“That’s right, Pop,” the deaf man said.
“And they’ll drive it to the store where you and I’ll be waiting, is that right?”
“That’s right, Pop.”
“Will I be dressed, or what?”
“Yes, of course,” the deaf man said. “Your job is to keep any unwanted visitors away.”
“Okay.” The old man put a hand up to shade his eyes and squinted at the rows of white trucks in the lot below. “Is that tin covering the trucks?” he asked.
“It’s a porcelainized metal of some sort,” Rafe answered. “Why?”
“Will we have any trouble getting the new signs on it?”
“I don’t think so. We’ve got an electric drill and carborundum bits. Those things can drill throughsteel .”
“Mmm, that’s good,” the old man said, nodding.
“What about the license plate?” Chuck asked, sucking in on his cigarette.
“What about it?” the deaf man said.
“We’re grabbing the truck the night before the job, aren’t we?” he asked. He was truly an ugly man with the squat solidity of a gorilla, huge shoulders and long, dangling arms, massive hands, a square, short-snouted head. And yet he spoke quietly, almost gently.
“Yes, the night before the job,” the deaf man said.
“So they’ll be looking for it, won’t they? What I mean is, the watchman’ll call the cops either as soon as he hears that truck taking off, or as soon as he realizes it’s gone, depending on how much on the ball he is. Next thing you know a whole description is going out, you know how the cops work, don’t you? So next thing you know, the license plate is being flashed to every squad car in the city. So where does that leave us? So that’s what I meant when I asked about the plate.”
“Naturally, the plate will be changed.”
“But when? It’s a long haul from here to the store. If that watchman is on the ball, the license plate number can be on the air in five minutes. I’ll be driving this truck, you know.”
“So what’s your idea?”
“I say we change the plate right here in the lot, even before we start the truck. That’s what I say.”
“All right.”
“Fine. And it can’t be an ordinary plate, you know. You look at those trucks down there, you’ll see they’re not carrying ordinary plates. That’s a special kind of commercial plate. We’ll have to scout around for some between now and the thirtieth.”
“We will,” the deaf man said.
“The other thing that bothers me is working in the open, in the back yard, when we get to the store. You know what I mean? Even if the license plate isn’t flashed, every cop in the city’ll be looking for a Pick-Pak Ice Cream truck. So there we are drilling holes into the side of one. That doesn’t smell so hot to me.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Can’t we build some kind of a temporary screen?”
“I’m afraid a screen would attract attention.”
“Well, I don’t like working in the back yard. This is too big a thing to take a risk like that.”
“Could we take the truck to Majesta?” the old man asked. “Work on it there?”
“That would really be dangerous. A half-hour ferry ride? No, that would be out of the question.”
“Why don’t we rent a private garage somewhere near here?” Rafe asked. “We can drive to it as soon as we have the truck, make our changes, and then go over to the store. Once the changes are made, we’re safe.”
“I think that would be best,” the deaf man said. “I’ll contact some real estate agents tomorrow. This is a fairly rural section, so perhaps we’ll have some luck. If not, we’re simply going to have to chance working in the open.”
“If we can’t get a garage near here, I’d rather drive it to some dark street and do the job there instead of in that back yard.”
“Let’s not cross our bridges,” the deaf man said. “It’s agreed that I’ll try to find a garage in this neighborhood tomorrow. Let’s leave it at that for now.”
“Okay,” Chuck said.
“But we’ll be taking the truck tomorrow, right?” the old man asked. He paused. “I don’t like to ask too many questions, but I did get in this sort of late, and…”
“That’s all right. Yes. We take the truck tomorrow night.”
“And the big job?”
“The next day, of course. April thirtieth.”
The old man nodded. “Who’ll be driving on the day of the big job?”
“Rafe.”
“Who’ll be with him?”
“I will,” the deaf man said.
“Have you got uniforms?”
“I’ve ordered them. I’m to pick them up tomorrow.”
“Where will Chuck and I be?” Pop asked.
“After you deliver your packages?” the deaf man said, and he grinned.
“Yes.”
“You’ll go immediately to the house in Majesta. You should be finished by one o’clock or so. I expect you’ll both catch the two-fifteen boat. Or, at worst, the four-oh-five.”
“And you and Rafe? Which boat will you be on with the truck?”
“We’re trying for the five-forty-five. If not, we’ll catch the six-oh-five.”
“And when’s the one after that?”
“Seven-fifteen,” Rafe said.
“We don’t have to worry about any boat beyond the six-oh-five,” the deaf man said. “We’re starting the job at five o’clock, and it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes to do the remaining work. Another ten minutes to load the cartons, and another ten to get to the ferry slip.”
“With the loot,” Pop said.
“I should hope so,” the deaf man said, smiling.
“And when do we leave Majesta?”
“As soon as things begin to cool. We can work that out while we’re there. We’ll leave one at a time. Last man takes the car. The ice-cream truck stays behind, in the garage.”
“You think of everything, don’t you?” Chuck said, and there was a tinge of bitterness to his voice.
“I try to,” the deaf man said flatly. “I find it’s just as simple to think of everything asnot to. And a hell of a lot safer.”
“I hope you’ve thought of everything,” Chuck said.
“I have, believe me.” He looked at his watch. “We’d better get back to the store,” he said. “I want to get to work again. We’ve got a lot to do before Thursday.”
“Look, I hate to sound too cautious,” the old man said.
“What is it?”
“I’m going to have to take another look at those maps you drew. I mean, I’ve got to know exactly where to plant those things.”
“Certainly,” the deaf man said, and he reached into his side jacket pocket. “I thought I had them with me,” he said. “I guess I left them at the Franklin Street apartment. I’ll stop by for them.”
“Think that’s safe?” Chuck asked, a worried look on his ugly features. “Going back to that apartment?”
“I think so, yes,” the deaf man said. “As a matter of fact, I was there again just last night, entertaining a lady friend.” He stared at Chuck defiantly. “I’ll meet you back at the store. You can begin working again as soon as it’s dark. Pop, you take up your usual post. We have to be finished by Thursday, remember that.”
THE BUILDING ONFranklin Street was an elegant dwelling which, some twenty years ago, had been among the most aristocratic of apartment houses. Time and the vagaries of the taste makers, a fickleness which shifted the desirability of neighborhoods from the south side to the north side with the swiftness of summer lightning, had combined to render Franklin Street no longer as desirable as the buildings to the south. The local joke now was that no one went to the north side unless it was to take a steamer to Europe, and the bromide was not very far from the truth. But the buildings on Franklin Street had not succumbed to the shoddy encroachments of the slums as had some of the buildings within the territory of the 87th Precinct, buildings which had once been princely and which had slowly been strangled by the octopus of poverty. The buildings on Franklin Street still had doormen and elevator operators. There were no profanities scrawled on the walls of the entrance foyers. The rents in these now-unfashionable buildings were still very fashionably high.