ping’s ancestors. His prime minister told Ping that there would be another dragon when Ping died and it would live in the high mountain on the western side of the island of Hong Kong and it would be called Kow-Loon, which means “ninth dragon,” and Ping’s soul would live in its great body and would protect the harbour and the souls of the dead from T’un Hai.

‘When Ping passed on, the dragon Kow-Loon appeared on the western peak and its soul was the soul of Ping and Kow-Loon went forth on the island in search of T’un Hai and in the place now known as Tiger Balm Gardens he found the snake of lost souls in a cave. T’un Hai came from the cave and attacked Kow-Loon and they fought for twenty-three days and nights until the earth was scorched from Kow-Loon’s fiery breath and the earth was scarred from their battle and the hills fell into the sea. The earth trembled. A great earthquake shook the island and the people escaped to the sea in their sampans and waited until the battle was over and T’un Hai slid into the sea and was never seen again.

‘And since that time Kow-Loon has protected Hong Kong and many people still live on sampans so they will be safe if T’un Hai ever returns and there is another great battle and the earth trembles again.’

Heida closed her eyes and bowed her head. The story was over.

‘Thank you,’ she said.

Lowenthal sat back and stared at the young lady, entranced by the story and by her visual interpretation. ‘No,’ he said, ‘it is I who thank you. I’m very touched by your story. You tell it with great passion.’

‘It is only because my father told it to me with passion, for he believed the story, just as he believed that. when he died he would ride on the back of the dragon horse to the place where the August Supreme Emperor of Jade resides.’

‘And do you believe the story?’ Lowenthal asked.

A smile touched her lips. ‘hai. Of course. I believe it because it is a legend that sings with truth.’ She reached inside her blouse and took out a thin gold chain with a gold pendant hanging from it. On the pendant in bas relief was the tiny figure of a dragon, grinning ferociously, his head crouching between his five-toed feet. ‘It is always around my neck,’ she said, ‘even when I sleep. It protects me from T’un Hai.’

DeLaroza thanked her and she bowed and was gone.

‘I must say, you make all of this very real,’ Lowenthal said. ‘I wonder why it is that Easterners have much more interesting and dramatic gods than we Westerners.’

‘You Westerners,’ DeLaroza said with a smile. ‘I am a Buddhist. But enough of that. Let us talk about the campaign. Needless to say, I am delighted you have joined us.’

‘So far you seem to be doing just fine without me.’

‘So far we have played in our own territory.’

Wan Shu arrived with the first of many dishes, what appeared to be tiny chicken wings covered with a clear sauce. ‘This looks delicious,’ Lowenthal said. ‘What is it?’

‘Well, it is hardly what we would call chia-ch’ang-pien-fan — everyday food — in China. You eat the whole thing, the bones and all. Just chew it well. They are sparrow wings.’

Lowenthal paused in mid-bite and there was a moment when he seemed to be wondering whether to go on or not.

‘Please, do not stop,’ DeLaroza said. ‘Heida mentioned the Feast of the Dragon Door. What Wan Shu is preparing is a meal based on that feast. There will be some rare delicacies, such as these sparrow wings. Also quail, elephant trunk, sturgeon intestines, bear paw, and deer tail, along with more traditional fare. The meal for two hundred guests will cost ten thousand dollars.’

‘That’s five hundred dollars a meal!’

‘Exactly. The banquet originated during the time of the Emperor Tsi Tzu of the Sung Dynasty, about seven hundred years ago. It usually went on for clays. I have eliminated some of the more exotic dishes. Peacock tongues, monkey brains, gorilla lips.’

‘Gorilla lips?’

‘A truly rare delicacy in China. But I don’t want to discourage any of the guests.’

‘Elephant trunk and deer tails may take care of that.’

DeLaroza leaned forward and winked. ‘We won’t tell them until after they’ve eaten.’

The sparrow wings actually were quite delicious and Lowenthal finished them with relish. He sat back and said, ‘Tell me, what took you from Brazil to Hong Kong?’

‘I see you have been checking up on me.’

Lowenthal shrugged. ‘There’s not much to check up on, actually.’

‘I have always avoided publicity. A quirk of mine.’

‘Modesty hardly becomes you,’ Lowenthal said, motioning to the spectacle of Pachinko!

