'God gives you a chance to get even, you don't want to spit in His eye.'
'Awww, Petey,' Kenan said. 'Don't you remember what the old man told us?'
'He told us all kinds of shit. When did we ever listen?'
'He said never to steal unless you can steal a million dollars, Petey. Remember?'
'Well, now's our chance.'
Kenan shook his head. 'No. Wrong. That's eight hundred thousand, and a quarter of a mil is counterfeit and another hundred and thirty thousand is mine to start with. So what's that leave? Four-something.
Four-twenty? Something like that.'
'Which gets you even, babe. Four hundred this asshole took off of you, plus ten you gave Matt, plus expenses, comes to what?
Four-twenty? Goddamn close to it.'
'I don't want to get even.'
'Huh?'
He stared hard at his brother. 'I don't want to get even,' he said. 'I paid blood money for Francey and you want me to steal blood money from Yuri. Man, you got that fucking junkie mind, steal his wallet and help him look for it.'
'Yeah, you're right.'
'I mean for Christ's sake, Petey—'
'No, you're right. You're absolutely right.'
Callander said, 'You paid me with counterfeit money?'
'You simple shit,' Kenan said, 'I was beginning to forget you were here. What are you, afraid you'll get picked up trying to spend it? I got news for you. You ain't gonna spend it.'
'You're the Arab. The husband.'
'So?'
'I was just wondering.'
I said, 'Ray, where's the money you got from Mr. Khoury? The four hundred thousand.'
'We divided it.'
'And what happened to it?'
'I don't know what Albert did with his half. I know it's not in the house.'
'And your half?'
'Safe-deposit box. Brooklyn First Mercantile, New Utrecht and Fort Hamilton Parkway. I'll go there in the morning on my way out of town.'
Kenan said, 'You will, huh?'
'I can't decide whether to take the Honda or the van,' he went on.
'He's kind of spaced, isn't he? Matt, I think he's telling the truth about the dough. The half in the bank we can forget about. Albert's half, I don't know, we could turn the house upside down but I don't think we're gonna find it, do you?'
'No.'
'He probably buried it in the yard. Or in the fucking cemetery or someplace. Fuck it. I'm not supposed to have that money. I knew that all along. Let's do what we gotta do and get outta here.'
I said, 'You have a choice to make, Kenan.'
'How's that?'
'I can take him in. There's a lot of hard evidence against him now.
He's got his dead partner in the basement, and the van in the garage is going to be full of fibers and blood traces and God knows what else.
Pam Cassidy can ID him as the man who maimed her. Other evidence will tie him to Leila Alvarez and Marie Gotteskind. He ought to be looking at three life sentences, plus an extra twenty or thirty years tacked on as a bonus.'
'Can you guarantee he'll do life?'
'No,' I said. 'Nobody can guarantee anything when it comes to the criminal justice system. My best guess is that he'll wind up at the State Hospital for the Criminally Insane at Matteawan, and that he'll never leave the place alive. But anything could happen. You know that. I can't see him skating, but I've said that about other people and they never did a day.'
He thought it over. 'Going back to our deal,' he said. 'Our deal wasn't about you taking him in.'
'I know. That's why I'm saying it's your choice. But if you make the other choice I have to walk first.'
'You don't want to be here for it.'
'No.'
