Chantel shook her head doggedly. She still hung onto Dwayne's shirt. He took her wrist and gently tried to pull her hands away. She hung on tighter.
'He going to ruin you, Dwayne.' Intensity, made her voice rasp. 'Ruin you.'
Deegan said, 'Dwayne, you shut that little fucker up.'
Dwayne still had hold of Chantel's wrists. 'She ain't no little fucker,' he said, softly, a little embarrassed.
'Well, she's your broad,' Deegan said. 'Keep her quiet.'
'See,' Chantel said. 'See what I am? See what he thinks of me? That what you think Dwayne?'
Dwayne shook his head as if he had a bee in his ear.
'No,' he said. Still soft, still a little embarrassed. 'No, Chantel, you know I don't.'
'He don't care about me. He don't care abou you,' Chantel said. 'He just care about gambling and making money. He call her a little fucker?' Chantel tossed her chin at Madelaine who was sitting as far back in a white armles chair as the chair would let her.
'Dwayne,' Deegan said, 'you let her come between us and the dream is over. You understand? Now you shut her the fuck up, or someone else will have to.'
The minute he said it Deegan knew it was mistake. But it was out and he couldn't reel it back in. Dwayne's head came up and he looked at Deegan as if he were a sudden intrusion.
He said softly, 'Let go, Chantel,' and she did and he stood, his head nearly touching the ceiling. He looked down at Deegan. 'Who gonna do that, Bobby?' he said.
'Hey, buddy,' Deegan said, 'I just mean we got to have quiet so we can talk. We can't have hysteria, you know?'
'Who gonna shut her up if I don't?' Dwayne said. There was no referring to himself in the third person now. No swagger; and there wasn't any petulance either, any sulky confusion. 'You gonna do that, Bobby? You gonna have somebody do that, like you tried to do with this guy?' He jerked his head at me.
'Dwayne, cool it, big guy. You misunderstood me. Hey, if I offended Chantel, I'm sorry. Chantel. No harm intended, hon, none of us want to be talking out of turn.'
'How long you been sleeping with her?' Dwayne said. He was looking at Madelaine, who managed to look frightened and embarrassed and angry and above it all at the same time. If I got a chance I would ask her how she did that.
'Hey, Dwayne, nice talk,' Deegan said.
'How long, Bobby? You scoring her while she telling me that you be a good guy to meet cause you had important sports contacts in New York?'
'Dwayne,' Deegan said. 'You're talking yourself right into big trouble.'
'What kind of trouble, Bobby?'
'The kind that will take you down too, Dwayne. Don't forget it. I go, you go.'
'I been a stand up guy for you, Bobby,' Dwayne said.
'Better keep it that way, Dwayne.'
'No, I don't think so. I don't think you a stand up guy for me, Bobby.'
'I'm not going alone, Dwayne. What you think you're going to do? Tell everything you can think of about me and nobody'll notice that you've been shaving points. That you're on the fucking pad? Get sensible, kid. I go, you go.'
'Guess we ain't as close as you said we was?' Dwayne said.
'Close enough to go down the shit chute together, buddy boy.'
Dwayne took a long step and was directly in front of Deegan. Deegan tipped his head back to look up at him. 'And don't think I'm scared of you, jumbo. The bigger you are the better target you make.'
Deegan stood up unhurriedly. 'I'm walking,' he said.
From the doorway Hawk looked at me. Deegan stepped around Dwayne.
Madelaine said, 'Bobby?'
'You gonna shoot,' Deegan said to me, 'start now.'
I shook my head.
'I got more than I hoped for already,' I said.
Hawk stepped aside and Deegan walked out the door.
30
'WHERE you suppose he's going?' Hawk said.
'Probably down to the Marriott and sit in the lobby,' I said.
'Embarrassing to stomp out and stand around outside on the street,' Hawk said. Madelaine was looking at us in her living room as if we didn't have tenure.
'You're in this, Madelaine,' I said. 'When Bobby goes you're going too.'
