Two-Dollar Bill (Stone Barrington 11)
Page 3
“Well, even back in Texas we get some news from the East ever now and then. Can I buy you fellers a drink?”
“We’ve got one already,” Stone said. “What sort of problem have you got, Billy Bob?”
Billy Bob looked puzzled. “Problem?”
“Why do you need a lawyer?”
“Well, shoot, everybody needs a lawyer don’t they?”
“Hard to argue with that,” Eggers agreed.
“You planning to murder anybody?” Dino asked hopefully.
“Not this evenin’,” Billy Bob replied, flashing his big grin again. “They got a pissing place around here?”
“Through the door, first on your left,” Stone said, pointing.
Billy Bob got up and followed directions.
“That ol’ boy has either the best teeth or the best dental work I’ve ever seen,” Dino said.
“How did you come up with this guy again?” Stone asked Eggers.
“I told you, he came recommended by a good client in Texas. Stone, just talk to the man, will you?”
Billy Bob arrived back at the table simultaneously with his bourbon. He peeled a bill off a fat roll and handed it to the waiter.
The waiter looked at it. “A two-dollar bill? I haven’t seen one of these in years.”
“Coin of the realm, my friend,” Billy Bob said.
“The Wild Turkey is eight dollars,” the waiter said.
“That’s on my bill,” Eggers said.
“And the Jefferson is for you,” Billy Bob told the waiter.
The waiter pocketed the money and went away shaking his head.
“Jefferson?” Dino asked.
“Thomas Jefferson is on the two-dollar bill,” Stone said.
“I thought he was worth more than that,” Dino said.
“Me, too,” Eggers interjected. “Madison is on the five-thousand-dollar bill, except there isn’t one anymore. I don’t know who’s on the ten-thousand-dollar bill.”
“Chase,” Stone said.
“There’s no president named Chase,” Eggers replied.
“Salymon Portland Chase,” Stone said. “Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.”
“How do you know that?” Dino asked doubtfully.
“I know a lot of stuff,” Stone replied.
“So, Billy Bob,” Dino said, “is that whole wad in your pocket two-dollar bills?”