‘I am about to change my image.

He chuckled and then the chuckle became a hearty laugh. ‘Fate dictated the move to Hong Kong,’ he said. ‘I was on holiday in the Orient and visited the plant of a gentleman named Loo who manufactured radios, which also happened to be my business. Mr. Loo was in trouble. His company was undercapitalized and a British concern was about to buy him out. But the British were stupid. They would have engulfed him, eaten hint up. Loo’s strength was his ability to produce components cheaply. His weakness was assembly and marketing. So I formed a partnership with him. He produced the parts; I assembled and sold them. We were highly competitive and the merger was quite successful. Had I bought Loo out, as the British proposed to do, I would have lost his expertise. A man always works better for himself than for others.’

‘And how did you get into the toy business?’

‘Fate again. This time an accident of nature. Loo had a side venture, producing toys for the tourist trade, cheap little items. Our electronics plant was seriously damaged in the 1961 typhoon, but the toy company was hardly touched. While we were undergoing repairs I decided to concentrate on toys. Before long it was — how do you put it?’

‘The tail wagging the dog?’

‘Yes. The Chinese might express it more poetically, but the Americans are more to the point. Jt was soon after that I met Nikos Arcurius. Now the tail wags many dogs.’

‘Where does Hotchins come into the scenario?’

‘I decided to move to the United States. This is the marketplace. Also the place to assemble and sell products. My company was the first to make that move. At the time Donald was in the state — Congress?’

‘Legislature,’ said Lowenthal.

‘Right. He was about to run for governor. He sponsored a law that made it advantageous for us to come to his state. We became friends and I offered my business knowledge to the campaign.’

‘You are really quite savvy to American politics for a...’ He hesitated, letting the sentence hang.

‘Foreigner?’ DeLaroza said. ‘The word does not offend me, although I am now an American citizen. I have studied politics all my life. It is not a hobby, it is an avocation. Not only American. British, French, Chinese, German.’

‘And what attracted you to Hotchins?’

DeLaroza considered the question for a few moments. ‘Aristotle once wrote that law is reason without passion. Hotch is a man of law and a man of passion. I found the combination irresistible. He is also quite honest. In fact blunt at times.’

‘Pretty good answer.’

‘And how would you answer the question?’

Lowenthal toyed with his wine glass, making small circles on the table top. ‘A lot of things. He’s a winner. I guess that must be number one. We need a winner badly. He’s a self-made man. A lawyer and a businessman. And he’s tough. Anybody who can survive four years in a Korean prison camp with his foot blown off is. tough. So far be doesn’t seem to owe anybody. Somebody once said, “Capitalism gives all of us a great opportunity ii we seize it with both hands and hang on to it.” 1 think the man on the street wants to believe that again.’

‘An interesting comment. Who said that?’

‘Al Capone,’ Lowenthal said and they both laughed.

‘There are some things I want to make sure of,’ Lowenthal went on.

‘Anything.’

‘Is he clean, Victor? I mean is he really clean?’

A vision of Domino flashed before DeLaroza and then it vanished. A danger he hoped no longer existed.

‘Is anybody that clean, Mr. Lowenthal? Richelieu told one of his bishops once, “Give me six sentences written by the most innocent man and I will find something in them to hang him.” I assure you, Donald can withstand any scrutiny.’

‘Excellent. Will his wife make a good campaigner?’

DeLaroza nodded. ‘And a fine First Lady.’

Lowenthal nodded, but there was still doubt in his expression.

‘What else?’ DeLaroza asked.

‘I am concerned about opening the campaign this soon. I know that you have very carefully designed his strategy, but it is contradictory to the normal campaign strategy, coming out this soon. For one thing the cost will be staggering to keep a bandwagon rolling that long.’

‘Cost is not a factor. We can afford it.’

‘Also it makes him a public target for that much longer.’ DeLaroza’s eyebrows rose. ‘At this point he is virtually an unknown quantity. We are not selling a dark horse, we are selling an unknown horse. That is why we plan to open the campaign here, Monday night. We have some political supporters already on hand. We have tremendous press exposure. Hotch must have a chance to become not only a household word but a face to go with it.’

‘I agree with that. But to go on the campaign trail for ten months? It’s scary.’