Orchid Blues (Holly Barker 2)

"Yeah, but if he's in cahoots with the Winachobee folks, who may have just stolen millions from the bank, why is he doing nickel-and-dime loan embezzlement that would have gotten him caught before he could steal very much? It doesn't make any sense."

"You have a point"

"And if the Harston woman is the group's inside person for the bank robbery, why would they need Morris in there? Certainly not for the money, and Harston could have told them all they needed to know about when the bank had a lot of cash on hand. They wouldn't have needed Morris for that."

"So?"

"So, maybe Morris is an independent, or working with another group with less ambition than the Winachobee folks. Maybe the bank was just unlucky enough to have two employees independently planning to steal them blind at the same time."

"That's a mighty big coincidence, isn't it? Didn't you once say to me that you didn't believe in coincidences?"

"I must have been drunk," Harry said. "Coincidences happen all the time. I know of one case where two pairs of guys showed up to rob the same bank at exactly the same moment. They ended up shooting it out with each other, two killed, two wounded."

"That's a pretty big coincidence, I guess."

"You bet your ass it is, but coincidences happen."

"I guess they do."

"Well, I'd better get another investigation going into the Morris embezzlement. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, Harry, take care." Holly hung up, depressed.

24

Holly was getting ready for bed when the phone rang. "Hello?

"Hey."

"Hey, Ham. What's up?"

"I just got a dinner invitation."

"Do we have to talk about your sex life again?"

"Sex wasn't mentioned, but I'm keeping an open mind about it."

"Ham, I'm tired. What are you talking about?"

"I've been invited to the Peck Rawlings home for a fried chicken dinner."

Holly's heart leapt. "That's great! When?"

"Tomorrow night."

"God, what a relief! I've been feeling lousy for most of the day because I thought we were at a dead end."

"Not yet, apparently."

"What, exactly, did Rawlings say?"

"He said, 'Ham, why don't you come out here tomorrow night for a fried chicken dinner?'"

"What else?"

"Then I said, 'Peck, I think I'd enjoy that.'"

"I mean, what else did Rawlings say?"