bag of gold, part 4

by nick nelson

part four of four

for part three click here

for part one, click here

delacroix is here. who?. delacroix. shifty. the cop from north city. oh, him. i don’t suppose he told you what he wants. no. do you want to see him? i’ll see him. i’ll buzz you if i decide i have had enough of him. all right. have a seat, delacroix. what can i do for you? it is what i can do for you, mr c. you know i have owed you one for a while. i am very aware of that fact. i have something that might interest you. it seems like a bit of a long chance, but i thought it might do. tell me about it, and i will decide if it does. that cigar looks like a good one. it is a very good one. if i like your story, i might tell you where you can buy one for yourself. all right, here it is. there is an old woman living out in the fourth quarter, by the bend in the river, the fourth quarter, where rich people used to live? yes. so she used to have money? exactly. now she seems to have some goods that she wants to dispose of… but she has a problem. yes. keep talking. * i spoke to a policeman, or detective or whatever he was, on tuesday. we are not the police. we are information specialists. if you have no official standing, i have no information to give you. you have information to give us. i will call the police. you will not call the police. well then, as little as it comports with my dignity, i will scream for help. no one will hear you. the houses nearby are deserted. your maid has gone home, we saw her leave. you answered the door yourself. a car might drive by and hear me. a vagabond might walk by and hear me. there have been an alarming number of them in the vicinity lately. we will take our chances on those things. we are wasting each other's time here. we want to know where you got the gold coin you gave the bank. and if you have any more of them. i told the policeman. a man, a complete stranger to me, gave it to me when i was a little girl. i have no more of them. we do not believe that that story is true. we hope, for your sake, that it is not. the end