“I’m not going there! I refuse!”
“You don’t have to see him, darling. You can sit in the car and wait for me, but I need to verify some of my facts. I’m about ninety-nine percent sure I know who your parents are, but I think he can make it a hundred. And I don’t want to risk screwing up again. Trust me on this, please.”
“Johnny, I’m not going in his house!”
“You won’t have to. I only need to talk to him for five minutes and then we’ll go see your real daddy.”
She made a face, but she put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb. I could tell she wasn’t happy with the idea of driving to Bry’s house. Her knuckles were squeezed white from gripping the wheel, and her face looked just as pinched. And she was too mad to talk, at least right away.
After a couple of miles, her body loosened up and she broke into a smile.
“He’s a rotten bastard,” she said. “Could you do me a favor and punch him for me? After you get your information from him, of course.”
I laughed. “For you darling, anything. Where do you want him to get it?”
“Smack in the nose!”
“As good as done.”
She drove for about a minute thinking about it, and then smiled again. A nervous smile. “Johnny,” she said, “I was only kidding. You wouldn’t really do something like that?”
“No,” I said. “I’m afraid not. But I’d sure like to. More than you could guess.” And I would too, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave those types of marks. I guess it was tearing me up a little knowing I couldn’t deal with him the way I wanted to. I would have to settle for what I had planned.
“Johnny, tell me about my parents.”
“I will, baby. But after I talk with Bry.”
“Please! I’ll pull over until you tell me!”
“Won’t do you any good. This time there’ll be no screw ups, I promise.”
“But-”
“Please, Mary. It’ll just be a few minutes and then we’ll have a nice long talk. It will all be over soon enough.”
We drove in silence the rest of the way. Mary was busting a gut to ask me questions, but she held them in. I guess she figured it wouldn’t do her any good, and she was right. I wasn’t going to budge. When the time was right I’d tell her everything she needed to know.
We pulled in front of Bry’s house a little after eight. Mary sat rigid in her seat, her eyes staring straight ahead.
“Can you hurry up?” she asked. “I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to.”
“I’ll be as quick as I can. Just relax, okay?”
I gave her a glance before turning away. Her face was wrecked with worry. In the shadow of the car it looked so white. So serious. So fragile.
It tugged at my heart to see her like that. After all, she was my own flesh and blood, and I was proud of her. She was so damn beautiful, so damn determined. There was so damn much life in her.
I took a step towards the car. I decided the hell with it-I’d tell her everything and let the chips fall where they will. Anyway, that’s what I was going to do and I probably would’ve if Bry hadn’t stumbled out of his house.
“Hello, sweetheart!” he shouted as he weaved towards us. He was twenty feet away and I could smell the booze on him.
“Johnny!” Mary screamed, her eyes flooded with murder. “Keep him away from me! I’ll drive away if he tries to come near me!” She turned the engine back on and floored the gas.
Bry waved at us as he came closer. I ran up to meet him.
“I’ve been waiting for you, sweetheart,” he shouted. “Come on-oof.”
I had put my fist in his stomach and the color drained from his face. Before he could get his breath back, I had him by the elbow and was turning him around, walking him towards his house.
“You stupid bastard,” he gasped. “What you do that for?”
“I’ll tell you inside,” I said through clenched teeth. I gave him a push, and he lost his balance and tumbled over. I caught him by his collar and kept him on his feet.
“What you hit me for?” he demanded. “I was just trying to do what you asked. Take your stinking hands off me!”
“Shut up.” I tightened my grip on his collar. “I’ll explain when we get inside. I’m trying to save your goddamn neck.”
We were a few feet from the door. I shoved him inside and followed him, closing the door behind me.
“I oughta beat the crap outa you for doing that to me,” he said, a pout on his lips. Oh brother, I thought, you better flush that look off your face before it’s too late. That damn soft whining whimpering . . . .
“I’m trying to do you a favor.” My voice sounded as if it was coming from an echo chamber. I closed my eyes, trying to shut off the red glaze coating my vision. It didn’t help. I prayed he’d shut up before it was too late. If he’d only keep his mouth shut-if he’d only keep me from seeing his face-there was still a chance. I could still walk out of there. Mary would be okay. If he’d just keep his damn mouth shut and not say a word and-
“What the hell’s going on!” he demanded. “Why’s she sitting out there?” He pushed aside the curtains and peered out. “What a sweet looking girl. I could chew on her like a piece of candy.”
He made a loud smacking noise with his lips. “What flavor candy you think she’d be? I bet she’d be cherry. Or have you been doing this to her?”
Using his thumb and forefinger on one hand and the middle finger of his other, he made an obscene gesture and then broke out laughing.
“Why don’t you go bring her in?” he asked. “You can leave the two of us alone. Maybe she can satisfy my sweet tooth.”
I could still see him through the red haze. His dull fleshy face leering at me. Egging me on. Begging me for it. I took my gun out and showed it to him.
“What’s going on?” he asked uneasily. He took a step away.
“Shut up.” This time the words came out.
“This isn’t funny.”
“No?” I laughed. “I think it’s a gut buster. At least it’s going to be.”
“You’re crazy-what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Me?” I shrugged. “Nothing. I’m not even here. What Mary’s going to do is another story. You two got into a little lover’s spat-over something stupid like what flavor horse manure you are. In a fit of disgust, she shot you dead.”
“Are you nuts? You won’t get away with this.”
“Why not?” I asked. “One of your neighbors will probably remember seeing Mary sitting in a car outside your house. And if she commits suicide later-over remorse for killing her lover-why would anyone argue with it? And hell, what else are the police going to think?”
“My w-wife won’t believe-”
“No? After sending her out of the house? Come on, she’ll know damn well you sent her out so you could screw Mary behind her back.”
I laughed-a long hard one-and it triggered something inside him. His mouth twisted and there it was, his soft whining look.
“You dirty bastard.” The words exploded from him. “Stinking filthy motherscrew-”
I fired, hitting him below the hip. It spun him around like a top and he collapsed on all fours.
For a second, he seemed paralyzed. Then, still on his hands and knees, he tried crawling away. I took aim and fired again, clearing away any hemorrhoids he might’ve had. His knees gave way under him and he fell flat on his stomach.
He tilted his head to me. “Because,” I said. “Because the world’s just not fair. Because after all I’ve done for you, you had to thumb your nose at me-and think you were better than me. Because it was meant to be. It’s payback, and hell, who’s going to complain?”
My second shot must’ve caused some internal damage. His head rolled to the side and he lay limp on the carpeted floor. I stood frozen over him, my hands squeezed into fists. I wanted to tear him apart. I wanted to pull him up and slap him until he was raw and bloody. I wanted to rip his guts out and stomp them down his throat. I wanted to . . . .
I couldn’t do any of it. It had to look like a lover’s quarrel that turned tragic. A tiny thing like Mary couldn’t do the damage I wanted to do, and I knew if I started I wouldn’t be able to stop. I started sobbing because of the unfairness of it all.