The Outfit by Donald E. Westlake & Richard Stark

Author:Donald E. Westlake & Richard Stark [Westlake, Donald E. & Stark, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery, noir, crime
ISBN: 9780226771014
Amazon: 0226771016
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Published: 2008-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

5

The same day and seven hundred miles to the east—

Once a month, Eric LaRenne put on a brown suit with $75,000 in cash sewn into the jacket lining and took a plane ride. They'd picked him for the job in the first place because he was in the Outfit anyway, in the right city, and was trustworthy. Besides he wore a size 36 short. This last attribute was most important, because the man at the other end wore a 36 short, too.

The man at the other end was Marv Hanks, and he had the same excellent qualities as Eric LaRenne. Once a month, he got a telegram—always on the same day that Eric LaRenne got his monthly phone call up north. The telegram always read: “Mother sick. Must postpone visit. Effie.” On the day he received the telegram, Marv would put on his brown suit and go out to the airport to meet the 5:20 plane from the north.

The day chosen for Eric LaRenne's plane ride always began the same way—with an early morning telephone call. Usually it came around nine o'clock, and, usually, it woke him up. A cool female voice always informed him, “We're confirming your reservation on the 1:50 p.m. flight to Miami today.” He always said, “Thanks,” hung up, washed his face, put on his brown suit, and went over to the Argus Imports office.

At Argus Imports he invariably went directly to Mike Semmell's office, took off his jacket and gave it to Mike. Mike would give him another brown jacket that looked exactly like it, but if it were wadded up, would have rattled like thick paper. LaRenne would put on the coat, leave the office, have a late breakfast, and go out to the airport to catch his plane. It was not a through flight; there was a change-over at approximately midpoint with a forty-minute wait. LaRenne always went all the way to Miami and spent a day or two there, but after the change-over his job was finished.

The way it worked, Hanks would be out at the airport when LaRenne's plane arrived. LaRenne would get off and go into the terminal to sit down for the forty-minute wait. At some point during the forty minutes, he and Hanks would switch jackets somewhere in the terminal building—perhaps in the luncheonette, or in the men's room, or out on the observation platform—wherever Hanks decided was best. Then LaRenne would get on the new plane and go on down to Miami. Hanks would take a cab back into town to Winkle's Custom House Trucking and go directly into Mr. Winkle's office. There he would take off LaRenne's suit coat and give it to Fred; Fred would give him another suit coat, and he would go home. In the pocket of the coat he wore home there would be an envelope containing a twenty-dollar bill and a five-dollar bill—his pay.

So there were four brown suit coats in the operation, all exactly alike, and that was the way the money was delivered.

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