Hard Candy

the windows of her car were very dark. I couldn't be sure.

135

I CHECKED my list. I had to spook him, not tip him off. Called one of the six numbers on the printout. Not the dead line. Asked for Train. He came, quickly.

'It's me,' I said.

'How did you come by this number?'

'From the man we discussed.'

'A shot was fired through my upper window last night. Nobody heard it. There was a little round hole in the glass. A big chunk of plaster torn off the wall.'

'I'll have him tomorrow. If I thought you knew what he looked like, I'd prove it to you.'

'I know what he looks like.'

It would have chilled me, but I knew how he knew.

'If I can pull it off, I'll call tomorrow night. Take you to him.'

'You mean…?'

'Yeah. COD.'

136

CALLED MOREHOUSE. Got him live, no machine.

'Stay by your phone tomorrow night. Keep the line clear. All night.'

'Sure.'

137

CALLED CANDY.

'Hello, baby,' she said into the phone. Breathy. Knowing how old she was supposed to be.

'I want to do it again,' I told her.

'Anytime, honey. Just tell me.'

'There's something I have to do first. Something real important.'

'I know you'll be okay.'

'Yeah. I'm just a little nervous.'

'Anything I can do?'

'No, I'm covered. He doesn't know…oh, never mind. It's too complicated. But when it's done, I'll bring Elvira back.'

'Are you going to have to…?'

'No. I'm going to do something for him. Something he really wants. He'll give me the kid. No problem.'

'Oh, I knew you could do it. Didn't I tell you?'

'Yeah. I'll call you soon.'

'I love you,' she said. Like she had before.

138

'I'M ON MY WAY,' I told Train over the phone.

'I'll be here.'

They let me in downstairs. Two of them went with me, close enough to touch. The two Elvira said had made the crazy girl disappear.

He was standing this time. By the window. The one with the little round hole in it. The monster's word was always good. I stepped close to him, keeping my voice down.

'He's dead.'

'You're sure? Who is he?'

'Wesley. I'll take you to him- you said you'd know his face.'

'How can I be sure?'

'You'll see for yourself.'

'Sure of you.'

'Ask Reba.'

His blue eyes blinked rapidly.

'I don't know how you'll know him,' I said, my voice soft, slightly awed, 'but I know you will. You can go in my car. Take a couple of your men with you. Hold a gun to the back of my neck all the while, if you want. This is the truth- Wesley is a dead man.'

'Where?'

'I left him on Wards Island. I'll show you. I've got a flashlight in the car.'

He gestured to the two men. Left me alone in the room. Reba came through the door. I stayed against the window, tapping the ashes from my cigarette onto the sill. She walked against me, wrapping her arms around me, grinding her hips. I slid my hands inside the robe, cupping her buttocks. The globes seemed to swell in my hands.

'Can you work your trick standing up?' I asked her.

'The man is dead?'

'The man is dead.'

She pressed against me, a fleshy heat-exchanger. 'Will you come back? After you show him?'

'What for?'

'For me. I'll tell you the truth.'

'Then I'll come.'

'Yes,' she said, promising.

Train came back in with the same two men who'd taken me upstairs. 'I'll go with you. We all will. When we come back, you'll have your money.'

I nodded.

'And whatever else you want here.'

'Let's go,' I said.

139

THE FORD was half a block away. I unlocked it. The overhead light went on. The front seat sagged badly on the passenger side, upholstery ripped, a sharp spring showing through.

'It doesn't look like much,' I apologized. 'Where we're going, a nice car would stand out.'

I climbed in behind the wheel. The damaged front seat hadn't been necessary- the bodyguards played it the