Cash Down

723

A response to a challenge to write something in 15 minutes.

 

Later thoughts on “The Las Vegas Strangler.”

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“Hutch?”

“Yeah?”

“You ever thought about what we could have done with all that money we won in Las Vegas that time?”

“Huh?”

“You know, when we went to Vegas, and the PD there thought Jack Mitchell was the guy strangling all those show girls but it wasn’t. We won all that money on the tables. Don’t try and kid me you’ve forgotten. You ever think about what you’d have spent it on if we’d kept it?”

“Starsky, what would be the point of wondering about something like that? If we hadn’t given it to… to – whatever her name was for her little girl, we’d have had to give it back to the department. You know that. That money was never ours.”

“Well, okay, so we’d have had to given back the original stake. But we could have kept the rest. It was thousands, Hutch. You must have some idea what you would have done with it.”

“No, Starsky, I have never thought about it.”

“Aw, c’mon, Hutch. I don’t believe that.”

“Starsky, you know money just doesn’t mean that much to me. As long as I’ve got enough to live on, I’ve got as much as I need.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“C’mon, Starsk. You might as well tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“Oh, come off it. You know you’re dying to tell me what you would have spent that money on.”

“What if I am? You don’t want to know, anyway.”

“I bet I can guess.”

“Go on then.”

“Most of it would go on a new car. Something even showier than the tomato. You’d send some to your ma. Guess you wouldn’t spend any on clothes, though you sure could use to. How’m I doing so far?”

“Why would I wanna to buy a new car? I love this car, Hutch. I wouldn’t ever want to replace her. But you’re right about sending money to ma. She could use it. Maybe even come out for a visit. But you haven’t guessed the main thing I’d do with it.”

“Yeah. And what’s that?”

“I’d buy a house.”

“A house? Starsky, what would you want with a house?”

“I’d live in it, what else? It’d be great. I could have a house with a real yard, a garage for the car, and there’d be room…”

“Room for what?”

“Never mind.”

“Tell me.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Oh for crying out loud, Starsky, there’d be room for what?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, well, I thought, if I had a house, there’d be spare bedrooms, and you could come and live there too, and then you’d have a yard for all your plants and I could….”

“Starsky. Are you propositioning me?”

“Well, Hutch, you’d really enjoy it. I know we haven’t really talked about it…”

“You are propositioning me!”