A Walk Among the Tombstones Page #5

You know that, right?

You know there's still a round

left in the chamber here?

Now. Put it back together.

Caress it.

Rub it, like it's part of you.

Feels good, doesn't it?

Word.

It's all oily and whatnot.

Turn off the safety.

Now cock it.

Now put it to your temple and

pull the f***ing trigger.

- What?

- You heard me.

Shoot yourself in the head.

Might as well get it over with now.

Because you walk around with a gun,

sooner or later,

it's gonna happen anyway.

No rewind. No going out for popcorn

and coming back to the show.

It's just you with that gun in

your hand, stupid look on your face,

and your hash all over the wall.

Take it easy now, TJ.

F***!

Scudder, I'm assuming you're not

dumb enough to shoot a federal agent.

Show me your badge. Right now.

Okay.

I'm reaching for my folder.

Stover. Drug Enforcement.

Put it down.

Great. It's broken.

Next time identify yourself.

Hey, maybe we should pull over,

try again this time without the

sucker punch, see how well you do.

Why wait?

Hey, that's enough.

Who you working for? Kenny Kristo?

- I can't say.

- Cut it out, Scudder.

You're not licensed so

you don't have privilege.

And you're retired, so this gives you about

as much legal authority as a f***ing mailman.

So the sooner you tell me what you're

doing hanging with known drug dealers,

the sooner you can get to an AA

meeting and not talk about it.

I'm trying to find Ray and

his buddy what's-his-name.

You know, the two guys that

killed Marie Gotteskind?

I don't know who you mean.

Really? They go around saying

they're on the DEA payroll.

Usually right before they chop

someone into little pieces.

Was Gotteskind looking at Kenny Kristo?

I can't answer that.

Maybe Mrs. Kristo can.

Although we haven't seen her

around for a while, have we, guys?

I know, maybe you should

talk to the brother, Peter.

Seeing as he used to spend

a lot of time over there.

Know what?

I was wrong.

This guy doesn't know a

f***ing thing. Uncuff him.

We're done here.

In the program, they have this saying.

"Don't give up five minutes

before the miracle happens."

Scudder.

Of course the flip side of that one is,

if you do give up, you'll never know.

What are you doing here?

- I'm admiring your wallpaper.

- Oh.

Those are the studies I was

doing for the painting.

You do them all here?

Yeah. We had to.

Wanted it to be a surprise for Kenny.

Was he? Surprised?

What do you want, man?

You and Carrie put the DEA

onto your brother, didn't you?

Hey.

I wouldn't blame you for

hating the guy. I mean,

it's not just that he

has a beautiful wife,

it's not just that he's

got all that money,

while you work some

get-well job making donuts.

What would really get me

is how he can be around all that junk

and never use.

Carrie had nothing to do with it.

About nine months ago, they go

to Bermuda for their anniversary.

Carrie asked me to watch the house.

I'm there maybe a day.

Found some cash Kenny hadn't locked up.

I don't even think about it.

I go to Queens,

to this guy I know to score.

And you get busted?

Yeah. I get put in a room

with this woman DEA agent.

She's so nice to me, you know.

I give Kenny up like that.

Of course, it didn't help that

you were in love with his wife.

Sometimes I think Kenny left

that money out on purpose.

Yeah. I'm sure that's what he did.

I'm sure this is all exactly

what he wanted to happen.

What are you talking about?

That agent that busted you,

the nice one,

her name was Marie Gotteskind.

She was killed by the same

two men who got Carrie.

How did they know about that...

They stole her files.

And one of them, thanks to you,

had Kenny's name in it.

Tell your brother I'm done.

I'll return his money tomorrow.

Does Kenny know about me?

Not unless you tell him.

Yo.

There goes his b*tch-ass right there.

Roll up next to him, man.

Yo, TJ! Feeling those new

Timbs you're rocking, man.

I know you hear me

talking to you, right?

Let's go f*** this boy up.

- Yo, slow your ass down!

- Whoa, whoa! What's up? What's up?

Yo, you got something

that belongs to me, man.

What you all talking about, man?

Where my Gat at, man?

That's my favorite piece!

Man, I threw it in the

f***ing river, man. I...

What?

Serious, man? The f*** you

mean you threw it in the river?

Where you going?

We just want to talk to you.

Get back here, b*tch.

- Yo, run his f***ing bag.

- Give me that!

Yo, what's this cartoon sh*t?

No, no, no!

- No, man, that's my...

- Shut up!

Yo, where you get this money from?

- It's my allowance!

- You sell my Gat?

- No!

- Yo, take his f***ing Timbs off, man.

No, man.

What the f***? Yo, motherf***er!

- F***, I'm going to kill his b*tch ass!

- F***ing A!

- What's wrong with you?

- You crazy? You outta your mind?

Any messages?

Yeah. JR called.

TJ?

Yeah, whatever.

Did he leave a message?

Let me think. No.

Well, yeah.

He's at Bellevue.

He got worked over pretty good.

But he was also out in the rain.

Either one could have

triggered the crisis.

- Crisis?

- He's a sickler.

He's got sickle cell anemia.

- You didn't know that?

- No.

Well, a sickler gets a cold or a chill.

Anything that makes a normal

person's blood cell count go up,

any time the body gets

ready to fight something,

the red blood cells panic,

and they take on a sickle shape.

Actually create a kind of a

traffic jam in the arteries.

The blood gets very thick.

Suddenly, you're not getting any oxygen.

What are you doing for him?

Well, we're hydrating him,

giving him Demerol for the pain.

But he knew the drill.

He got in here early enough,

so I don't think it'll

go on for too long.

- I'll be right out there if you need me.

- Thanks, doctor.

Don't feel sorry for me.

I don't.

How long I gotta be here for, man?

Depends how well you behave.

You know, my mom told me

once that I got special blood.

That I can never catch malaria.

That's how sickle cell got started.

In Africa. As a defense against malaria.

Where is your mother, TJ?

Why aren't you a cop no more?

You first.

I had a crisis one time.

I was about 11.

My mom took me to the hospital,

but never came back to check me out.

I guess she thought that

if she left me there

they'd put me with a really nice family.

Little did she know.

I saw her in the street a few times

after that, but that was a while ago.

She had some issues then.

Your turn.

I was off duty one day.

I was in a bar in

Washington Heights where

cops didn't have to

pay for their drinks.

Wait a minute.

Three kids held up the place.

On their way out, they shot

the bartender in the heart.

I chased them out into the street,

and I shot two dead,

caught the other one in the thigh.

- I heard this already.

- No.

You didn't.

You see,

one shot...

Well, the bullet took a bad hop.

It hit a 7-year-old girl in the eye.

Killed her instantly.

An inch higher and it would

have grazed her head.

Left a nasty scar. That's all.

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