any law-enforcement (enforcement – давление, принуждение; принудительный)
agencies ever questioned her, she was to simply refer them to her lawyer and she
would not be bothered any further.
Lucy agreed. She understood what was happening but had no objections to how she
was being used. It seemed a reasonable favor. But when Hagen asked her to keep her
eyes open around the hotel, keep an eye on Freddie and on Freddie's boss, the man
who owned and operated the hotel, as a major stockholder (акционер), she said to him,
"Oh, Tom, you don't want me to spy on Freddie?"
Hagen smiled. "His father worries about Freddie. He's in fast company with Moe
Greene and we just want to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." He didn't bother
to explain to her that the Don had backed the building of this hotel in the desert of Las
Vegas not only to supply a haven for his son, but to get a foot in the door for bigger
operations.
It was shortly after this interview that Dr. Jules Segal came to work as the hotel
physician. He was very thin, very handsome and charming and seemed very young to
be a doctor, at least to Lucy. She met him when a lump (опухоль, шишка) grew above
her wrist on her forearm. She worried about it for a few days, then one morning went to
the doctor's suite of offices in the hotel. Two of the show girls from the chorus line were
in the waiting room, gossiping with each other. They had the blond peach-colored
prettiness Lucy always envied. They looked angelic. But one of the girls was saying, "I
swear if I have another dose I'm giving up dancing."
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When Dr. Jules Segal opened his office door to motion one of the show girls inside,
Lucy was tempted to leave, and if it had been something more personal and serious she
would have. Dr. Segal was wearing slacks (широкие брюки) and an open shirt. The
horn-rimmed glasses helped and his quiet reserved manner, but the impression he gave
was an informal one, and like many basically old-fashioned people, Lucy didn't believe
that medicine and informality mixed.
When she finally got into his office there was something so reassuring in his manner
that all her misgivings fled. He spoke hardly at all and yet he was not brusque, and he
took his time. When she asked him what the lump was he patiently explained that it was
a quite common fibrous (волокнистый, фиброзный ['faıbr∂s]) growth that could in no
way be malignant (злокачественный [m∂’lıgn∂nt]) or a cause for serious concern. He
picked up a heavy medical book and said, "Hold out your arm."
She held out her arm tentatively (неуверенно; tentative ['tent∂tıv] – пробный,
опытный). He smiled at her for the first time. "I'm going to cheat myself out of a surgical
fee," he said. "I'll just smash it with this book and it will flatten out. It may pop up again
but if I remove it surgically, you'll be out of money and have to wear bandages and all
that. OK?"
She smiled at him. For some reason she had an absolute trust in him. "OK," she said.
In the next instant she let out a yell as he brought down the heavy medical volume on
her forearm. The lump had flattened out, almost.
"Did it hurt that much?" he asked.
"No," she said. She watched him completing her case history card. "Is that all?"
He nodded, not paying any more attention to her. She left.
A week later he saw her in the coffee shop and sat next to her at the counter. "How's
the arm?" he asked.
She smiled at him. "Fine," she said. "You're pretty unorthodox but you're pretty good."
He grinned at her. "You don't know how unorthodox I am. And I didn't know how rich
you were. The Vegas Sun just published the list of point owners in the hotel and Lucy
Mancini has a big ten points. I could have made a fortune on that little bump (опухоль,
шишка)."
She didn't answer him, suddenly reminded of Hagen's warnings. He grinned again.
"Don't worry, I know the score (я прекрасно понимаю ситуацию; score – зарубка,
метка), you're just one of the dummies (одна из дурочек; dummy – кукла, чучело;
манекен; марионетка; дурачок, дурочка), Vegas is full of them. How about seeing one
of the shows with me tonight and I'll buy you dinner. I'll even buy you some roulette
chips."
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She was a little doubtful. He urged her. Finally she said, "I'd like to come but I'm afraid
you might be disappointed by how the night ends. I'm not really a swinger like most of
the girls here in Vegas."
"That's why I asked you," Jules said cheerfully. "I've prescribed a night's rest for
myself."
Lucy smiled at him and said a little sadly, "Is it that obvious?" He shook his head and
she said, "OK, supper then, but I'll buy my own roulette chips."
They went to the supper show and Jules kept her amused by describing different
types of bare thighs and breasts in medical terms; but without sneering, all in good
humor. Afterward they played roulette together at the same wheel and won over a
hundred dollars. Still later they drove up to Boulder Dam in the moonlight and he tried to
make love to her but when she resisted after a few kisses he knew that she really meant
no and stopped. Again he took his defeat with great good humor. "I told you I wouldn't,"
Lucy said with half-guilty reproach.
"You would have been awfully insulted if I didn't even try," Jules said. And she had to
laugh because it was true.
The next few months they became best friends. It wasn't love because they didn't
make love, Lucy wouldn't let him. She could see he was puzzled by her refusal but not
hurt the way most men would be and that made her trust him even more. She found out
that beneath his professional doctor's exterior he was wildly fun-loving and reckless. On
weekends he drove a souped-up MG (to soup up – увеличивать мощность
/двигателя/ [su:p]) in the California races. When he took a vacation he went down into
the interior of Mexico, the real wild country, he told her, where strangers were murdered
for their shoes and life was as primitive as a thousand years ago. Quite accidentally she
learned that he was a surgeon and had been connected with a famous hospital in New
York.
All this made her more puzzled than ever at his having taken the job at the hotel.
When she asked him about it, Jules said, "You tell me your dark secret and I'll tell you
mine."
She blushed and let the matter drop. Jules didn't pursue it either and their relationship
continued, a warm friendship that she counted on more than she realized.
Now, sitting at the side of the pool with Jules' blond head in her lap, she felt an
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overwhelming tenderness for him. Her loins ached and without realizing it her fingers
sensuously stroked the skin of his neck. He seemed to be sleeping, not noticing, and
she became excited just by the feel of him against her. Suddenly he raised his head
from her lap and stood up. He took her by the hand and led her over the grass on to the
cement walk. She followed him dutifully even when he led her into one of the cottages
that held his private apartment. When they were inside he
fixed them both big drinks. After the blazing sun and her own sensuous thoughts the
drink went to her head and made her dizzy. Then Jules had his arms around her and
their bodies, naked except for scanty bathing suits, were pressed against each other.
Lucy was murmuring, "Don't," but there was no conviction in her voice and Jules paid no