'No.'
'What the hell is in it for Tony,' I said.
'Money,' Hawk said.
13
I HAD SHOWERED and shaved and brushed my teeth and put on my new black silk boxers. I was sitting on the couch in Susan's living room with my feet on a russet-colored leather hassock, reading the Sunday Globe while Pearl lay beside me with her feet in the air. Susan came into the living room, fresh from her bath, wearing a short blue kimono, and flashed me.
'Am I to understand that it's time?' I said.
'You are,' she said.
'Have you thought of any way to keep Pearl from yowling at the door when we go into the bedroom and close it?'
'No.'
'But we're not going to leave the door open,' I said.
'Not unless you want a mйnage а trois,' Susan said.
'Well,' I said. 'I guess we can put up with it.'
'Maybe we can think of something to do,' Susan said, 'to keep our minds off it.'
I followed her down to her bedroom. We closed the door. In a moment we heard Pearl's footsteps. Then silence. Then a scratch at the door. We got into bed together. Pearl began to cry at the door. Susan rolled over and kissed me. I kissed her back. In a little while I was hardly aware of Pearl. After a time, when Susan had let go of me and my breathing had returned to normal, I got up and let Pearl in.
She dashed into the room, jumped on the bed, turned around about twelve times, and plumped down hard against Susan, in the spot that until recently had been occupied by me. In the process, she scrambled the covers so that Susan had none and was lying naked on the bed. We'd been naked in each other's presence quite often. Yet Susan always had a quality of unease about her when she was naked, as if she'd been caught doing something embarrassing. I found the quality endearing. Pearl put her head on Susan's stomach and stared at me. I stared at her. Susan couldn't reach the covers without dislodging Pearl. She looked uneasy. Pearl didn't move.
'I think I'll start breakfast,' I said.
'Fine,' Susan said.
I didn't move. Pearl didn't move. Susan looked uneasy. Then she smiled.
'You're dying,' she said, 'aren't you? To say something about a dog and a pussy.'
'Not in Cambridge,' I said, and began to put on my pants.
Most Sundays, since we normally got a late start, we spent nearly half the daylight hours sitting in Susan's kitchen, having breakfast together. Susan set the table and I cooked. This morning I was cooking scrapple and eggs when Susan came into the kitchen, dressed in pale pink sweats with her hair in place and makeup perfectly on. Pearl remained at least for the moment on Susan's bed, apparently intent on fully reclaiming it. Susan poured herself some orange juice and sipped it as she set the table.
'What is in scrapple?' she said.
'Cornmeal and pig parts,' I said.
Susan put her orange juice down while she fluffed up some flowers in a vase on the table.
'How enticing,' Susan said.
'It's worse than it sounds,' I said.
'I'm sure it will be lovely,' Susan said. 'Did you learn anything from Tony Marcus?'
'We suspect that Tony is not being entirely forthright.'
'I'm shocked,' Susan said.
I told her about Tony. Susan listened to me with full-faced attention. She didn't interrupt. She never interrupted if the discussion was other than playful.
'You're saying that Tony Marcus could drive these people out,' she said when I finished, 'if he chose to.'
'Yes,' I said. 'These are tough guys. But they're in Tony's neighborhood, surrounded by Tony's people, and he's got them outnumbered.'
'So he gets something out of having them there.'
'Money.'
'You're sure?'
'No, but what else does Tony care about?'
'Maybe nothing,' Susan said. 'But if it's true, he is unusual.'
'Might be worthwhile to keep the question open,' I said.
'I'm not advocating anything,' Susan said. 'But what difference does it make? Hawk knows the four men. Why not find them and kill them.'
