“It’s my first time to deal with a bank,” I said loftily. “To be honest with you, I didn’t even know about credit cards until Malcolm explained them to me.” A cloud passed over the cabbie’s face.
“You’ve never had a credit card before? Well, watch your step is all I can say. They can be a dangerous habit, and if you get behind, bankers can be worse than Deveels to deal with.”
“Worse than Deveels?”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Deveels were a devil I knew . . . if you’ll pardon the pun. Now I was starting to wonder if I should have asked a few more questions before accepting the bank’s services.
“Don’t worry about it,” Edvick said, giving my back a hearty slap. “With your money, you can’t go wrong. Now then, let’s see about finding you a bodyguard.”
“Urn . . . excuse me, but something just occurred to me.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, now that I have checks and a credit card, I don’t have to carry a lot of cash around.”
“Yeah. So?”
“So if I’m not carrying a lot of cash, what do I need a bodyguard for?”
The cabbie rubbed his chin thoughtfully before answering.
“First of all, just because you and I and the bank know you aren’t carrying a big wad anymore doesn’t mean the muggers know it.”
“Good point. I . . .”
“Then again, there’s the gang that might still be after you for roughing them up last night . . .”
“Okay. Why don’t we . . .”
“. . . And there’s still an ax murderer loose somewhere around your hotel . . .”
“Enough! I get the picture! Let’s go find a bodyguard.” It occurred to me that if I listened to Edvick long enough, I’d either want more than one bodyguard or decide not to set foot outside my room at all.