Swan Dive - Jeremiah Healy (28 page)

"You caught him reloading?"

"Fucken A. He didn’t even have the other load
out, I bring up Terdell’s piece, put one square in J.J.’s chest,
man, he like explode. He tumble back, I wait on him, then check him
out. Ter-mi-nat-ed, man."

I moved my head toward the gun pointing at me.

"That’s not Terdell’s?"

Nino looked disappointed. "What you think, I got
shit for brains? You think I carry away a piece that killed
somebody?"

"What did you do with it?"

"I wipe it some, then put it back in Terdell’s
hand, press his fingers around it."

I thought for a second. “Which hand?"

Nino shook his head. "His shooting hand.
Madron!"

I said, "You didn’t shoot your own gun in
there?"

"Never got it out."

"Then the cops probably don’t have the
physical evidence to say anybody else was involved."

"The best I could do was leave it like maybe
they had a business dis-a-gree-ment and did each other."

"With each other’s weapons."

"I didn’t know how much time I have, ’cause
I didn’t know if the cops still tailing J.J., ’cause I didn’t
know that you was inviting J.J., too."

"The main cop involved in the surveillance is a
sergeant named Dawkins. He told me he was off this weekend."

"How come you didn’t tell me, huh?"

"Somebody else was probably on. But you figure
nobody saw you?"

Nino just said, "You fucken set me up, man. I
saved you fucken life that night, and you fucken set me up."

“
Put yourself in my position. You see any other way
for me to get J.J. off the widow and the child?"

"You ‘position,' huh? Back in the Nam, I had a
lieutenant, fucken butter bar new guy, try to use me and my buddy to
sucker some NVA one night. My buddy come back in a green bag, man.
The butter bar got his ass reamed by a grenade somebody leave lying
around."

"You told me you were the best, Nino, remember?
King of the tunnel rats. I set it up, sure, but I set it up so I
thought you’d take care of J.J. and Terdell no sweat."

"So you so thoughtful for me, I shouldn’t just
blow you away now?"

"No, you shouldn’t."

"I still ain’t heard no reason, man."

"In the Angel’s apartment. You said you wanted
the guy who killed her."

"You tell me Marsh kill her, and he’s dead."

"Yeah, but J.J. was the real reason she was
dead. You think Marsh would set up a crazy frame like he was working
if he wasn’t crazy himself from the drugs?"

Nino looked at me. “So I kill J.J., it’s like me
getting the guy who did the Angel, huh?"

"Right."

"Right, shit. If you right on that, then I
oughta kill you now, ’cause without you rousting Marsh, he never
get your gun or try to set you up or even fucken know you."

"Even without me in it, Hanna would have
demanded the house, and Marsh would have tried to set up Chris
through the Angel, just with another gun."

Nino seemed to think it over. "What if all that
shit ain’t enough reason?"

"Then try this. When you were driving me back
Tuesday night, you said you figured you were better off me owing you
a favor."

"So?"

"So now you’re twice as well off as before.
Now I owe you two favors, and you got an innocent woman and her
daughter off J.J.’s hook."

Nino looked over to Salome. I couldn’t see her, but
I heard her habit rustle as though she was gesturing. Nino swung back
to me and hitched at his robe near the crotch. "You got a set,
man. You real lucky you draw a softhearted kind like me, you know
it?"

I told him I knew it, and
I meant it.

* * *

What’s the occasion?

I fanned the long-stemmed roses in front of her
headstone and straightened back up. I told her about confronting
Chris, setting up Nino, and seeing Eleni.

Are you going to do anything about what Eleni told
you?

"Like what? How much longer has she got?
Besides, my credibility with the police is a little strained right
now."

Not to mention you ’re feeling responsible.

"I don’t. At least I don’t now. When Holt
told me, I thought, ‘Jesus, it was me, me seeing Chris on Friday
pushed him over the edge.' But not now."

I didn’t mean so much that in particular. I mean
in general, that it was you leaning on Marsh that started everything
in motion.

"Nino already reminded me."

But you’re wrong, you know?

"About what?"

About you starting everything. Marsh was a louse
and Chris was weak, but you didn ’t make Hanna marry one or Eleni
marry the other.

"Spouse-lock."

What?

I gave her Felicia Arnold’s explanation.

Sounds like that could fit a lot of peoples
situations.

I didn’t say anything.

John, don 't you think its time?

"I don’t know."

Yes you do.

* * *

“
Can I come up?"

She was wearing a loose-fitting Emack and Bolio Ice
Cream tee shirt, white tennis shorts, and sandals. She took in my
face. "Sure you weren’t looking for the first-aid station?"

I followed her up the stairs and into her apartment.
She motioned toward the couch and plopped herself on a throw pillow.

"Nancy—"

"No, I want to get this straight, okay? So you
listen for a change. I don’t want to hear what you’ve been doing.
I don’t care what you think your reasons were. I just want a
decision from you, a decision about us and about what you want us to
be."

I looked down at her. The widely spaced
bluer-than-blue eyes, the upturned nose, the freckles sprinkled from
one cheekbone to the other.

"I’ve decided."

Always the lawyer, she kept her face neutral. "What
is it, then?"

I reached for her hand and inclined my head toward
the bedroom. "Let’s," I said.

And so we did.