Christ, was I hyperventilating, where’d that come from?’
Merrick said
‘Good you have a handle on it though.’
‘Don’t stop believing’ was blasting from the radio, he reached to turn it down, I asked
‘Don’t’
We waited for the song to reel on then I asked
‘So, who’s up to today?’
He said
‘Tribeca, the dentist..’
I asked him about the initials, the one’s Shona received. He shook his head, said
‘Naw, I got nuttin.’
Then
‘Why?’
Told him.
Took him a moment, he went
‘Whoa, hold the goddamn phones, they were with the flowers that Shona got, Holy shit,
you sent flowers,
you?’
I murmured
‘It wasn’t me.’
He was on it, loving it, went
‘Jesus H……the damn Fenian is a romantic and oh Mi God, you scored you did, didn’t
you?’
I was caught between delight and serious annoyance, not a comfortable place, said
‘Ok, calm down a fookin minute, let’s get back to those initials’
Nope.
The bad bollix wasn’t letting go, chanced at glance at my wrist, said
‘And you got the Indian band, man, you are so fucked.’
We were coming into Manhattan, he said
‘Buddy, I was going to keep this for later but this is big news and I swear to fuck, I’m
delighted, a miserable son of a bitch like you, grabbing him one of our very own
American princes.’
I was really tired of this and was about to launch when he reached in the back of the
truck, pulled out a long parcel, said
‘Enjoy bro.’
I thought, if this is a rifle, I may well have to shoot the bastard. Tore the wrapping off
To reveal
A baseball bat
Merrick said
‘The Louisville Slugger, the real deal.’
Nigh overwhelmed, I resorted to banter, asked
‘Did you get the Yankee’s to sign it?’
Given his loathing of said team, he mock reached, asked
‘You wanna test it out, now.’
Still moved and not knowing how to just say
‘Thank you.’
I stayed in flip territory, asked
‘Can I bring it with us to meet the dentist?’
He reached for it, tossed it in the back, said
‘This is by the book.’
He was getting out and I said
‘I’d be good, honest Injun.’
He wiped his bald dome, said
‘Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.’
‘RED MOON RISING. A WOLF IN THE PINES.
NICK TOSCHES.
‘IN THE HANDS OF DANTE.’
We got out of the pick up, getting looks from the Tribecans, amid the Porsches,
Lamborghini’s, we were a little….out of place?
Fook em.
I
asked Merrick
‘This fellah’s name again?’
‘Bob Temar’
Looked at me, snapped
‘You need to keep up to speed hot shot.’
Regretted leaving the slugger behind. I asked
‘And we’re getting to see this high flier, how?’
‘I lied, said we were cops.’
Ol Bob’s office’s/surgery, were discretely opulent. Glass front, nothing showy, his name,
Robert Temar, on a simple brass plate, and a whole shit load of letters after it. I said
‘A player, right?
Merrick was checking the frontage, answered
‘Oh yeah, a heavy hitter, cash wise.’
We went in, a quiet crowd of people in the waiting room, thumbing through the very
latest People, Entertainment Weekly, probably checking to see if they featured. The
receptionist was a ringer for Lindsay Lohan, her rehab stint perhaps. She looked at us,
knew we weren’t……..players. Said in a frozen Margarita tone
‘”Yes.’
The assembly looked up, her tone signaling
‘Intruders.’
As in……….the hired help are in the front office.
I said
‘Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Bob is expecting us.’
Trying to keep the fury out of my tone.
Merrick whispered
‘Jesus, shut the fuck up, I’ll l do the talking.’
Merrick led the way down a deep carpeted hall, knocked on a door, heard
‘Enter.’
Bob was from Central Casting via Stanley Tucci, if you’re going to be bald, go the Tucci
route. Bob had.
Beautiful grey suit, that kind that sneered at you
‘Loser.’
His perfect tan, grey tinted glassed to accessorize his suit, tall, over Six.two, with a build
that he spent a whole shit load of time in the Tribeca gym, they probably had frequent
flier miles.
Bad mouth though, no amount of bucks could hide the mean downturn. He said, in a
cultured tone, a guy who never had to raise his voice, it got done, why you had the mega
bucks
‘Ah, the gentlemen from the NYPD, may I see some credentials?’
He was good, had the shit down.
Merrick gave him his winning smile, said, warmly
‘We’re no longer with The Department, we’re private.’
Bob looked like someone had given him an enema, snapped
‘Then you’re here under false pretensions, perhaps I should give a call to The Police
Commissioner, former patient of mine, reason he has that winning smile.’
Merrick was all balm, said
‘No Need Doctor, I mean, we’re investigating a child murder, how would it look if The
Daily News had a story that the top dentist in Manhattan lawyered up over this?’
Bob smiled, a predatory one, mind fucking, this guy invented the game, said
‘Ah, the feeble threats. I’m disappointed but to get you out of here, what did you want to
know?’
Merrick slapped two photo’s of the dead kids on the pristine mahogany desk, asked
‘Ever see those children before.’
Bob smiled, a mirthless thing that made your blood blow colder, he said
‘Really, Morton, if I were the…..how do you term it in police parlance?….the
perpetrator, would I say………….Yes, I know them or deny any knowledge?’
Merrick was losing it, I could see it in the rise of his shoulders, he said, gritted teeth
‘It’s Merrick, so you haven’t seen them?’
‘No.’
Merrick grabbed the pictures, said
‘Thank you for your time, sorry to bother you.’
Bob was looking at me, a light in his eyes, asked
‘Your partner, he’s a mute, he isn’t allowed to speak?’
I moved forward, pushing Merrick’s restraining arm aside, said
‘You can glance at two murdered kids and adopt t a fookin sardonic tone? ‘
His smile widened, he said
‘Irish and with the usual foul tongue, you’re a long way from home Paddy.’
I put my index finger on the lapel of his gorgeous suit, said
‘You know what that means?’
The smile never wavered, he said
‘That a Mick could never hope to aspire to it?’
I gave him one of my own smiles, said
‘’Touchable.’
Outside, Merrick was fit to be tied, he was so angry, I said
‘It went well, you think?’
He exploded
‘You dumb fucking..Paddy, what do you think you’re playing at, didn’t I tell you, TELL
you to keep your dumbass trap the hell shut? But no, Mr. Fucking Wise guy has to go
running his mouth, blowing the whole deal to shit and shingle,
I asked
‘What did you call me?’
He paused’
‘Jesus H, you deaf as well as pig Irish stubborn, I called you a dumb fucking Paddy.’