through his sugar-loading routine. He stirred carefully until he was sure all the sugar had dissolved into the coffee.
'One of the prisoners they working with was a brother name Abner Fancy.'
'Abner Fancy,' I said.
'He change it to Shaka in prison.'
'Don't blame him,' I said. 'Did he stick with the Dread Scott Brigade?'
'Become the boss,' McCann said.
'He shoot the woman in the bank holdup?' I said.
'Don't know.'
'You know him?'
'Nope.'
'But you heard about him.'
'Yep.'
'You got any other names?'
'Brother in there with him name Coyote.'
'You know his, ah, slave name?'
'No.'
'Know any of the white kids?'
'No.'
'Know where any of these people are now?' I said.
'No.'
'Cops ever talk to you about this?' I said.
'I don't talk to cops,' McCann said.
We were silent for a moment.
'How come you never changed your name?' I said.
'Some of us be who we are,' McCann said. 'You see Jim Brown call himself Shaka?'
'No,' I said.
'Everybody get named by somebody,' McCann said. 'My father named me.'
'Funny,' I said. 'That's what happened to me.'
We all drank our coffee. My English muffin was gone. Did I want another one.
'Lemme ask you,' McCann said to me. 'I decided to come upside your head, you think anyone in here would help you?'
I decided I did want another English muffin, but I wouldn't have one because it would be self-indulgent, and Susan might find out.
'Two answers,' I said to McCann. 'One, I wouldn't need any help. And, two, he would.'
I gestured toward Hawk with my head. McCann shifted his stare onto him.
'You do that?'
'Two answers,' Hawk said. 'One, I would. And two, I wouldn't need to.'
'Why do you ask?' I said.
'Just getting the lay of the land,' McCann said.
'Well that's how it lays,' I said. 'Thanks for your help.'
McCann finished his coffee, put the cup down very carefully on the table, nodded at Hawk, stood, and walked away.
'Effervescent,' I said.
Hawk smiled. 'Sawyer a little stern,' he said.
'He is,' I said.
13
The theater was dark on Mondays, and I took Paul to dinner at the world's greatest restaurant, which is, of course, The Agawam Diner in Rowley. The place was always crowded for breakfast and lunch, but on a Monday evening, early, it was not busy and we got a nice booth with a view of the traffic light at the Route 133 intersection.
'Are you and Daryl an item?' I said.
