stories down. I hear it took them six months to glue him back together. One of his legs ended up three
inches shorter than the other.”
Zapata said, “I also heard Titan covered all the bills his insurance didn?t take care of.”
Graves? man sauntered back to his boss?s Lincoln and passed a roll of bills through the window.
All of a sudden it was business as usual.
“I had enough of this party for one night,” Zapata said. “1 think I?ll just haul my ass outta here. You
comin?, Kilmer?”
“I think it?s time for me to have a chat with Mr. Stoney,” I said.
“I?ll stick around,” the Kid said. “I get a bang outta surprises. Take the pickup. I?ll go back with
Kilmer.”
I walked toward the black Cadillac. Behind me, I heard the big-wheel scratch off in the sand. As I
neared Titan?s car, his man opened the back door.
“Get in,” Titan?s crusty voice said from the back seat.
I got in.
“You got more guts than a slaughterhouse floor, doughboy,” he said, “but a sparrow?s got more
brains.”
He sat forward, almost on the edge of the seat, his legs tucked close to the black cane, his gimlet eyes
glittering like diamonds. When he wanted, his voice had the lilt of Irish flavoured with molasses, a
voice you listened to and wanted to believe. It could also be as tough as a cowhand?s behind.
“I?ve heard you?re a smart cop,” he said quietly. “Very savvy, they say. I can believe that. You were a
helluva good ballplayer. Too bad about the foot.”
“It was my ankle.”
“Foot, ankle, what?s the difference? So you remember me, eh?”
“Hell, Mr. Stoney, who could forget you? I remember everything. That was one hell of a summer.”
“It?s a dead and buried summer. Best you forget it or move
on.
I didn?t respond to his veiled threat, I just listened.
“I know everything that happens in this town, this county. If a cow fails, I know it. I?ve had my eye on
you since you got off the plane. You been havin? quite a time for yourself.”
“Just doing my job,” I said.
“I could get you recalled with a phone call, doughboy. You got yourself way off base.”
“Seems to me that?s my business.”
“Don?t be a dreamer. Best you forget the past and get on with your work. In the first place, you don?t
