'Yeah, but I'm fun to be with,' I said.
Hawk was looking at the office.
'Wait'll I move aside,' he said
'Boy,' I said, 'you ruin everything.'
'Don't call me boy,' he said, and started across the street.
I stood beside Fadeyushka's mortal remains, holding his gun, and waited. Hawk went in the front door of Rimbaud's office. A moment later I saw his back through the window. There was no one on the street. No one but me and Fadeyushka in the alley. The people who referred to teeming slums maybe hadn't been to this one. I saw Hawk's back move left and he disappeared from view. I raised Fadeyushka's gun and fired three shots, as fast as I could pull the trigger, into the upper right-hand corner of the window. The plate glass shattered. The whole window disappeared in a cascade of shards. I put the gun near Fadeyushka's dead hand and sprinted down the alley. Out on the next street, I turned left. As I ran the block, I heard a gunshot. I knew it was Hawk. I turned left again and reached the end of the alley as Rimbaud and his two Hispanic cohorts reached it. One of them, Nuncio, whirled on me with a gun.
'I'm on your side,' I said. 'What happened.'
Out of sight in the alley, Hawk said, 'He with me.'
Nuncio lowered the gun, but both he and Jaime watched me closely.
I stepped into the alley's mouth. Rimbaud was there with his gun in hand, standing just behind Hawk, who had his gun out.
'Tried to gun Mr. Rimbaud,' Hawk said. 'From the alley. Shot right through the window.'
'Who killed him,' I said.
'I did,' Hawk said.
'My man was quick,' Rimbaud said.
He looked a little rattled. So did Nuncio and Jaime.
'Was out the door 'fore I could even get my gun out, man,' Rimbaud said.
'He was shooting from behind those trash cans,' Hawk said. 'He saw me coming and he, like, froze.'
'Buck fever,' I said.
Hawk looked at me.
'Don't call me buck,' he said.
'Sho',' I said.
'So I able to drill him once in the head,' Hawk said.
'You know who it is?' Rimbaud said.
He didn't seem eager to look closely at the corpse.
'Name's Fadeyushka Badyrka,' Hawk said. 'Works for Boots Podolak.'
'The sonovabitch works for Boots.'
Hawk nodded.
'Maybe Boots and Tony had a falling out,' I said.
'You think Boots put him up to this?'
'Fadeyushka don't take a leak,' Hawk said, 'Boots don't tell him to.'
'You don't even know him, do you?' I said.
Rimbaud looked cautiously at the dead man.
'Shit,' he said, 'I do. I seen him with Boots.'
'I rests ma case,' Hawk said.
Rimbaud stared at Hawk.
'Boots sent him,' he said.
'Be my guess,' Hawk said.
'Must have,' I said.
'That mother fucker,' Rimbaud said. 'Wait'll I tell Tony. Tony will be bullshit.'
Hawk smiled.
'I expect he will,' Hawk said.
44
THE GRAY MAN, wearing a snap-brimmed hat with a wide brim, was leaning on the wall at the Wonderland MBTA station, reading the Boston Herald. Across from the dog track, Wonderland was the last subway station on the blue line, running north from Boston. Hawk and I walked down the platform and stood next to him. He paid us no attention. It was midmorning, and the station wasn't crowded.
