When he put it that way, it did sound more than a little irresponsible.
“Well . . . yes,” I stammered. “But I told Massha to come pick me up at the end of a week. I figured that I’d have to go and pitch in at that point, whether I had found you or not.”
Aahz started to say something, then shook his head. Heaving a great sigh, he tried again. • “Skeeve . . . don’t worry about not being able to find the right words. I think you’ve given me a pretty good idea of what I really mean to you.”
“I did?”
He nodded.
“Enough that I’ve decided I don’t need any more time to make up my mind. Grab your stuff, partner. Let’s get going. Are you square with the hotel, or do you still have to settle accounts?”
“I’m all set on that front,” I said. “There’s no balance . . . since they made me pay in advance.”
“That figures,” Aahz grumbled. “Unless you’re a VIP or something, everybody gets the same treatment.” It was just too good an opening to pass up, and I yielded to the temptation.
“Of course, it’ll probably be easier for me next time around . . . now that I have a line of credit and a credit card.”
“What next time around? I thought you said the police . . .”
His train of thought stopped abruptly as he turned to loom over me.
“CREDIT CARD? What credit card? Who’s been teaching you about credit cards?”
That wasn’t exactly the reaction I had been expecting. “The bank suggested it, actually,” I explained. “They said . . .”
“What bank? How did you know what to look for in a bank?”
“Well, it was recommended to me by Edvick, he’s the cabbie I hired while I was here, and . . .”
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