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face. “You were better off out of mind, Deep.”
    â€œThat seems to be the general opinion all over.” I grinned, let my eyes search her completely, then: “You’re a good-looking dame, Irish, though that isn’t much of a change. You always were.”
    â€œI know.”
    â€œYou should. It’s pretty obvious.” I knew when I had quit smiling. I said, “You got it working for you too, haven’t you? Lenny is up there these days.”
    Her hand was a streak aiming for my face but it wasn’t fast enough. I caught it, threw it down and held her tight against me. “Don’t try that again, kid. Nobody touches me without getting bounced and I’d hate for it to be you. Don’t figure that punk Lenny and me to be in the same class and if you want to put yourself on his level then be damn nice to me. Damn nice, understand? I’ll belt you cockeyed as fast as look at you if you ever get funny with me again.”
    There was a breathless quality in her when she said, “You’re off it, Deep. You’re dead and buried already.”
    I nodded. “So I’ve heard, only I won’t be the first there, and therein lies the rub.”
    Her eyes arched up at me.
    â€œEverybody hates to get killed,” I said. “Nobody quite wants to be hero enough to go first.”
    I let her go and she drew back, rubbing her wrist. “You stink, Deep.” She said it quietly, disgust plain in her voice.
    â€œWhat happened to Tally?”
    â€œI don’t know. She called me earlier and was slightly hysterical. I figured she was drinking and told her to go to bed. When I came by she was in a chair, out like a light with half a bottle of shoo-fly gone.”
    â€œYou called a doctor?”
    â€œNaturally. He was here all morning.”
    â€œNothing serious?”
    â€œNot physically.”
    â€œWhy did she call you, Irish? You’re an uptown broad. You haven’t smelled this neighborhood since you were twelve. You’re as out of place here as a hat on a horse.”
    â€œYou stink, Deep.”
    â€œNow you’re talking neighborhood again. Talk uptown and answer me, damn it.”
    She pulled back, a frown across her face. “All right, I’m uptown. But I had one friend in my life.”
    â€œNot Tally.”
    â€œNo, not Tally. Her sister.” She saw me studying her and shook her head. “You don’t remember her. Girls didn’t mean that much to you then. She was my age and we were in the same class. You know what happened to her?”
    Tally had told me that herself. I said, “Yeah, Bennett got her hosed up. She flipped.”
    Muscles and cords made tight lines in her neck. “Off a roof she flipped. She killed herself.” Her smile was deadly and hard. “That was your friend who did that.”
    â€œSo?”
    â€œSo you stink, Deep.”
    I slapped her across the mouth with the back of my fingers and watched the red seep into her face. “Stay at ease, kitten. With me, stay at ease.”
    It was almost as if I hadn’t touched her. “You’re tough, aren’t you?”
    â€œReal.”
    â€œMind if I stick around and see you get killed?”
    â€œNot a bit.”
    â€œI’m going to enjoy it.”
    â€œI’ll try to put on a good show.”
    â€œOf that I’m sure. And I’ll help you. I’ll try to get you killed just as hard as I can.”
    Her arms reached up and went around my neck and that warmth I had felt at the door wrapped around me like an oven and her mouth was a tantalizing, wet kiss of death, a quick fiery thing that was hello and goodbye in one.
    When she drew away she glanced down at the bed. “Why’d you come?”
    â€œYou wouldn’t understand,” I said.
    â€œTry me.”
    I took a check out of my pocket with Tally’s name on it and showed it to her. “A grand.”
    â€œHardly worth her