“How’d you know about the gold coins?”
“The Colonel told me.”
“Oh. One of the many reasons I was glad to agree never to contact any of the others again was that I would never again have to listen to Charlie Crow bitch about his cut. If he walked in here right now, the first thing he’d say to me would be ‘Y’know, I got screwed on that deal with the Colonel.’ ”
“Did Charlie have violent tendencies?”
“Shit, we were in a jungle war; we all had violent tendencies. That’s why we’re still alive.”
“Would Charlie have trouble letting go of that after reentering civilian life?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. If an argument got heated, Charlie always threw the first punch. Or, more likely, the first kick in the balls.”
“A street fighter, then?”
“He wouldn’t need a street; he was ready to go anytime, anywhere.”
“What about Ab Kramer?”
“Ab was smarter than Charlie and cooler, too. He’d pick his moment to take a swing at somebody, but he’d get around to it, if he was mad enough. He knew how to stay mad but not show it.”
“Did either of them ever kill anybody who wasn’t wearing black pajamas and carrying a Kalashnikov?”
“Let’s not get into that.”
“Let me put it another way: Would Charlie hesitate to kill somebody who made him mad enough?”
“He might; maybe he grew up some over the years.”
“Would Ab?”
“Ab was too smart for that. If he wanted to do more than just throw a punch, he’d find a way to do it so that the other guy never forgot it. I saw him maneuver a guy right into the stockade once. The guy did a year, and when he got out, Ab walked up to him in a bar in Saigon and asked him how he enjoyed his stay. Ab was fearless.”
“Which one of them would be more likely to have stolen the Colonel’s piece of antique furniture?”
“Stone, Charlie Crow might take a broken bottle to somebody who’d crossed him, but he wouldn’t know his ass from antique furniture.”
“Thanks, Bob. I think I get the picture.”
22
Joan buzzed Stone. “Bill Eggers is on line one, and he’s whispering.”
“Why is he whispering?”
“You’ll have to ask him.”
Stone picked up the phone. “Bill?”
“Stone,” Eggers said in a raspy whisper, “get over here.”
“What?”
“Right now.” Eggers hung up.
Stone slipped into his coat and stopped at Joan’s desk. “Bill wants me to come over there in a hurry.”
“Why was he whispering?”