His old partner had a little smile on his lips like he was amused to have startled Danny. Like getting him off balance had been the point. People surged around them, wearing Cubs shirts and yelling to one another, but Danny hardly noticed.
“Hey.” Evan stepped forward, put an arm around his shoulders. “Let’s get a drink.”
Keep walking, a voice in Danny’s head whispered. Just go. But he let himself be led into a dim corner bar with a neon skull-and-crossbones in the window. Evan dropped his arm once they were inside, and gestured to a corner table. By the time they reached it, Danny had his cool back. He signaled for the waitress and flipped what he hoped was an easy grin. “Here for the game?”
Evan snorted. “No.”
A pretty brunette with a friendly smile bounced over, and they both ordered, neither looking at the extensive chalkboard beer list. Danny waited till she was gone, then tried on a quizzical expression. “So?”
“We didn’t finish talking before. But now it’s Sunday afternoon. So you won’t have to get your panties bunched about work.”
Danny let the remark slide.
“You live up here now, huh?” Evan asked.
“Not far.”
“A house, a woman, a truck. All settled in, snug as shit.”
He nodded, thinking, A truck? Wondering if Evan had just made an assumption, why he hadn’t said a car. The waitress appeared with two pints on a tray. Evan gave her a ten, told her to keep the change, and they clinked glasses with eyes locked.
“So that’s what you get. Life as a civilian.”
“That’s all I want.”
“Yeah? And what do I get?”
“For what?”
“For what.” Even shook his head, smiling ruefully as he tapped a cigarette free. He lit the smoke with the Zippo, snapped it closed, set it neatly on top of the pack. Blew jets of smoke from his nostrils, eyes hard now. “How long we known each other?”
“Since we were kids.”
“That’s right. Just a couple of Irish kids in a blue-collar neighbor hood, spics competing with blacks to see who could move in faster. We made it through that shit by sticking together.”
Danny decided to preempt the speech. “You’re pissed I walked out.”
Evan raised his eyebrows, not saying yes or no. His look said street. It said danger.
“Fuck you.” Showing strength was the first rule. “You went crazy in there.”
“I hadn’t shot him, that dude would have drilled you.”
“Bullshit,” Danny said. “He’d have told me to freeze, called the cops. Anyway, we should have been out the back with the money before he even showed up. Nobody would have gotten hurt. Nobody would have gone to jail.”
“Always the man with the plan. How about this, Einstein?” Jabbing at him with the cigarette. “You owe me. First I saved your ass, then I kept my mouth shut and went down alone. Twelve years the judge gave me and banged his little hammer, and you not even in the courtroom to see it. You know what I was doing while you were becoming a yuppie? Celling with a two-hundred-and-sixty-pound gangbanger named Isaiah. He knows I’m not affiliated, so he’s eyeing me to decide if I’m a guppy or a shark. How would you sleep?”
Danny held his hands up for peace. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want it to work out that way.” He kept his game face up, but behind it, his mind hummed. Yesterday, he’d have bet his savings account that he’d never see his old partner again. Now it seemed like Evan might have other plans, and if so, Danny needed to find a way to mollify him quickly. And then get the guy out of his life for good. “And I’m grateful you kept quiet.”
Evan leaned back, sighed, stabbed out the cigarette. “Yeah, all right.”
They sipped their beer in silence. The memory of his own jail time came to Danny’s mind. Summer camp compared with Stateville, but still plenty bad. The worst was the feeling, always, that danger rode hard on your back. Something as simple as holding a gaze too long – or not long enough – and bam, the shit storm started.
“I came out short seven years.” Evan seemed calmer, his voice level. “Okay, bad beat. But I figure when I go home, I’ll find my partner waiting with a new plan to make us money, that we’ll get back to work.
“Only that’s not what happens. Instead, my partner, he’s nowhere to be found. I have to track him down. And when I do? He tells me he’s legit. Then he buys me a beer and tells me good luck, ’cause he’s got work tomorrow and can’t be late.”
Danny kept his face calm. Don’t show any fear, and don’t give anything away.
“I say bullshit to that. From where I’m sitting, you got everything and I got nothing. You owe me.”
“What am I supposed to do? Dig out my tools and go back to work?”
Evan shrugged. “Why not? The money is better as a team. And I been away too long. I need somebody who knows how to work. Someone I can trust.”
“I’ve been away as long as you have. If you need someone in the game, I’m not your guy.”
“I’m not talking knowing fences. I’m talking about spotting opportunities. Help me level us out.”
“No.” Danny spoke without any hesitation.
“No?”
“I’m not going back to work,” Danny said. “Period. I’m not.”
“So I should just crawl back to my hole.”
“I don’t mean any disrespect. But my life is different now, and I won’t go back.”
“Then,” Evan leaned back, lighting another cigarette, “we have a problem.”
Careful. Be very careful. He remembered Evan’s temper all too well, how it could seize him, a white-hot fire that burned out his sense and self-control.
“I don’t have any problem.” A play had been spinning in his brain since that night Evan had surprised him out with McCloskey. A little bit crazy, yeah, but still… maybe worth trying. “In fact, I’ve got an idea.”
“Yeah?”
“But listen, you’re going to have to relax and think it over. Don’t just snap on me, all right, compadre?” He took a breath to steady himself. “I can’t come back. But I can help you earn.”
Evan leaned forward, his head cocked.
“I can give you a job.”
“You know a good score?”
“No, I mean a job. A civilian job.” As he spoke, he stared at Evan, trying to read a hint of a reaction. Hopefully he’d see it as a peace offering. Or maybe even a grift, and expect the money without the work. Danny couldn’t let that happen, but he’d welcome the play. It would mean that they were at the negotiating table. Better than squaring off.
“A civilian job.” His face a mask, Evan held the cigarette to his lips, took a long pull. “In construction.”
“Think about it. You know plenty to get started, and the pay is good.”
Evan shook his head, chuckling to himself. “Unbelievable.”
“I’m making as much money as we ever did – more – and nobody can look at me sideways. This is a chance to start clean. It’s a good offer.” Danny waited, but silence was the only reply. “The best I can do.”
Silence. Evan wasn’t biting. That was okay – Danny hadn’t really expected him to, not immediately. But maybe he’d consider it, spot the opportunity to escape the shadow of prison. And if not… well, Danny didn’t want to be sitting across the table from him if not. He stood up. “Think about it. Let me know if you’re interested.”
Evan crushed his cigarette.
“And thanks for the beer.” Despite the pounding of his heart, Danny made himself walk slow and steady, and didn’t look back as he shouldered open the door and stepped into the afternoon.
8
“Smug, down-talking fucker.” Evan spat the words.
“Who is, baby?” Debbie Lackey – she hated “Deb” and “Deborah,” always “Debbie,” like Debbie Harry – struck her best pout, flipping blond hair back over one shoulder.