“I?m talking about supposing somebody wanted Jigs out of the way, somebody big in the family.
Supposing they put it to somebody to ice Jigs. And this somebody rigs the whole thing to provide
himself with a perfect alibi—like me, For instance. Shit, Harry, what do you take me for—”
“Hey, you think I done O?Brian in? You think I done that thing? C?mon. And the family put my nose
to it? Come on. Shit, you need help, dreamin? up a story like that. The whole fuckin? family?s getting
aced one on top of the other, you think it?s one of them behind it?”
“Why not? This is quite a plum, Doomstown. Be a nice place to control.”
“Shit, you think this is an inside job, you?re on the wrong trolley.”
“How about Chevos? Or Nance??
“That?s family!”
“Not really.”
“There ain?t any bad blood there. Everybody was happy until the Tagliani knockover. Everybody had
their thing.”
“It?s happened before, y?know. Somebody gets greedy. Like that.”
“Not this time, pal. I mean, that Nance, he?s a badass and all that, but I don?t see him and Chevos
doin? that. Look, I?m tellin? you, except for that local nigger there wasn?t any problems.”
“I still don?t trust you, Harry,” I said. “You could?ve dragged me all the way out to this pasture to try
to get me to fix yourself up an alibi.”
He was sweating. The dogs were at it again but he had lost interest. He was mine for now. He wiped
his forehead with the back of his hand and leaned closet to me, whispering over the bellowing crowd.
“What d?ya want to know? Uh, the guys with you, one was the size of a semi, the other one was
missing an ear. . . uh, you had a feast would choke a fuckin? hippopotamus. Then you went over and
talked to two other birds..
He rambled on, filling in details as they came to him, things nobody would have thought to tell him.
He was a very observant man.
“Okay,” I said, cutting him off, “so maybe for now I choose to believe you. You got something to
trade? This is your party, so I assume you want something, and since Christmas is long gone, I figure
you got something to throw in the pot. Otherwise we wouldn?t be out here in this shithouse.”
“Look, I know I?m probably on the shit list. I can?t take a chance on leaving town if I?m gonna get
busted. The Triad has got people all over the state on the payroll, man. I get busted, the boys?ll hear
about it, y?know, like yesterday. I won?t make it to the South Carolina border, fer Chrissakes.”
“That?s what you want, a guarantee the law?1] let you out of town without a hassle?” I asked with
surprise.
