Chapter 39

Irving makes surprise to me that he does not leave. I have seen that his mind is fixed, and do not make my speech to make change in it but only to say what I feel.

When he returns to sit he questions Linda much. He asks how she finds me and she tells him story I have heard her say before but that I remember only small. He asks much else but I am weary and listen very little. She shows him clothing I wear during hunt for aurochs, and spear-bag and spears, and all I had with me when she found me.

She says to him to stay for dinner, but if dinner is to be rabbit one is not enough for three. It is near evening now, and rabbits will be out. I say to her I will find another. Irving says he has never before eaten rabbit, but Linda tells him it will be good food as I leave with sling. We will have late dinner, rabbit requires long cooking, but if I can find soon there will still be time.

When I return with rabbit they once more speak of other things. I go to kitchen to make butcher of both rabbits and I hear them speak as I do this.

“Irving, a polygraph’s out of the question, who do you have you can trust, really trust, not to say anything?” Linda asks him. “If this gets out—”

“You don’t really think he’s going to pass?” asks Irving in a tone I do not like, it seems to mock her.

“Humor me,” she says in the same tone, and now I feel happier; they speak to each other equally. “Aren’t you going to feel like a damn fool if he does? When he does?”

“Oh, hell, girl, all right,” he says. “Double-blind. I’ll ask the questions, tech’ll be outside, soundproof room so he can’t hear, but he’ll read the tapes. Damn pain in the ass, it all has to be coordinated, but I’ll do it. That do you?”

“Yes!” she says in a big explosion of air. “Irving, you’re going to be—”

He will not let her continue. “Linda, I’m going down a very long path to satisfy you here,” he says. “I still think you’re full of more shit than a Christmas goose. Dammit, the whole thing is insane. And you have to know you’re done with us when he bombs, done with the law. You might stay out of prison, though I won’t even bet on that; this identity theft is big business now.”

“Thank you, Irving—”

He again will not allow her to finish. “Don’t thank me, girl, it was your boy there. That was the damnedest speech I ever heard, Darrow would have been proud to have said it. I’m going the extra mile on that alone.”

I do not understand all of this—what is “polygraph” and “double-blind?”—but I understand enough to be glad that I spoke as I did.

When dinner is finished Irving asks that we sleep early. “I want to get off at about oh-dark-thirty,” he says, “do the whole thing in one day. Can you handle that, Linda, you’ll be taking your own car?” She nods.

“One more thing,” he says as he goes to his room. “I don’t expect I have to tell you what’ll happen if either one of you isn’t here in the morning.”

Linda looks at him. “Irving, it’s not nice to tell your boss to do indecent things to himself,” she says. “Don’t make me do it. We’ll be here.”

He laughs, but only small. “Good night,” he says.

In the morning Irving says that Linda is to drive before him. “I’ll try to keep you in sight, but I’m not going to get anal about it, it’s too damn long a trip.” He tells her where we are to go.

“And be there, Linda,” he adds. “By six if you can, and if you can’t call on your cell and tell me where you are. If you’re going to run you’ll have that much of a head start, but it won’t—”

“Oh, shut up, Irving,” says Linda in an impatient voice. “We’ll be there. Dammit, quit treating me like one of your friggin’ criminal clients who’s itching to jump bail.”

We go to cars. I look at basket of crop I have picked, all will go bad left so and I will not be able to sell.

There is much food in this place, we will not hunger for lack of this crop. Still, it is not right that this will be wasted. I take up basket to go with us. The market where we usually go will be closed this early, but perhaps we will find another. Linda laughs at me, but she helps me make a place in small seat behind where I may set the basket and it will not fall over as we drive.