Farnsworth Score by Rex Burns

Author:Rex Burns [Burns, Rex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4532-4789-1
Publisher: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
Published: 2012-10-15T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

FOR A WEEK, Wager’s hints and nudges were ignored by Farnsworth; Chandler had burned the man shy of dealing with anyone new, even with Gabriel Villanueva.

“I have this amigo,” Gabe told Ramona, “who can get a pilot and an airplane any time we need it. And the guy’s flown the border half a dozen times.”

She curled her legs up on the cowhide couch and sipped at a cup of coffee. In the cabin’s steamy bathroom, Peter splashed and wheezed a rubber duck.

“So now you can have your own business?”

“I wish it was that easy. This kind of deal takes a hell of a lot more bread than I got. He’s not going to fly unless it’s really worth his time.”

“Like how much?”

“A lot of K’s. The pilot wants insurance in case he goes down—he wants fifty thousand in escrow, and then you have to add the cost of the dope and the operation to that.”

“That could go as high as a hundred, maybe a hundred and fifty thousand!”

“Well, the fifty comes back after the flight. But it’s still a hell of a lot bigger than I can handle by myself.”

Farnsworth kicked open the door and dumped a load of firewood in the corner. “Goddam—the frost is on the pumpkin tonight!” He held his red fingers to the shimmering Franklin stove. “Did Gabe tell you about the airplane?”

“He’s telling me. ¿Que piensas tú?”

“How’s our cash reserve?”

“We could handle it O.K.,” said Ramona. “But I don’t know if we should. Maybe after we’ve seen this pilot make a run.

Farnsworth combed a flake of bark out of his wiry hair and flipped it at the dog stretched behind the stove. “Yeah. After that Chandler thing, I’d just as soon keep a low profile.”

“¡Ya lo creo!” Wager said. “But it’s a real good deal, and once I turned over my share of the load and opened a new cash flow, I’d take the other stuff off your hands. You wouldn’t have to tie up your money for more than a week or so.”

Ramona sipped her coffee; Farnsworth kneaded his fingers together and popped open a bottle of Tecate beer. “It sounds good”—he shook his head—“but things have been cool so far. Maybe it’s better if I just stick to what I’m doing.”

“Sure,” said Wager. “It was just an idea.” The son of a bitch.

“Maybe Baca and Flint will go in with you. Ask Manny when he gets here.”

“Flint’s hot to buy his art store in Taos; he won’t want to risk nothing now. And Baca won’t have enough by himself. Hell, there’s no rush—that airplane’s good any time. If you change your mind, just let me know.”

“I don’t think I want any of it, Gabe. But thanks for the offer, man—I mean that.” He cocked an ear toward the door. “That sounds like Manny’s van now.” The dog grunted awake and plodded to the door, nails scratching on the wooden floor. From the distance came the grinding lurch of a vehicle threading the rutted road.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.