Last Bender

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
          She stood a little behind the door, in silk pajamas. The light shimmered in folds of rose and egg yolk. She stepped back and said, “I got your message Mr. Bartell. Come in.” Sun burned through the cloud cover, warming the sidewalk and shutters. “Have a seat. I believe you prefer exotic soft [...]

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
          He led me out the back of the bar and into the women’s room. There wasn’t much space for the two of us and he grunted that I should climb out the window and hop down into the alley. I did it and it was tough getting through. The rain didn’t make it [...]

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
          “This jerk leaves his native land to pursue a career in stoop sitting,” the neon fat man said. I hit the button. Traffic was crawling. We were at Forbes Square. Malcolm’s statue soared overhead, the wheels of the motorcycle dwarfing idlers taking lunch in the dry areas between his feet. I was paralyzed [...]

CHAPTER THIRTY
          The voice answered the phone with a terse, trebly sound somewhere between a ‘yeah’ and a ‘hey’, suggesting hello by brightness and proximity. It was a busy, grease-covered sound conveying none of the contempt for manners implied by its timbre. In response I tried to imitate it.
          No one in my family [...]

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
          “They got dental!” Church said, applying margarine pats to a corn muffin, subjecting both to a furious scrutiny. His round cheeks retained their rosy gloss, even in the consumptive fluorescent light. Even without a beard, he was one angry Santa.
          Needles said, “Yeah so what. They got dental. Do they got prescription lenses?” [...]

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
          “Laraby?”  
          “Jack. It’s night. Where the hell are you? Why didn’t you call or come in? It’s a fucking mess here. There’s no control. Reporters, cops, lawyers, relatives, insurance dicks, my god! I’m tellin’ you, I’m outta my fucking mind with it! If I go to one more meeting I’m gonna blow.”   [...]

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
          I slipped the waitress fifty bucks, paid the check and left her pausing for contractions, delivering plates with the help of other waitresses. The way to David Watts’s house was still a mystery; I asked for directions from some guy at a gas station who insisted we were there for the fishing. “Finest [...]

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
 
          In a series of identical rooms I was handed back my clothes, keys and wallet, but not the guns. I signed blurry forms and endured the removal of the U and thunderbolt from my hand. It left behind a faint white scar. “A souvenir of your stay in Tudor Caravan,” the technician said. [...]

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
          There’s no straight road from Spartan Co. to Guernsey. You can take the Cross Island to the Crane Bridge and pick up the Cyrus Van for a mile north before cutting west on Rt. 6, which links up with the Hart Parkway just outside of Brill. You wanna avoid downtown Brill if possible; [...]

CHAPTER TWENTY
          But first I had to check the files. My violation of their lives would be routine and methodical. Packets of letters opened. Bills examined. Searching for the private journals. I went back to the office and sat down in the soft rolling chair behind the desk, breathing in the faint devotional odor.
          A [...]