That was how Joel Tobias had come to Jimmy’s attention. He had a rig, a truck, a house, but he wasn’t making the kind of runs that would enable him to keep them all for long. The figures didn’t add up, and Jimmy had begun to make some gentle inquiries, because if Tobias was smuggling drugs then those drugs had both to come from somewhere and to go somewhere, once they’d crossed the border, and there were only a limited number of possible options in either case. Booze was unwieldy, and didn’t bring in enough dough for the risk, and as far as Jimmy could tell Tobias was using the monitored crossings, which meant that he’d be subject to regular searches, and unless he was being provided with some very high-class documentation his career as a booze smuggler would be short. That left cash, but, again, large dollar amounts had to come from somewhere, and Jimmy had cornered the market in that particular specialty. Anyway, the actual physical movement of cash was also a very minor part of his operation, as there were easier ways to transport money from place to place than in the trunk of a car or the cab of a truck. So Jimmy was very curious indeed about Joel Tobias, which is why he decided to approach him directly one day when Tobias was drinking alone over at Three Dollar Dewey’s after making a legitimate delivery to a warehouse on Commercial. It was four in the afternoon, so the evening rush hadn’t yet hit Dewey’s. Jimmy and Earle joined Tobias at the bar, one on either side of him, and asked if they could buy him a drink.
‘I’m good,’ said Tobias, and went back to reading his magazine.
‘Just trying to be friendly,’ said Jimmy.
Tobias had glanced at Earle in response. ‘Yeah? Your buddy has friendly written all over him.’ Earle had friendly written all over him the way that a plague rat had ‘Hug Me’ emblazoned on its fur.
Tobias didn’t appear disturbed or frightened. He was a big guy; not as big as Earle, but better toned. Jimmy knew, from asking around, that Tobias was ex-military. He’d served in Iraq, and his left hand looked chewed up, missing the little finger and its nearest neighbor, but he was in good condition, so it appeared that he’d maintained the habits that he’d learned in the army. He’d also kept up with his old buddies, from what Jimmy could ascertain, which concerned him slightly. Whatever scam Tobias was running, he wasn’t running it alone. Soldiers, former or otherwise, meant guns, and Jimmy didn’t like guns.
‘He’s a *cat,’ said Jimmy. ‘I’m the one you should be worried about.’
‘Look, I’m having a beer and reading. Why don’t you take Igor here and go scare some kids? I’ve got nothing to talk to you about.’
‘You know who I am?’ asked Jimmy.
Tobias took a sip of his beer, but didn’t look at him. ‘Yeah, I know who you are.’
‘Then you know why I’m here.’
‘I don’t need the work. I’m doing okay.’
‘Better than okay, from what I hear. You drive a sharp rig. You’re making your payments, and you got enough left over to buy a beer at the end of a hard day’s work. You ask me, you’re rocking and rolling.’
‘Like you said, I work hard.’
‘Seems to me that you’d need thirty hours in the day to make the kind of money that you’re pulling down in these difficult times. Independent operator, competing with the big guys. Hell, you mustn’t ever sleep.’ Tobias said nothing. He finished his beer, folded the magazine, and took most of his change from the bar, leaving a dollar tip.
‘You need to let this go,’ he said.
‘You need to show some respect,’ said Jimmy.
Tobias looked at him with a degree of amusement.
‘Nice talking to you,’ he said as he got up. Earle reached for him to force him back down, but Tobias was too fast for him. He spun away from Earle, then kicked him hard in the side of the left knee. Earle’s leg buckled, and Tobias grabbed Earle’s hair as he went down and banged Earle’s head hard against the bar. Earle slumped to the floor, stunned.
‘You don’t want to do this,’ said Tobias. ‘You mind your own business, and I’ll mind mine.’
Jimmy nodded, but it wasn’t a conciliatory gesture, merely an indication that a suspicion had now been confirmed for him.
‘Drive safely,’ he said.
Tobias backed out. Earle, who was nursing his knee but had recovered his composure, seemed inclined to take matters further when Jimmy put a hand on his shoulder to quieten him.
‘Let him go,’ he said, as he watched Tobias depart. ‘This is just the beginning.’
Back in the Sailmaker, Earle was doing a good job of pretending not to listen to our conversation.
‘Tobias hurt his professional pride,’ said Jimmy.
‘Yeah, well, I’m all torn up about that.’
‘You should be. Earle doesn’t forget a hurt.’
I watched the big man cleaning the bar, even though there were no customers, and the Sailmaker wasn’t about to get any cleaner without dousing its surfaces with acid. In that way, it had a lot in common with the Blue Moon.
‘He didn’t do a day’s time for what happened to Sally Cleaver,’ I said. ‘Maybe a couple of years in the can might have made him a little less sensitive.’
‘He was younger then,’ said Jimmy. ‘He’d handle it differently now.’
‘Won’t bring her back.’
‘No, it won’t. You’re a harsh judge, Charlie. People got the right to change, to learn from their mistakes.’
He was right, and I wasn’t in a position to point the finger, although I didn’t like admitting it.
‘Why do you let that place stand?’ I said.
‘The Moon? Sentimentality, maybe. It was my first bar. A shithole, but they’re all shitholes. I know my place, and I know my customers.’
‘And?’
‘It’s a reminder. For me, for Earle. We take it away, and we start to forget.’
‘You know anything about Jandreau, the state trooper who died there?’
‘No, and I already answered all the questions the cops had to throw at me about that. Last time I looked, you weren’t wearing a badge, not unless it read “Inquisitive Asshole.”’
‘And Tobias?’
‘It looks like he decided to keep a low profile after I spoke to him. He didn’t make any runs outside the state for a month. Now he’s started again.’
‘Any idea of destinations on the Canadian side?’
‘All standard runs: some animal feed; paper products; machine parts. I could probably get you a list, but it wouldn’t help. They’re straight operations. Either I started asking questions too late, or these people are cleverer than they seem.’
‘People? We’re talking associates?’
‘Some army buddies. They’ve gone on runs with him. Shouldn’t be hard for a man of your talents to find them.’ He picked up his newspaper and began reading. Our conversation had come to an end. ‘It was good talking to you again, Charlie. I’m sure you don’t need Earle to show you out.’
I stood up and put on my jacket.
‘What’s he moving, Jimmy?’
Jimmy’s mouth creased, and the right side raised itself to mirror the left, forming a crocodile smile.
‘That matter is in hand. Maybe I’ll let you know how it works out. . . .’