'That's nice, Vinnie,' Hawk said. 'Nice that you got along.'
'Anyway, what I'm telling you is I don't work with him anymore, but we stay in touch. You know? Sometimes I do a little something for him.'
I sat on a bench and draped the towel over my shoulders.
'Every little bit helps,' I said.
'Yeah,' Vinnie said, 'sure. So he tells me stuff, sometimes, when I see him.'
'Like what?' I said.
'Like he told me that Boots is around, blowing how he gonna kill Hawk,' Vinnie said.
Hawk looked up.
'Boots is saying you ain't got the balls to stand up to him man to man.'
'Man to man?' Hawk said. 'Christ.'
'I know,' Vinnie said. 'I'm just repeating Boots. Says he gonna kill you. And he's a pretty nasty bastard.'
Hawk nodded.
'You got any thoughts?' Hawk said.
'I thought maybe I'd hang around,' Vinnie said.
Hawk nodded.
'Now I got two of you,' he said. 'Spenser been hanging around since Marshport closed.'
'All for one,' I said. 'One for all.'
'Oui,'Hawk said. 'You think Gino might know where Boots is?'
'Why'd you say 'we'?' Vinnie said.
'French humor,' Hawk said. 'Think we should talk with Gino?'
'Boots tole Gino-actually, he didn't tell Gino, he tole a guy who knew a guy, you know, and it got to Gino. Boots says you got the balls, he'll meet you any day at the Marshport Mall, early, five A.M., when nobody's there.'
'Empty mall on Route One-A?' Hawk said.
'Yeah. Been closed for like eight years.'
'I'm supposed to go down there every morning until I see him?' Hawk said.
'Says call his cell phone and leave a message. Tell him what day. Come alone.'
'No seconds?' Hawk said.
'Seconds?'
'Like in a duel,' I said.
Vinnie nodded as if he'd known it all along.
'Sure, seconds,' he said. 'I don't think Boots got no seconds. Most people don't like Boots.'
'I heard that,' Hawk said.
'I figure me and Spenser go along,' Vinnie said, 'you decide to go, be sure everything is kosher, you know?'
Hawk nodded. He seemed barely to be listening to Vinnie.
'Got the phone number?'
'Gino gave it to me,' Vinnie said. 'Write it on the back of his business card.'
Hawk put out a hand. Vinnie took a card out of his shirt pocket. On the front in small, black lowercase raised lettering, it said GINO FISH. On the back in a small hand was written a phone number. Hawk took the card and walked out of the boxing room to the front desk. He smiled at the young woman at the desk, reached over, picked up the phone, and dialed the number. Vinnie and I came out behind him and listened. He was silent while the phone rang and the voicemail message was delivered and the sound of the tone was heard.
'Tomorrow,' Hawk said into the phone. 'Saturday, May fifteenth, at five in the morning.'
He hung up.
'Man,' Vinnie said, 'you don't fuck around.'
Hawk nodded.
'Early,' I said.
Hawk nodded again.
'How you want this to go?' I said.
'I go there at five, he's there, I kill him.'
'We could be cuter than that,' I said. 'We could go down there two or three in the morning, set up. Me and Vinnie, probably Leonard if we wanted. Cut him down the minute he shows.'
Hawk shook his head.
