He heard himself say so.
Maureen reached out and plucked at his sleeve. "And I'm sorry, too, Earl, for striking you. It wasn't very Christian of me," she said. "How are you fixed for medicine?"
"Fine, ma'am. The patches you give me this mornin' ought to last for the weekend."
"You know, my husband was a Chicago police officer."
"You tole me, yes'm."
"One time he used the word nigger. I heard him let it slip," Maureen said. "He was on the phone to his sergeant or somebody. He said, 'Some nigger robbed a Korean grocery and we chased him into Lake Michigan.' When he hung up, I tapped him on the shoulder-he was a big fella, too-and I said, 'Patrick, if I ever hear you use that hateful word again, I'm taking the kids and moving back to Indianapolis to live with Aunt Sharon.' And you know what?"
"He never done it again."
She smiled. "That's right, Earl. Do you believe God made each of us in His own image?"
Tool said, "I ain't always so sure." He crossed his arms across his belly in case she took another swipe at him.
"To be honest, some days I wonder myself," Maureen said. "They've got one nurse here, Earl, I swear she's on loan from the depths of hell. Talk about the b word! But here's what I believe-can I tell you? Then you're free to be on your way."
"Sure," Tool said.
"I believe it's never too late to change. I'm eighty-one years old, but I still think I can be a better person tomorrow than I am today. And that's what I'll believe until I run out of tomorrows," she said. "Oh, one more thing-you promised to go see a surgeon."
"Yeah, I know."
"About the bullet in your you-know-what."
"I been real busy," Tool said.
"Young man, you listen here. Life's too darn short to be dragging around that kind of a personal burden."
"Yes'm."
"Now get a move on, before you miss your meeting," she said. "And be careful tonight."
"Don't worry."
"Whatever it is you're up to." Maureen flashing him a sideways glance. "Go on now, Earl."
She flicked a papery hand toward the door, and returned her attention to the television.
They got all the way to Florida City before Tool spoke, which was fine with Chaz Perrone. He wasn't thinking about the blackmail meeting; he was fantasizing about what it would be like to have $13 million, in the stupefying event that the will bearing Joey's name turned out to be authentic. The irony would be epic, for she wouldn't have left Chaz a nickel if she'd suspected him of forging the Everglades data. Since it was dated only weeks ago, the will could be legitimate only if Joey hadn't figured out Chaz's deal with Red…
Meaning he had murdered her for no reason, or at least the wrong reason.
Contemplating the possibility made him light-headed and queasy. Unless otherwise convinced, he'd stick to the more plausible hypothesis that Karl Rolvaag had fabricated the document to intimidate him.
"I'm hungry," Tool grumbled, wheeling sharply into the parking lot of a Miami Subs shop.
"Bring me a Coke and some fries," said Chaz.
"Git it yourself."
Chaz hid the.38 under the front seat and followed Tool into the restaurant. Chaz had begged and pestered for a new bodyguard, but Red Hammernut had refused, saying Tool was rock-solid.
Rock-headed is more like it, Chaz thought. They sat in a booth, Tool wolfishly attacking a turkey sub the size of a football.
"Where's the gun?" Tool, spraying half-mulched lettuce.
Chaz pointed at the car through the window.
"Ever shot anybody?" Tool asked.
"No."
"Ever shot anything?"
"Birds," Chaz said.
As a kid, he'd used a BB rifle to snipe at the sparrows and warblers that woke him in the mornings.
Tool said, "You got no bidness with a gun 'less you practice. I been shot by a joker once already and that's plenty."
"Stop worrying."
At the entrance of Everglades National Park, a ranger inquired about their lack of fishing gear and camping equipment. A notice taped to the kiosk warned against bringing firearms inside the park.
"We're meeting some friends," Chaz said. "The Thornburghs. They're in a brand-new Airstream, Michigan plates. Got an Irish setter named Mickey that rides up front. Did they come through here yet?"
"Couldn't say. I just now came on duty."
"Well, I'm sure we'll find 'em." Chaz, waving pleasantly.
A mile down the road, Tool spoke up. "Where the fuck'd you come up with that one?"
"Pretty good, huh?"
"What's a Airstream?"
Chaz said, "A motor home. You know, like a Winnebago, only not so clunky. He sure went for it, didn't he?"
"And that bullshit about the dog-you just all of a sudden thought that up?"
"Yep." Chaz couldn't tell if Tool was impressed or disgusted.
"I never seen nobody could lie such a way."
"Hey, sometimes you've got to think fast," Chaz said. "That ranger, see, it's none of his business if we've got fishing poles or whatever in the car. But I can't come out and say that to his face, so I cook up a story and off we go."
Tool nodded, both hands on the wheel. "Pretty damn smooth," he said.
The sky was clouded and starless. Ahead of them, speared by the twin beams of the headlights, was a canvas of blackness. At first Chaz thought they were riding through a rain shower, but the splattering sound turned out to be a hail of bugs hitting the windshield. When a marsh rabbit appeared on the center stripe, Tool casually swerved to miss it. Chaz told him to stop the car right away.
"Why, you gotta take a piss?" Tool coasted the sedan off the pavement and braked.
"Turn us around," Chaz said.
"What for?"
"Hurry!"
Tool made a flawless three-pointer and headed slowly back up the road until they came to the rabbit, which hadn't moved. Chaz reached beneath the seat and took out the pistol. Tool blinked at him slowly, like a drugged toad.
Chaz said, "You told me to practice, right?"
"Not on a fuckin' bunny."
"It's just a big overgrown rodent," said Chaz, betraying an ignorance of taxonomy that would have appalled his colleagues but was lost on Tool. "A rat with big ears," he added, stealthily opening the car door.
Tool said, "You shoot that thing, you're gonna eat it for breakfast."
"Yeah, right."
"Doc, I ain't kiddin'. My momma used to tell us, 'Anything that dies, fries.' Ain't right to waste a critter just for sport."
Chaz wondered if the medicine patches were making Tool loopy. Why should he care about a dumb rabbit? Chaz leaned across the hood of the car and took aim at the animal, which remained motionless in the lights. When the.38 went off, the rabbit hopped straight in the air, spun around once, dashed in a circle and then stopped. Its eyes were wide and its nose was quivering.
"Shit, I missed," Chaz muttered, and fired again. This time the animal flattened itself to the pavement and laid back its ears, as if hiding in the scrub.
Tool said, "That's enough, Rambo."
"Just one more." Chaz thinking: It's okay for him to plug an alligator.
"You're done," Tool said gruffly.
"Not quite." Chaz shutting one eye and squinting down the barrel.
"I said no."
Tool goosed the accelerator a millisecond before Chaz squeezed the trigger. He felt himself vaulted airborne and, suspended in flight, he witnessed the tawny blur of the rabbit disappearing into the tall grass. He came down hard in the loose gravel and rolled twice. For several moments he lay still, dazedly watching the insects swarm around the headlights of the idling car. Soon he heard the crunch of footfalls and saw the broad silhouette of Tool above him.