"How do you want me to feel?"
"I don't want you to get in over your head, Ham."
Ham snorted. "Over my head? I've spent more time in over my head than anyplace else."
"I guess you have. What I meant was, if these people are who I think they are, it could get dangerous."
Ham shot her a withering look. "More dangerous than 'Nam? I don't think so."
"All right, I had to say it."
"Sort of a disclaimer, huh?"
"Sort of. I just want you to go into this with your eyes wide open."
"What do you want me to get out of this guy?"
"Nothing, at first. Don't ask too many questions. Let him tell you."
"You
want me to be sneaky, huh?"
Holly laughed. "Real sneaky."
"That's one of the things I do best."
"Okay, I want to know how many of them there are, where they came from, how they support themselves, and anything else you can find out."
"I guess I can find out most of that just by going out there again."
"I guess so."
"But if I start asking him where he's from, he'll get suspicious."
"Right."
"Something else he's going to be suspicious about, kiddo."
"What's that?"
"You."
"Me?"
"He's got to read the papers and watch TV. Pretty soon, he's going to figure out who you are and that the man they shot in the bank meant something to you."
"How are you going to handle that?"
"Well, I've got to tell him something. You want him to think you're a closet Nazi or something?"
"You might let him think that I'm not totally averse to his views."
"I guess I could do that. You think he'll buy it?"
"When he finds out I'm the chief of police, he's going to be cautious."
"I guess he might be."