“It’s Charles Blakey,” he said into the mouthpiece. And 3
then after listening to something, he said to me, “Bethany 4
says hey.”
5
“Tell her that you have to talk to me for a minute.”
6
“Let me call you back in five?” he said. Whatever she 7
said must have been promising because Ricky smiled and 8
whispered something so soft that I couldn’t make it out.
9
“What you want, Charles? Damn. Here I am tryin’ to 10
promote somethin’ an’ you all up in my face.”
11
“I got to have forty bucks, man. Got to have it.”
12
“Charles . . .”
13
“No, Ricky. No games. No fuckin’ around. I don’t have 14
a single dollar bill, but Narciss wants to eat.”
15
“Who cares what that skinny bitch want?”
16
“Sh!” I was worried that she might hear us even though 17
we were whispering. “I care.”
18
All of a sudden Ricky was sly. He let his eyes almost 19
close and then he nodded. “I see,” he said.
20
“I’ll pay you back the minute this stuff is sold. Fifty dol-21
lars for forty.”
22
Ricky reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of 23
twenty-dollar bills. He must have had six hundred dollars 24
in his hand. He smiled and peeled off two bills. He handed 25
them over and then grinned again.
26
“You got what you want now, brother?” he asked me.
S 27
“Thanks,” I said.
R 28
3rd Pass Pages
ManInMyBasemnt_HCtext3P.qxd 10/24/03 8:16 PM Page 62
Walter Mosley
1
“Well then can I get back on the phone and get what I 2
need?”
3
Ricky was crooning to Bethany before I had left the 4
room.
