“Charlie, I was you, I’d use that time to talk to my wife. I don’t know much, but could be she’s not getting what she wants at home, and I’m not talkin’ about sex.”
“Could be lots of things, Hap. And I don’t know what any of them are. I think maybe I got to confront her. She’s in love with this guy, not me, then she ought to go on. I want her to go on. But it has to do with me, I ain’t doin’ somethin’ just right and can start doin’ it way she needs, we might can work stuff out.”
“I certainly hope so,” I said.
“’Course, she could just be an asshole.”
“There is that.”
Leonard came out on the porch. “What you guys doin’? Come back in. Have a beer.”
“No, thanks,” Charlie said. “Got to go. Good luck to both you fellas. And be careful, I’d hate to have to arrest you.”
When Charlie was gone, Jim Bob came out on the porch to join us. He sat down on the swing and started moving it with his foot. He said, “Way I see it, boys, we’re kind of at an impasse.”
“How’s that?” Leonard said.
“I think this chili fuck is responsible for the beating my client took. This connects with them other two gettin’ killed, Horse and Raul, but that isn’t strictly my business, though I’m willin’ to make it my business. But, Hap, you don’t feel confident chili dude’s the man. Leonard, you think it’s him, but I can see you fadin’ a bit.”
“Fadin’?” Leonard said.
“You got your doubts,” Jim Bob said, “or rather you know Hap’s got his and you’re runnin’ on his track.”
“I think for myself,” Leonard said.
“I never doubted that,” Jim Bob said, “but you think a way fits in with how Hap feels. He’s the same with you. I can respect that. It’s stupid. But I can respect it.”
“This leading up to something?” Leonard asked.
“Yeah, it’s leading up to me goin’ back to the hotel, takin’ a bath, jerkin’ off, watchin’ a little TV, a good night’s sleep, and tomorrow I’m back down to business. I’m gonna stay on chili man’s ass until I get what I’m lookin’ for.”
“And if it isn’t him?” I asked.
“It’s him, all right,” Jim Bob said. He stood up, set the beer bottle on the porch railing, went down to his car and drove away.
26
I lay in a tub of warm soapy water with my arm around Brett. She lay with her head against my shoulder. We had been lying like that for some time. Enough that the water was starting to cool.
Outside I could hear rain beating on the roof of the house. In the living room I knew Leonard, Clinton, and Leon were watching television, probably thinking about what we were doing in the bedroom, thinking all sorts of wild things, and of course, they were right.
We had bucked like colts, squirmed like snakes, rolled like seals, and done some cheap, disgusting things that had made us happy.
After a while the water cooled and so did we. We got out of the tub, dried each other, lay on the bed, kissed and fondled, and one thing led to another and we were at it again. Afterwards, we lay there in each other’s arms and talked. I said, “I’m beginning to feel guilty. You and me in here having fun, and the boys having to watch television.”
“Shit,” Brett said. “There’s this special on poisonous toad frogs in the Amazon tonight. How in hell could they be envious of us, knowin’ that’s comin’ on?”
“You know, you’re right.”
“They finish that, we’re still busy, they can switch over and watch the life of that shit O.J. Simpson on Biography. Sounds to me they got a pretty full evenin’.”
“You’re right again.”
“’Course, I have to go to work, so it doesn’t matter much. We got to quit fuckin’ sometime. ’Course, I’m not tryin’ to say it has to be right now. You want to see you can lower the bald man into the canyon one more time?”
“Absolutely,” I said.
We tried to make love again, but this time we weren’t as successful. Oh, all right – I wasn’t as successful. The bald man was tuckered out. We laughed about it, kissed, got dressed, went into the living room.
Leon was asleep on the couch. Clinton was lying on a pallet, his head propped up on pillows. Leonard was sitting on a chair drinking a Coca-Cola. They were watching an old detective show.
“Lazy, rainy day,” I said.
“Man, ya’ll must have been playin’ Monopoly,” Leonard said. “Long as y’all were in there, you had to be.”
“Monopoly?” Clinton said. “I like that game. We could play to pass time.”
“I was kidding,” Leonard said.
“I do have a Monopoly game,” Brett said. She went to the closet and dragged it out.
“I don’t know,” I said. “You get to playin’ that, you might could get distracted too easy.”
“Naw,” Leonard said. “It’s okay. It’s not that engrossing.”
I went to the window, pushed back the curtain, and looked out. It was rainy and dark and the day was dying on top of it. I could see lightning shimmering against distant clouds.
Soon Brett would be heading to work, Leon and his. 45 with her. Me, I had a late job interview at the LaBorde Fowl Processing Plant for a night watchman job. My application had yielded some interest in the way of a postcard. I had called and a night foreman named George Waggoner had set up an interview.
I turned to Leonard. “What are your plans, Leonard?”
“Me and Clinton gonna play a little Monopoly, I think. Then I’ll go pick up some grub. I might stay the night, Brett don’t mind.”
“’Course not,” Brett said. “It’s good to know you’ll be here when I come home.”
“In the mornin’ I’m supposed to meet Jim Bob at my place, and so are you, Hap.”
“What for?”
“I called him earlier, see if he’d had any luck.”
“Well?” I said.
“He said he had some things comin’ together, he’d know better tomorrow, so we’re gonna meet in the morning. Nine o’clock, my place.”
“Good enough,” I said.
“You fellas think this wrestler really means to hurt me?” Brett asked.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “I’m just being cautious. For a while.”
“How long?” Brett said.
“I don’t know.”
“And you really haven’t any idea if he means to hurt me or not, do you?”
“No.”
“You can count on one thing, though,” Leonard said. “It ain’t gonna happen. He ain’t gonna hurt nobody.”
Brett smiled at him. “Thanks.”
Leonard nodded.
Brett looked at me. “You got that interview.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m about to leave… Didn’t you tell me to remind you to call Ella?”
“That’s right,” Brett said. “I thought I’d check on her. She called yesterday. She’s made up her mind to leave that thug Kevin.”
“I’m glad,” I said.
“Me too,” Brett said. “I’m going to call, try and give her the moral support. ’Course, if he’s there, that won’t be easy. He sleeps a lot, though.”
“He work?”
“Some kind of shift where he’s on a few days, off a few days. He’s off right now.”
I gave Brett a kiss, told everyone so long, drove to the chicken-processing plant to check on the night watchman’s job.
“This is a costly operation,” Waggoner said.
“Yes, sir,” I said. “I understand.”
“There’s all manner of expensive equipment here. We even have the occasional business spies. People trying to sneak in here and get our secrets. That’s going to get worse, Collins.”
“You’ve actually had spies?” I asked.
“Couple of niggers hired by our competition, and I won’t even show the company the respect of saying their name.”
“What did these spies do?”
“They took photographs of our equipment.”
“No shit.”