“d I’t stupid eider.
It’s a lot smer to te out u Bke it is to clip Stone.“
“I c’t y e movement.”
“You’t Stone d it’ll into a wel
movement.”
Io Jo sd:
As ey ed aut came mod mo like a movie tough y. H hated him at at moment, more th he ought was ssible. Jo Jo was a sneering, posturing bully. He cared for no cause, no person. No question of honor had ever penetrated that thick Neanderthal skull. He cared only about his muscles and the fear he could instill in people. Except Stone. Stone wasn’t afraid of him, and Hasty was pretty sure that Jo Jo was afraid of Stone. What made the hatred worse, though, so that it trembled in his solar plexus, was the fact that Jo Jo was probably right this time.
“How would you hide the body?” Hasty said.
“Let me figure that out,” Jo Jo said.
“What you don’t know you can’t tell the cops later.”
“You think I’d tell the police
anything?”
Jo Jo looked at him without answering.
“You don’t understand, do you,”
Hasty said. “You don’t understand commitment, or honor, or loyalty. And you certainly do not understand responsibility.
You don’t even know what these things mean. All you understand is fear.”
Jo Jo snorted.
“What I understand, Hasty, is you want some guy iced, but you‘-haven’t got the balls to do it.
We’both understand that, don’t we.”
Hasty was silent for a time, They reached the Gloucester circle, and went around it, and started hack, southbound, on Route 128.
“All right,” Hasty said. “Kill
Lou Burke, and hide the body. Make it look like he took off.”
“There’s a little matter of
price,” Jo Jo said.
“Thirty pieces of silver.”
“What the hell is that?‘.’ Jo Jo
said.
Hasty shook his head.
“Same as Tammy,” Hasty said.
“No, Lou’s a cop, and I got to hide the body. I want double Tammy.”
Hasty felt very tired.
“Okay,” he said. “It’s
a deal.”
“Up front,” lo lo said.
“Of course,” Hasty said. “lust
do it quickly.”
“What would you do without me, Hasty?” Jo Jo si
The weariness Hasty felt was nearly overwhelming had trouble concentrating on the road. He didn’t res!
Jo Jo and they drove in silence the rest of the way.
then he heard Jenn’s voice.
“Jesse?”
He felt a small tug in the center of himself. He had always felt it when he heard her voice or saw her. Goddamn it.
“Hello, Jenn.”
“I was in the middle of a swallow,” Jenn said, “when you answered. How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you having a drink?”
