Tom says, Why? not like he's arguing, just like he wants to know.
Where that money comes from, says Jimmy. That's why this happened. That's why Markie's dead.
Tom nods slowly, drinks his coffee, is quiet for a long time. Then he says, I'll get out. My dad, says Tom. You see how old he got, the last couple months? My mom, since Jack, the way she is, he can't do anything anymore except take care of her. He's sure as hell not taking care of business. I'm supposed to be. But screw it, man. I can fold it up. Not overnight, I can't do that. I got people I have to take care of. But I'll get out. If the money's clean, you think I can give it to Sally? You think then?
Jimmy finishes his coffee. Tom passes over the Thermos. Jimmy unscrews the cap, pours some more. He lifts the Thermos to Tom, but Tom's not done yet with what he has.
She won't take it, says Jimmy. You know Sally. She doesn't like help.
Not from me, Tom says. But if she doesn't know. If she thinks it's Markie.
Markie? How the hell is it Markie?
New York State, says Tom. They should have been protecting him. He was in their prison. What if we sue them?
Are you crazy? We won't get shit, says Jimmy.
No, says Tom. But if we say we sued them. And this is their money.
Jimmy shakes his head.
That lawyer, says Tom. Constantine. He'd go along. He could say he's the one who sued. She'd believe it if he said it.
Why would he? Why would he do it?
You seen the way he looks at her?
Jimmy says, What?
I'm just saying. Maybe he doesn't even know. Sally, I know she doesn't, all she can think about is Markie. But still. For her, he'd do it. It's not illegal. It's a lie, but it's not illegal.
Tom stops. He sips some coffee and then says, like he doesn't want to say this part but he has to: It would have to be you who talks to him, Jimmy. He won't say yes if it's me. But if you say it's you, your money, you're borrowing against your Department insurance or something, you want Sally to have it but you know she won't take it.
Jimmy turns to the gray water again, and the black ships. He can't think of anything to say. Anything.
It was my story, says Tom.
What?
The bullshit story that got Jack so pissed? Had nothing to do with Eddie Spano. Came from me.
What the fuck? What are you saying?
This cop. O'Hagan. My guy. I told him, tell my dad this and that. I thought Dad would send Jack out of town. Atlanta, maybe. To cool him off.
You told him?
Jack was too hot, Jimmy. They weren't ready to roll him up, but they would've, sooner or later.
Tom waits a minute, then says, But not just that. You remember, you and me, we talked about Markie? About him and Jack, we were worried about him getting in trouble because of Jack?
Yeah, well, says Jimmy, and he's surprised how savage his own voice sounds.
Tom drinks his coffee. Jimmy gets the strange idea that Tom's collecting himself, getting ready like a fireman does, before he charges into the flame wall.
And not just you and me, talking about it, Tom says. Marian said to me how she was afraid, she thought Jack was going to get too deep into something, get into some kind of thing he couldn't get out of.
Marian? I thought, says Jimmy, I thought Marian and you . . .
Yeah, says Tom. I was surprised. I liked it that she talked to me like that, it'd been a long time.
A long time, thinks Jimmy, looking at the bridge arching away. It's all been such a long time.
Tom says, I looked at it, Jim. Markie, you're worried about him, Marian's worried about him and Jack, too. I'm thinking, if Jack fucks Markie up, it'll be Sally, too, and little Kev. And Vicky's been after me, I spend too much time cleaning up after my brother, worrying about my mom because of Jack, like that. Everyone's worried and everyone wants the same thing. I looked at it.
Jimmy watches the ships, coming and going, back and forth. He wonders who's in charge, someone must be or they'd all crash, wreck each other. He thinks back to so many times when they were kids, Tom having a good idea because of something everybody wanted.
Tom rubs his eyes like it's too bright out here, on this gray day. He says, So I went to O'Hagan. I said, Tell my dad it's like this, that you have this operation going. Jimmy, I swear, I thought Dad would send Jack, send him someplace. I thought Jack would get to go to Atlanta, that he'd get what he wanted out of this, too! Shit, Jim.
Tom looks into his coffee cup; it's empty. He says, I don't know how the story got to Markie. It was supposed to be my dad. I don't know how.
After that Tom doesn't say anything else. They sit on the rocks, Jimmy not saying anything either, just looking, just taking it all in. A gull screeches, soars and knifes into the water, comes up silent, flaps away. It must have caught what it wanted, Jimmy thinks.
