Deuce isn’t exactly shocked that he is wanted by the police, but he is surprised that he has been identified so quickly. Jail is always a prospect. When he pulls a job, he never wears a disguise or a mask, partly because they are always a pain in the neck and can get in your way, and partly because they seem stupid. Somebody sees you going into a jewelry store wearing a mask, it’s a safe bet they’ll get a quick grasp of the situation. As for identifying him, well, eyewitness accounts and descriptions are notoriously unreliable; any cop will tell you that. So Deuce just goes in fast and hard, orders people not to look at him, and hopes for the best. Half the time, it works pretty well; on the other hand, half is just about as much of his life as he has spent in jail.
Still, he is saddened a bit. The past few weeks have been the time of his life, and he’d just as soon see this run with Karyne stretch a good distance into the future. He goes back to the cabana in a more somber mood but does his best to hide it from his girlfriend, which works for a while. But over the next couple of days, he starts drinking more than usual, which is a lot, and that darkens his mood. He and Karyne argue over some minor thing; he explodes in anger, grabs her by the neck, and throws her across the bed, calling her a miserable little cunt and other obscene and unkind things too numerous to mention. This isn’t the Dennis she knows; it’s somebody else, and she is afraid of him.
Deuce packs his bags. Karyne is distraught and in tears. Dennis is about to leave her over what? Some stupid little argument? It makes no sense. When she says so, Deuce only gets angrier and calls her more obscene names. He calls Purcell and hires him to drive him to Los Angeles International Airport. Deuce is going back to Rhode Island. It’ll be like hiding the pearl in a fishbowl, a plain-sight place no one will think to look. He’ll find Chucky; they’ll figure out what to do.
By the time the silver Lincoln pulls into the airport, Deuce has calmed down a bit, thought things over. He bought the car for Chucky. How’s he going to get it to him? And what about all of the stuff he bought? He takes a deep breath, goes to a telephone, and calls Karyne, who is still in the hotel room sobbing. He apologizes until he runs out of appropriate words. She agrees to pack up the rest of their bags and meet him in a lounge at the airport.
When they meet, he apologizes again, tells her what he does for a living, and that the police back East are looking for him. His voice jitters when he says everything just fell in on him all of a sudden and that’s why he blew up at her. Karyne by now is composed and relatively unfazed; no schoolgirl she. He’s still her Denny, and they are still a couple. Karyne says, in fact, that she loves Deuce; he says he loves her too.