"Pretty much the same like always."
"No, you're wrong. This is a special sunset, Jocko. A special sunset for a special son of a bitch."
He laughs. I laugh, too.
I say what I'm thinking as the colors and the light shift and coalesce: "It was worth it."
"What was, mon?"
"Everything. For the sunsets and the Arundel. And the time I had with Bone. It was worth it and I'd do it all again if I had the chance."
Jocko laughs.
This time I don't laugh with him.
A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR
Bill Pronzini is the author of sixty-five mysteries, thrillers, and westerns, including the Nameless Detective series and stand-alone novels such as Blue Lonesome, A Wasteland of Strangers, and Nothing but the Night. He lives in northern California.