'Oh, man,' Aaron said.
'Two years ago,' Needles explained, 'a young child, left unattended by his heroin-addict mother, drank some liquid drain cleaner and burned his insides out. They brought the kid to me, but he died on my operating table.'
Aaron wondered how close Willy had come to doing the same thing those nights when his mother left her little boy all alone.
Needles slid some chips and a jar of dill pickles toward Aaron. 'So, I got sued, of course, and my malpractice insurance ran out half-way through the trial. Then came the settlement with the kid's mother…'
'Was it big?'
'Let's just say the judge wasn't sympathetic toward the 'big-city doctor.''
Aaron leaned forward in his chair, anxious to get to the part where Needles became a bank robber. 'So, what happened next?' he asked.
'Hell, I was a total wreck,' Needles said. 'I likely would have killed myself had it not been for Johnny Souther.'
'What? You mean — '
'The same guy,' Needles said. 'It was Souther who loaned me the money to pay everyone off.'
'You're kidding… How much?'
'Well, after insurance, and close to a million bucks out of pocket — which left me with nothing incidentally — I owed around $475,000.'
'Whoa,' Aaron said. He had guessed $50,000 and thought that was ridiculous money.
Needles continued. 'Of course I couldn't imagine how or where he would get that kind of money, but I was in no position to question him.' He paused. 'To this day, I still wonder where he got it. The money we make robbing banks is good, but it's not that good.'
Just then Beeks walked in wearing a determined look on his face.
'Let me guess,' Needles said to him, grateful for this unexpected chance to hassle his friend. 'You're lost, and you blundered in here thinking it was the toilet.'
Beeks ignored him and opened the refrigerator.
'If you don't mind, Beeks,' Needles said, 'we're having a private conversation here.'
Beeks leaned down for a closer look at the fridge's empty shelves. 'Where's all the damn food?' he asked. Then he turned and saw the huge spread Needles had laid out on the table.
Needles knew what was coming. 'Easy, Jezebel. Take what you need and park your fat-ass down the road.'
'Well, excuse me for bein' fuckin' hungry,' Beeks said.
He gathered the food into his massive arms, wedged a drinking glass under one elbow, and hooked the pitcher of iced tea under his little finger.
'I hope you enjoy your little pow-wow while I'm out here in the damn warehouse findin' a damn table,' he said, then he left in a huff.
– Aaron was trying to digest Needles's wild story. He felt for Beeks; but he was happy to see that the big guy had missed the jar of pickles. He selected a large one and took a bite.
'I can't believe you borrowed that much money from Johnny Souther,' he said, chewing with vigor. 'Of all people.'
Needles drained his iced tea in one indignant swallow. Aaron felt the atmosphere in the room become tense.
There was a long, deliberate pause as Needles calmed himself. Why he felt compelled to explain himself to a thirteen-year-old kid, he couldn't say. 'Ten years ago,' he said, his voice dark and joyless, now, 'Johnny Souther was my pastor.'
Aaron nearly choked on his pickle.
'By the time everything with the malpractice suit happened, I had already left the church, and I hadn't seen Souther in years. But with no one else to turn to, I called him, and he agreed to meet with me. I told him about the money and he said he might be able to arrange some kind of a loan. I had no choice but to accept his terms. Of course I had no way of knowing he had just been released from prison, and unfortunately, by the time I was educated as to his current line of work I was already in up to my neck.'
'It should have been obvious he was a criminal,' Aaron said carelessly.
That was too much for Needles. His face turned to iron. 'What makes you Mr. Big-shot expert all of a sudden? Huh? What do you know about anything? You smart-ass little shit.'
He stood and started straightening up his mess, regretting ever having opened up to the boy.
Aaron was shocked and embarrassed. He had only been trying to understand and learn, and now his stomach felt as if he had eaten a handful of live snails. This strange, dark version of Needles was scary.
Silence dragged out in the room.
'Do you want to know why Souther left the Church?' Needles said at last, not waiting for an answer. 'He didn't. He was thrown out. Nine years ago, a beautiful underage parishioner accused him of molesting her. The case went to trial, and half-way through the girl admitted she had lied about the whole affair. Souther was acquitted, but not before he'd been banned from the church, and his wife and two daughters had disowned him — taking part of his soul with them.'
What Needles neglected to mention was that Souther's current, twenty-five-year-old girlfriend, Brandy Fine, and the young redhead from the church — who was sixteen and pregnant at the time of the trial — were one and the same, and that there had been a major controversy surrounding the girl's sudden reversal of testimony. Brandy had lost the baby in its fifth month and with it her ability to bear children — the news of which broke Johnny Souther's heart.
– Aaron tried to speak, but nothing came out.
'So, now I'm a bank robber, too,' Needles went on, 'and there ain't a damn thing I can do about it. I'm sorry I can't live up to your lofty ideal… t-to your image of a perfect world full of perfect people.'
Aaron stared at his hands. 'I'm sorry I upset you, Needles,' he said, genuinely sorry he had started a fight.
Needles wiped his hands on a paper towel. 'Not everyone is born with the same level of decency, you know — sometimes you're forced to adapt. Your hallowed concept of right and wrong may have to bend, or even break, and you may find yourself abandoning your morals simply to survive.' He tossed the paper towel in the sink. 'If I can stay alive and out of prison for six more months, I'll have Souther paid off — and if I survive a year, I'll have enough to retire. Maybe that would make you happy.'
Aaron hated to be misunderstood, especially when it hurt someone's feelings. 'I wasn't trying to judge you, Needles,' he said. 'I was — '
'Oh, please…' Needles said, cutting him off. He'd had enough.
'No, really,' Aaron said. 'I like you. You and Beeks are my friends. For the first time in my life I feel like I'm part of a team. I don't care if I ever go home.'
'You make me want to puke,' Needles said, lowering his head in disbelief. 'One afternoon of text book heists and you conclude that the life of a goddamn bank robber is all glamour and excitement. We had fun, right? Every job was duck soup, right? Well, guess what? Tomorrow Johnny Souther will be in charge, and boy are you in for a surprise — one huge fucking surprise.'
He slammed a cupboard shut and started for the door. 'I need some sleep,' he said. 'We leave here at 9 a.m. sharp.'
Then he walked out of the room.
Avery, John
FRIDAY
Chapter 33
Jumpsuits
