Miami Blues by Charles Willeford

hundred dollars to make the car payment. D'you have his wallet and money for me?"
    "If you phone your father and ask him to call me and okay it, I can hand over the effects. There's a little more than two hundred in the wallet. I've got it locked in my office drawer."
    "Do I have to call my father? Can't you just give it to me?"
    "No. He's the one who should decide on the disposition of the effects, money included."
    "He'll just say no, and I need the money for the car payment. He'll probably take the car, too, won't he?"
    "Is the car in your brother's name?"
    She nodded and began to cry. "It just isn't fair! We both worked hard to buy that car, to make the down payment and all, and now my father'll get it!"
    "Maybe your brother left a will?"
    "Why would he have a will? He was only twenty-one years old. He didn't expect to die from a broken finger! I still don't see how anybody can die from a broken finger."
    "Let me explain," Hoke said. He finished the last bite of his sandwich and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Dr. Evans is the best pathologist in America, and he's the best doctor and dentist, too. He said it wasn't the finger, but the shock that set in because of the broken finger. And if he says that, it's gospel. Let me tell you about Dr. Evans. 'Bout a year ago, I had some abscessed teeth, and the only way I could chew was to hold my head over on one side and chew like a dog on the side that didn't hurt. I was having lunch with Dr. Evans, and after lunch, he took me back to the morgue, shot me up with Novocaine, and pulled all my teeth. Every one of them. Then he made an impression and had these teeth made for me by the same technician who makes all of the Miami Dolphins' false teeth."
    Hoke took out his dentures, put them on a napkin, and handed them to Susan.
    "I didn't even know you had false teeth," Susan said. "Did you, Junior?"
    "No, I didn't," Freddy said. "Let me take a look at those."
    Susan passed the teeth to Freddy, and he examined them closely before giving them back to Hoke. "Nice," he said.
    "I call 'em my Dolphin choppers," Hoke said. He sprinkled some water from his glass on his dentures, then slipped the dentures back into his mouth and adjusted them. "That's the kind of doctor Dr. Evans is--and he didn't charge me a dime. He just did it for the experience, he said. I went home after he pulled my teeth, drank a half of a fifth of bourbon, and didn't feel a thing.
    "But to get back to the will, if your brother was a sworn-in Krishna, they might've had him make out a will for them. As I understand it, when you join the group, you're supposed to sign over everything you own to them. I'd better check that out."
    "In that case, the Krishnas'll get the two hundred dollars and the car. Either way, I'll be shit out of luck, won't I?"
    "Perhaps. His partner's notified them at the ashram by now, so if he does have a will on file, they'll probably come down to the station tomorrow to see me. They may not know about the car, but his partner will know he collected some money out at the airport today. Just in case, I won't mention the car to them. As a Krishna, I know he isn't supposed to own a private vehicle. Does your father know about the car?"
    "I don't know. But I don't think so."
    "Don't worry about it, then. Just keep quiet, and make the payments. After a few months, or when it's paid for, you can get a lawyer to have it changed over to your name."
    Hoke took out his wallet, shuffled through his card case, and handed Susan a business card. "When you need a lawyer, try this guy, Izzy Steinmetz. He costs a little more, just like the breath mints, but he's worth it." Hoke smiled at Freddy. "He's a good criminal lawyer, too, in case you ever get into trouble."
    "Hang onto the card," Freddy said to Susan. "Maybe Mr. Steinmetz can help us when we get our Burger King franchise."
    The waiter brought the check. Hoke took it, and left a $3 tip on the table. They walked over to the cashier by the doubledoors. Hoke