“I’m gonna lose my goddamn job,” Jiggs said. “And what happens when the media gets hold of this?” He gave Bernie an angry look.
“They won’t get it from me,” Bernie said. “And why does the news have to travel beyond these four walls?”
“What’s the matter with you?” Jiggs said. “You’re not seeing that hooter of his?”
“I know a good doc,” Bernie said. “Completely trustworthy.”
“Yeah?” said Jiggs. “You really think-”
Thad groaned. His eyes, such an amazing shade of blue, like the early morning sky out in the desert, fluttered open.
Jiggs got down on his knees. “You okay, Thad?”
“Do I look okay?”
“Uh,” said Jiggs, “yeah, pretty good.”
Thad’s eyes shifted toward Bernie, then away, real quick. “Must have passed out,” he said.
“Hardly at all,” said Jiggs. “Not worth mentioning.”
“Fuckin’ dehydrated,” Thad said. “This goddamn altitude.”
Jiggs blinked. “You fainted on account of the altitude?”
“Not fainted,” Thad said, strength returning to his voice, and with it some of that harshness. “Passed out.”
“Passed out,” Jiggs said.
“Scratch that,” Thad said. “Blacked out.”
“Blacked out,” said Jiggs.
“Happens when people first get here,” Bernie said.
“Yeah?” said Thad, looking at Bernie and then quickly away one more time.
“More often than not,” Bernie said. “Practically the rule. Drink some water, get a full night’s sleep, you’ll be good as new.”
“Feel like sitting up?” Jiggs said.
“Huh? Don’t talk to me like I’m some kinda candyass,” Thad said. “If I want to sit up, I’ll sit up.”
Back up. Candyass? A new one on me, and very, very interesting. Not that I’m a big candy lover, but the whole thing together-candy, ass-for some reason reminded me of a night when we were working a case down in Mexico, and a brief interlude with a member of the nation within named Lola. Funny how the mind works.
Meanwhile, Bernie and Jiggs were pulling Thad up into a sitting position. For a moment, Thad’s eyes went all glazy. Then he shook his head and went, “Whew. Thought I was gonna puke there for a second.”
Jiggs and Bernie let go of him, stepped back.
“I hate puking,” Thad said.
Me, too, although it’s nice how you feel right after, so nice-and this is kind of crazy-that sometimes the next thing you knew you were licking up all the stuff that just got puked, putting it back inside you. What a life!
“Think about something else,” Bernie said.
“Like what?” said Thad.
“A cool breeze,” Bernie said.
Thad went very still. His face began to change in a way that was hard to explain. He became a different sort of Thad, one that wasn’t pukey. Then, mostly on his own, he rose to his feet.
“Jiggs?” Thad held out his hands. Jiggs unlaced the gloves and pulled them off. Thad stood there for a moment, then reached up and touched his nose, or rather, where his nose used to be.
SEVEN
What would you call it this time?” Jiggs said. “Fainting? Blacking out? Passing out?”
Bernie took a look at Thad Perry. He was lying on the canvas again, but this time he’d gone down gently, sagging into Bernie’s and Jiggs’s arms a moment after he’d located his poor nose, angled over to one side of his face.
“Tough call,” Bernie said. Thad made a little moaning sound. His big chest rose and fell. “Looks like he’s in great physical shape.”
“He can bench three oh five,” Jiggs said.
“I’m impressed,” Bernie said. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, started fiddling with the buttons. “I know I’ve got Doctor Booker’s private number here somewhere.”
“Booker?” said Jiggs. “He black, by any chance?”
Bernie nodded. “Is that a problem?”
“Nope. Any relation to the DA?”
“Cedric? Yeah-the doc’s his brother.” Bernie gave Jiggs a quick glance. “I assumed you were from LA.”
“I am,” Jiggs said.
“But you know our DA out here in the Valley?”
“Know of him,” Jiggs said. “I do my homework.”
“So-no objection?”
“As long as he stays away from the goddamn media.”
Bernie nodded. “Here we go,” he said, hitting one more button. At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Jiggs whipped out some tiny device and clicked it. I heard bolts sliding in the walls.
“Thad?” Nan called. “The manicurist is here, if you’re ready.”
Bernie and Jiggs looked at each other.
“Thad?” Nan called through the door.
“Uh,” said Jiggs, “he’s, um…”
“In the whirlpool,” Bernie said. “His shoulder’s a little sore.” Jiggs nodded vigorously.
“Oh my God!” Nan said.
“Nothing to worry about,” Bernie said. “Jiggs is just checking to see if he’s ready.”
Jiggs did some more vigorous nodding. Then he bent down, picked up Thad like nothing, threw him over his shoulder. He stepped through the ropes, took Thad into a room on the other side of the gym. Before the door closed, I glimpsed a whirlpool bath and a pile of fluffy white towels. I made-what’s that expression of Bernie’s? A mental note? Yes. I made a mental note about those towels. A fluffy white towel can be fun to drag around, maybe something you already know.
“Jiggs?” Nan called. “Mr. Little?”
“Call me Bernie,” Bernie said.
“What’s going on?” Nan said. “The door seems to be locked.”
“It is?” Bernie said. “I’ll just step into the whirlpool room and…”
Bernie didn’t go anywhere, just stood in the ring. He gave me a smile. So nice. Now I knew that everything was going smoothly. I liked to be in the picture. And hadn’t Bernie said something about that very recently? I tried to remember. But not my hardest, on account of what was the point, with everything going smoothly and all?
“Nan?” Bernie said after a while. “Thad says for the manicurist to come back tomorrow. He wants to sit in the whirlpool and, quote, that’s that, end quote.”
“Oh,” said Nan. “Sure. Of course.”
“And the door’s locked because Thad didn’t want any distraction during his workout,” Bernie said. “He seems to take it very seriously, maybe with filming coming up so soon.”
“Yes, he does,” Nan said. “For sure. Okay, then-I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks,” said Bernie.
He cocked his head, as though listening for Nan’s departing footsteps. Did he hear them? No idea, but I did. There was a pause of a few moments before she actually started walking away.
I’d never met Doc Booker before, but his brother Cedric, the DA, was a pal of ours. Cedric had been a basketball star down at the college and could have gone pro, Bernie says, but he couldn’t play with his back to the basket. A puzzler, but basketball was full of puzzlers, starting with the ball, pretty much impossible for me, despite
