He was out of the booth now and reluctant to leave.
"Call me tomorrow, William," Iris said gently.
And Hanrahan made his way to the door and out onto Sheridan Road.
He stood for a moment and looked toward his car. He should go back to the house, maybe watch some television, do some paperwork. Sit sober and alone. He couldn't, not yet, not this early. He could go to a movie but there was nothing he wanted to see and he was sure he would fall asleep and snore.
Hanrahan decided instead to pay a late-evening visit to Harvey Rozier.
"I say shit, we forget it, man," said Albert Davis, slouching back in his chair at the rear of the McDonald's on South Shore Drive. "Why we wanna go all the way back uptown so far from our own turf? Somethin' go two farts in the wind and where we gonna run? Up on an el platform and wait for the Englewood B train with the cops all over us?"
"We go in. Take what we want We tape him up, shove him in a closet, something, and we go out, maybe catch a cab," lago Simms said, his left eye almost closed as he chewed on a double cheese.
It was a little after nine at night. The place was crowded, mostly with young people, all black, mostly making noise and laughing. Lonny, lago, and Dalbert hi a back booth had to talk above the noise. They didn't care who heard them.
"You out you fuckin' mind, man?" Dalbert said with irritation, looking at Lonny Wayne for support or direction. None came. Lonny looked cool, sat straight up, touched the brim of his White Sox cap, and went on eating the fish sandwich stuffed with trench fries. "What cab driver gonna pick up us? No white or nigger driver, that's for sure. And what we gonna do? Walk the streets with all kindsa shit, drugs what all, looking for a Chink driver?"
"We get wheels," Lonny said, looking over Dalbert's head at a girl who sat with two other girls and a boy. The girl was young, maybe fourteen, fifteen, chocolate skin, maybe Haitian, maybe Jamaican. He'd seen her around, thought maybe she was new in the neighborhood. She was sexy and wore a tight sweater she kept hitching up to be sure her big boobs showed.
"Shit," said Dalbert.
"Garages back on thirty-seventh, you know?" asked Lonny, catching the girl's eyes. She met his look for an instant, then turned and went back to her conversation. Lonny Wayne needed money to get a pretty girl like that. Hell, Lonny needed money to get any girl except Railroad Monique, and she was just a crazy bitch with all lands of teeth missing.
"Sure," said lago.
Dalbert shrugged.
"Bag Man Reno keeps his wheels in one of those little garages, big old Chrysler, couple years old maybe," Lonny said. "Bag Man's out of town. Heard it from my old man, heard him tell Jackson the barber."
"You sayin' what I think you sayin'?" Dalbert asked incredulously. "You wanna steal Bag Man Reno's car? Man, someone see us they tell for sure and we get our dicks cut off like that Bobbitt guy on TV."
"We be borrowin' the car," lago squealed, his half-sagging face pushed toward Dalbert. "Jus' borrowin', and we bring it right back. Ain't that the way, Lonny?"
"That's the way," Lonny said.
"When?' Dalbert said, resigned and reaching for a french fry as a sign that his rebellion was over.
"We take the wheels tonight," said Lonny. "Park 'em over in the hospital lot. Get it tomorrow, maybe three, four. Get the doc and wait till night to put Bag Man's car back."
"Ain't easy," said Dalbert, simply making conversation now.
"Ain't nothin' easy this world," said lago.
Lonny caught the girl's eye again, unsure of whether she was interested. Maybe she was just fascinated by the lightning bolt scar through his right eyebrow. Like Juanita. Just wanted to touch it and put her tongue in the space between his teeth. Juanita one dead junkie now. She had been a crazy bitch.
"What the fuck?" Lonny said and stood up.
"Where we goin'?" asked lago.
"Watch my ass," said Lonny, walking toward the three girls and the guy. He knew when he got close that he was right about them. They were talking funny, like French.
"Hi," he said.
All four looked up at him. They were all young, but the boy was a little older and his eyes said, I'm on somethin' heavy, don't mess with me. Lonny smiled, space between his teeth, looking only at the pretty little girl. Lord, she had great big white teeth.
"I'm Lonny Wayne," he said, taking off his hat The girls giggled. "And who might you all be?"
"People who want they should be left alone," the young man said angrily.
"Be polite," one of the girls said. She wasn't as pretty or as big as the girl Lonny wanted, but she had a big red mouth. "I'm Martine. And this is Adrienne and Denise." So her name was Denise. "And this is Andre."
"Count Andre," the young man said. "Count of after you mess with me you better count your fingers. Now you introduced, how about you go back to your table before you're counting fingers?' "How about you talk nice? I ain't been saying nothin' wrong. Have I, ladies?" Lonny said with a grin.
"No," all three girls said.
A screaming and laughing heavy girl ran past, bumping into Lonny, who almost fell over the table into Denise's lap.
"You got a phone number?" he said.
The girl named Martine laughed.
"Hey, get the fuck out of here," said the count. "Don't be messin' with my cousin."
Lonny ignored him. The pretty Denise, who looked just as good up close as from across the room, nodded.
"Can't give it to you," she said. Great voice-and that accent. "My mamma doesn't want me to go out with boys yet. Says I'm too young."
"Not from where I'm standing," Lonny said.
The other two girls at the table whispered to each other and the count stood up, reaching for his pocket. He never got that far. Dalbert had the young man's wrist and lago stood with his back to the table showing something to the angry young man, something that made the count ease up.
"No hard feelins here, my man," Lonny said. "What say I pay for a round of burgers all round. And then we sit talkin', me and my friends, with you all for awhile?"
The count had no choice. He sat flanked now by Dalbert and lago.
"What you got?" Lonny said, standing up and fishing four dollars from his pocket. Dalbert coughed up two bucks and some change and lago found three dollars, mostly in change.
"Be right back," Lonny said and began making his way through the crowd to the counter.
No doubt now. He needed money.
And he knew where he was going to get it.
Unwelcome Visitors
When the doorbell rang, Abe had just settled in his bath with his book of crossword puzzles. On the floor in reserve, if he so desired, lay last Sunday's Tribune Magazine.
It couldn't be Todd with the kids. Barry had a key. Unless he forgot or lost it Lieberman got out of the tub, dried himself quickly, and put on his blue terry cloth robe. The doorbell rang insistently. He slipped on his battered slippers, a Hanukkah gift from Maish and Yetta, and hurried into the hall, across the dining and living rooms to the front door. The bell was ringing as he opened the door and found himself facing Rabbi Nathanson and a small woman. A fine rain was falling and the woman was wincing as if each drop was an acid assault.
"See," said the Camel triumphantly, "I told you. He's here. Lieberman, we have to talk."
With that, the rabbi and the woman, who looked a bit like a sparrow, pushed past Abe Lieberman. Abe had no choice but to close the door and turn to his guests, who were already choosing their places at the dining room table.
'This is my wife, Leah," said Rabbi Nathanson, holding out his long arm in the woman's direction.
She smiled politely at Lieberman.
"Rabbi, this is a bad time," said Lieberman, still standing and rapidly coming to the conclusion that anytime the Camel appeared at his house was going to be a bad time.