SE Hinton owns The Outsiders.

ACROSS THE BOARD- A bet on a horse to win, place and show. If the horse wins, the player collects three ways; if second, two ways; and if third, one way, losing the win and place bets. (DRF)

Dropdown

Twelve-

"Baby, I think maybe it's time we entertain the idea that you ain't any good at this," Tim said to Hazel. He had asked for a word with her, and then looked to Darry for permission that he and Hazel could step into the kitchen for a minute. Darry had rolled his eyes and suggested that they go have a word in someone else's kitchen entirely, but had relented.

Hazel looked up at Tim, and shrugged. They were standing side by side, leaning up against the counter. Tim was turning an unlit cigarette over in his fingers.

"Don't have a lighter for you this time," Hazel said.

"No shit. Christ, doll, I can see getting picked up in Elk City. That's a piss-ant town, but Amarillo's Potter County, ain't it? How'd you get spotted there?"

Hazel smiled.

"Got in a fight. Didn't really know what I was doing. Another girl came after me 'cause I was cutting in on her turf. Funny thing, it was her who sort of showed me the ropes afterwards. It was her who suggested that I skip town, and all I'd have was a bench warrant."

"Was it her who introduced you to the fairy dust, too? Some friend, sis. At least I'm offering to go back after your purse."

"You're not going back after my purse, dumbie. You're calling your PO so your little brother isn't left on the outside dealing with Billy on his lonesome. I'm heading out."

"Heading out where?"

"You're probably better off not knowing."

Tim tucked the cigarette behind his ear.

He asked, "So, when I go out there to make that call, you're gonna take off, right?"

Hazel nodded.

Tim reminded her, "I found you once before when you lit out. Wanna bet I can do it again?"

"I got out of the gambling racket," she said.

Tim nodded. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Take the rest of my gate money. Don't go back to your place, alright? Just go."

Billy Simon sat next to Eleanor at his dining room table. One officer sat across from them. The other leaned against the wall behind them. On the table between them sat Hazel's purse and a ring.

"That ring has been reported stolen," said the first officer. He'd called back to the station and been rewarded with one hell of a tale.

"Yes, I reported it stolen," Eleanor told him. "It was stolen by the little tramp who owns that purse."

"No," the officer said. "Actually, it was reported stolen before that. Then it was found underneath the car in your garage. You know it's a crime to file a false report, right?"

Eleanor set her jaw.

"Are you going to do something about that girl or not? I told you, I went out into my garage and she was there. You know she was in the neighborhood- you have her purse."

"But I don't have her," the officer said. "But I do have the two of you- I have you in possession of stolen property and calling in a false report on top of it. Mrs. Simon, it was you who filled the report. Billy, do you want to cop to the theft just to make it fair?"

Tim hung up the phone. He took the cigarette from behind his ear and lit it with a dying butt from the nearest ashtray.

"Who'd you get?" Curly asked.

"Alderson," Tim told him. "He's a pushover. Wants to see me at eight-thirty tomorrow morning. After that, I bet I don't have to see him again for a couple of weeks."

Darry asked him: "That girl is no longer in my kitchen, right?"

"The girl is no longer in your kitchen," Tim replied.

"Where is she?" Two-Bit asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Hazel figured that she was already sunk, so she ignored Tim and went back to her room in the big house. She didn't turn the light on. She opened her dresser and began emptying her clothes into a carpet bag. At the bottom of the drawer was an envelope that contained her birth certificate. She could get another driver's license in Kansas or Arkansas before the warrants caught up to her. Fayetteville was a college town- that was her best bet for finding work.

At the bottom of another drawer was a Crown Royale bag. Inside, there was another vial with coke in it and a couple of joints. Hazel took the bag and put it in her jacket pocket. She zipped up her carpet bag and slipped out into the hall. She went to the kitchen, intending to leave the house through the back door. She paused and thought about what Tim had said- that she wasn't any good at the grift.

She chucked the Crown Royale bag on the counter, and continued out the door. Maybe, she thought, she'd be a little better at it with a clear head. She'd try it that way anyway.

At eight-thirty the next morning, Tim went to the Tulsa County courthouse to find his parole officer. Eleanor Simon was sitting on a bench in the hall outside of one of the courtrooms.

"Ma'am," he said and walked on passed. He frowned and turned back, having noticed that Eleanor was handcuffed to the bench where she was sitting.

"Where's Billy?" He asked her.

"Least of my worries," she replied.

"I suppose it's all in the Lord's hands then?"

Eleanor glared at him. She said:

"Tell Hazel she should come down and claim her purse. I'm beginning to think that you two do know each other."

"Not nearly as well as I'd like," Tim said. He nodded to Eleanor and continued down the hall to find his parole officer.