A Walk Among the Tombstones Page #4

You told them about Reuben.

I told them about Leila.

About how I wanted to

save her from Reuben.

So we came up here.

We watched them for a while.

They said they wanted to help her, too.

So you followed her?

You picked her up off the street.

Then what?

We drove around with her.

We finally parked somewhere.

Near the water in Brooklyn.

Said they wanted to

make their own video.

She was really scared.

They loved that.

You dirty little girl.

They kept talking to her.

Pick one. Which one's your favorite?

Eeny, meeny, miney, moe.

You pick the one that you want

to keep, and I'll take the other.

One for you, one for me.

That's fair, isn't it?

Well, you better pick one,

or I'm going to take them both.

Come on, what are you waiting for?

You trying to stall?

You trying to make me mad?

Touch the one that you want to keep.

This one?

Okay, good.

I think that's an excellent choice.

Okay, that's ones yours,

and this one is mine.

A deal's a deal. No take backsies.

But then two days later, I think

they thought it would be funny,

I show up for work and there's

garbage bags everywhere.

They knew I'd never say anything.

Where was this video

place you met these two?

It moves around a lot.

Might still be there. Who knows?

How do I get in?

It helps if they know you.

What if you come with me?

Can I feed my birds first?

Ray.

What was that?

That was his name.

Which one? The quiet one, or the...

Jesus.

I was off-duty one day in this

bar in Washington Heights

where cops didn't have

to pay for their drinks.

And a couple of guys came

in to rob the place.

I chased them into the street,

shot two dead,

got a third one in the leg.

He'll never walk right again.

Yeah. I quit drinking that day.

It just wasn't as much fun after that.

People are afraid of

all the wrong things.

I'll be right back.

I wonder if he'd pay

as much for the nurse?

We made a mistake. Come on, let's go.

Wait, wait.

They work for the f***ing DEA?

Probably not for very long and

almost certainly not as agents.

Then what were they?

I don't know.

Maybe they were used as

confidential informants

or maybe they were office staff.

Whatever they were, they couldn't have

gone very far or lasted very long.

- Why not?

- Because they're insane.

They managed to get

their hands on some files.

One of which had my name on it.

And if my name's on a DEA file,

that means I'm being looked at, right?

Or you were at one time.

You know a lot of people,

do what you do?

It's not like we have a union or anything,

but I know a few. Why?

I want you to call them and tell

them what happened to Carrie.

- Tell them you've hired a...

- Are you f***ing kidding me?

Word gets out about Carrie,

cops are gonna be...

They've done this before.

And they're gonna do it again.

This time I wanna hear about it.

What do I say?

You'll think of something.

I could have paid them.

I had the whole million.

It was our nest egg.

You know, the money I

was gonna use to get out.

And this guy I know, he was gonna

put me into some Internet startup,

sell shoes online or some bullshit.

It was our future and I didn't

want to give it to them.

Now how f***ing stupid is that?

She was already dead.

If she wasn't, they would

have killed her anyway.

Call your friends.

Gotteskind?

I just knew her as Marie.

Jacinto. My man.

You know where it is.

She lived around here?

She worked around here.

Where?

On the corner.

No, no, your mama likes the

one percent, not the two.

She was a dealer?

She worked out of a crib

not too far from here,

if you know what I mean.

See that old building down the block

with the vacuum repair on the ground?

Hola.

All right, tell me, cocksucker,

what do you want with Marie G?

You on the job, f***er?

Retired.

Who you working for, the family?

Sh*t. When are you guys

gonna leave it alone, huh?

We didn't do it, okay?

Okay.

You think we'd just chop up a cop and

leave her on our own f***ing doorstep?

My son's a f***ing moron

but he's not an idiot.

Wait. Marie was a cop?

Who are you?

I'm not after you. Or your son.

I want...

I want the guys that killed Marie.

Not if I kill 'em first.

You dealing outta the store?

Not anymore.

But she was working you?

Working him?

F***ing moron wanted to marry her.

That's how good she was.

Hello, my name's Peter.

I'm an alcoholic and

still a drug addict,

and I got one day back.

Hi, Peter.

It's good to see all the

friendly faces again.

Still haven't managed to

turn your back on me.

So I slipped, you know?

It happens.

The funny thing is I didn't

start using until I was 28.

Yeah?

Up until then,

I never even smoked a joint.

Even when I was overseas, you know,

half my unit was on

one thing or another.

You were in the army?

Yeah, I was in Germany,

then Desert Storm.

I come home, go back to school,

and me and Kenny, we start dealing.

Just enough to get by.

It was more Kenny's thing.

He was dealing in college.

I do it to pay for art school.

Wind up getting hooked on the product.

Drop out.

Meanwhile, Kenny,

he stays in the business,

starts making some real money

while I'm eating garbage and

sleeping in abandoned buildings.

Till one night I nearly blew my f***ing

heart out of my mouth up in Harlem.

What are you gonna do now?

I got this job as a breadmaker.

Figure stay busy at night,

sleep during the day.

Get in less trouble.

All right. See you around.

Take it easy.

The number you have reached is

not in service. Please check...

Directory assistance.

I'd like the number for the

East Village Plumbing, please.

What borough?

I assume it's the East Village.

One moment.

- No listing in Manhattan.

- Try Brooklyn.

Nothing in Brooklyn either.

Try all the boroughs.

I'm sorry, we have no listing.

Thanks.

What happened to you?

I bumped into something. You okay?

I'm fine.

- What you got there in your backpack?

- Nothing.

Just my notebook. Some Twizzlers.

Unless you're talking

about my pencil case.

No. I'm talking about the black

Beretta with the taped grip

you got tucked beside your water bottle.

Oh.

You mean this.

My new jammie.

It's a nice one.

What are you planning on doing with it?

I don't know, man.

Right now it's just for protection.

Figure, I'm gonna be a detective,

I need a piece.

Where'd you get it?

I was just taking a nap in some alley.

Heard some footsteps.

I seen some dude who works

as a lookout for some ballers.

He just threw the bag

in a dumpster and split.

You stole someone's stash?

I didn't steal it. I left the

money and the rock where it was.

They're going to come back

for the piece, you know that.

Naw. They're in the wind,

Matthew. Trust me.

Cops clipped their ass.

You know how to use that?

Sh*t.

Point it at me.

Like you're gonna shoot me.

Go ahead.

Come on.

That the way you hold a gun?

That's the way I hold it, yeah.

You know how to jack the clip?

Empty it? Clean it?

But the gun's still not empty.

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