LITMIR.BIZ

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took Susan a moment to grasp the situation. Danny was covered in sand and there was blood on his face, shirt, and bandaged hand. He carried his sports jacket over one shoulder. His other arm was half bare with the jagged remains of his shirtsleeve hanging above.

      “My God! What happened? Are you all right?”

      “Am I all right? Look at me! I bit my tongue. Some son of a bitch tried to rob me! I got whacked on the skull and had my eyeballs jammed into a urinal with a knife at my throat! Meantime Jack comes in and pisses in the urinal beside us…. Yeah, I’m all right.”

      “Didn’t he help you?”

      “Help me? Help me! Oh yeah, he helped me all right. Told the guy to steal my wedding ring while he was at it! Did I tell ya I bit my tongue? That’s why I sound funny.”

      “Didn’t you call the police?”

      Danny stood on one leg as he tried to take off his pants. “Christ! I am the police! Besides, if I had called, I’d be arrested for what I did to the guy.”

      “What happened? What did you do to the guy?”

      Danny hopped sideways three times across the floor on one leg, before losing his balance and falling facedown on the bed.

      “I gotta make notes on this,” mumbled Danny. “Think I’ll be in shit tomorrow … or today … or whatever.” Seconds later he started to snore.

      Susan looked at the picture on the dresser of the man she had married and then at the man beside her. Is this the same guy?

      Danny snorted as the bed collapsed, then continued to snore. The noise did awaken Tiffany, who cried from the other room.

       chapter eight

      An hour and a half after Danny’s bed collapsed, Jack met Lucy when she arrived in the parking lot of the crime laboratory.

      “Another sample?”

      Jack handed her the baggie of powder that he had bought from Red.

      Lucy looked closely at the powder. “Looks like meth. Good amount this time. We’re pretty busy at the moment. Probably take me a week or ten days to compare.”

      Jack’s shoulders slumped. His voice was monotone. “I got it in a bar that backs out onto the same alley as the one that you cross-matched from the beat cop. Tough bar. If this matches, I could be on to something.”

      “Buy this yourself?”

      “Don’t ask. Appreciate it if you keep this between the two of us.”

      “If it does match … what about Homicide?”

      “If it matches, I’ll let them know in due time.”

      “Fine by me. It’s your neck. I’m just the analyst. I don’t know who is running what.”

      “Thanks, Luce.”

      “You don’t look so good. You better get some sleep.”

      “I’m heading home now.”

      Lucy waved to a colleague as her husband dropped her off while two little kids waved goodbye from the back seat. Lucy thought they looked sweet. She saw Jack blink a couple of times, then wipe his eyes with the back of his hand as he turned and walked toward his car.

      “Jack!” She waited until he turned around. “Make it three days. I’ll have the results then.”

      Jack picked up Danny and they arrived at the office late in the afternoon. They checked hundreds of pictures of members of Satans Wrath and known associates. Baldy was not one of them. Moments later, Louie summoned Danny into his office.

      “What the hell happened to your hand?”

      “I fell. It’s just a couple of stitches.”

      “Yeah? Well, your eyes look like two eagles’ assholes in a power dive! What were you up to last night?”

      “I’m not feeling well. Maybe a touch of the flu.”

      “You smell more like Jose Cuervo beat the crap out of you.”

      Danny heard Jack chuckle and realized that he had come in behind him.

      “So? What happened last night?” Louie demanded.

      “There’s a bar that backs into the alley where the gram was recovered from. The Black Water Hotel. Saw a redheaded woman inside with a Harley Davidson tattoo. She looked like she was dealing. Going to see if we can properly identify her.” Jack then looked at Danny and added, “At least we’ll take another stab at it.”

      Louie thought Danny’s face looked even more ashen.

      The next shift was uneventful. Jack watched from the parking garage while Danny slowly sipped on a beer inside the Black Water. Jack wanted to give the impression that he was busy selling drugs elsewhere. Spider and Red were in the bar, but there was no sign of Baldy.

      Danny made his beer last a long time. The smell of it didn’t help his hangover. He looked at the white band of skin around his finger. Susan didn’t mind that he left his ring at home.

      She was also a little happier when a sober Danny arrived home before midnight and told her that he had the next day off. Jack had some personal business to take care of, and his next shift wouldn’t start until the day after.

      Ben quietly walked up to Elizabeth in the kitchen. Neither one mentioned it was Maggie’s birthday. There was no need. They also never discussed what to do with the wrapped birthday present hidden under their bed. The easel was too big to hide anywhere else. Ben placed his hands on her shoulders and looked intently at her face.

      Elizabeth spoke first. “Jack phoned a few minutes ago. He was going to come out but called to check in case we wanted to be alone. I told him not to be silly.”

      Ben grimaced. “He shouldn’t worry. I’m glad he’s coming. It’s good to have someone to take your mind off it.”

      “But if we want to talk about Maggie and Ben Junior, he doesn’t clam up or change the subject, either.”

      Ben swallowed as he stared down at his wife.

      “You know,” she continued, “I feel sorry for him. He feels guilty that they haven’t made an arrest. He needs someone to talk to as well. I invited him for dinner…” Elizabeth’s words trailed off when she looked into Ben’s eyes. He wasn’t really listening.

      Ben opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it and started again. “That’s good. What time did you tell him to come?”

      “This afternoon sometime. Dinner will be around six.”

      Ben continued to stare at her.

      “What is it, Ben? What are you thinking? Is it just … because it’s today?”

      Ben took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve been wonderin’. Maybe we should sell and move away. This place has got so many … memories.” His eyes were watery and his voice cracked as he spoke. Words didn’t come easy.

      Elizabeth shook her head as tears flooded her eyes. “Memories are all we have. I don’t want to lose those, too.”

      Ben squeezed her shoulders with his big hands. He looked relieved. “I feel that way, too. Today, I see a lot of … memories. I wonder if we shouldn’t do something.”

      “Like what?”

      Ben opened his mouth, but then closed it again and shook his head.

      “Tell me, Ben! What are you thinking? I know you’ve been raised that men aren’t supposed to show emotion. But you can’t keep everything bottled up inside you. It’s not good! Your body is like a dam. It breaks if you don’t let go sometimes.”

      Ben paused, then said, “I was wonderin’

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