‘Long time no see.’ ‘You know how it is,’ Dortmunder said. ‘I been living with a woman.’ Rollo nodded sympathetically. ‘That’s death on the bar business,’ he said. ‘What you want to do is get married, then you’ll start coming out at night.’
It sometimes seemed to Herman that Van leaned on people because he wanted them to give him an excuse to shoot them, but most of the time he realised that Van was playing a deeper game than that. He leaned hard so people would think he was trying to goad them, so they would think he was a bad-ass killer just barely in control of himself, and the result was that they were always just as nice as pie.
Dortmunder at the movies was like a rock on the beach; the story kept washing over him, in wave after wave, but never had any effect.
Captain Deemer looked over at Lieutenant Hepplewhite to see if he was taking all this down the way he was supposed to; he was taking it down, but not the way he was supposed to.
Dortmunder said, ‘I suppose it’s unfair to blame you for this job.’ ‘That’s right,’ Kelp said. He was driving, and Dortmunder was in the front seat beside him. ‘But I do,’ Dortmunder said. Kelp gave him an aggrieved look and faced front again. ‘That isn’t fair,’ he said. ‘Nevertheless.’
‘A mobile headquarters, and I can’t contact anybody unless I stand still on a hilltop. You call that mobile?’
Lieutenant Hepplewhite looked tortured as he tried to figure out whether the proper response was yes, sir or no, sir.