Dad and I waituntil the movers are out of the way before walking to our apartmentand opening the door. Once inside, I walk into the kitchen and putwater on for tea. Just as Dad takes his shoes off, there’s a knockon the door. For a quick second, I feel suspicious. Nobody we knowwould be coming to visit us. I’m just about to tell Dad to let meanswer it when he turns the knob and opens the door. I walk upbehind him, just in case Fournier sent someone to remind me of mydebt and shake us up.
An elderly manabout seventy is standing in the doorway and leaning on a cane. Heis short and hunched over with grey thin hair.
“Can I helpyou?” my father asks.
“My name isCharlie and I’m just moving in at the end of the hall. I justwanted to introduce myself and apologize for any inconvenience thatI may be causing with all of the movers coming and going,” he saysin a kindly tone.
Seeing thatthere’s no threat to my father or me, I breathe a sigh of reliefand go back to making tea. Dad, on the other hand, spends the nextten minutes gabbing with our new neighbor, covering subjects suchas where each other is originally from, to the fact that they’reboth widowers. The impromptu visit ends with them agreeing to havea coffee together this evening in Charlie’s suite, regardless ofthe mess of packed boxes.
When my fatheris sitting comfortably on the couch with his tea beside him, I takemy phone to the bedroom and close the door, then direct my focus toSlinky. Before I dial his number, something occurs to me, what ifTank or Fournier has Slinky’s phone and Fournier or Tank found mycontact information in his phone? If I take a chance and call thenumber, what if Fournier answers? He’ll start yelling andthreatening for me to get his money. I don’t need to deal with thatright now. Then again, maybe I’m just being paranoid and Slinky isalive, and it’s really him who’s calling me?
After debatingif I should call him back or not, I decide that I won’t relax untilI do. Lying back on the bed, I take a deep breath and call.
“Hello?”
I recognize hisvoice right away. It’s Slinky, though he sounds weak and tired.
“Slink, is thisyou?”
“Jules. Higirl. Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I mean…Iguess so. Are you ok?” I asked, shocked to be talking to him.
His tired voicesnickers, “What did I tell you before?”
“Let me guess,you’re way too smart to be taken down?”
He laughs,“That’s right.”
“What happenedto you that night, Slink?” I ask concerned.
“I’ll tell youwhen I see you.”
“When you seeme? Are you crazy? Look what happened to you after meeting with me.I’m amazed you’re alive.”
“Don’t worryabout me, Jules. Remember what we talked about at Starbucks?”
“The book?”
“Yes, thebook.”
“Do you mean,you still want to do that?”
“Unless youhave fifty grand to pay Fournier.”
“Hell no.”
“Then, I stillwant to do it.”
“But, afterwhat happened to us in Stanley Park, do you think we can? I mean…ifwe go to the bar when Fournier is out, who’s to say his henchmenwon’t be there?”
“Leave it tome,” he says confidently, “and whatever you do, don’t worry aboutcoming up with any money for that fuckhead, Fournier. You’re notpaying him. Bottom line.”
“But what if wecan’t get our hands on the book? What then? I have less than twoweeks to come up with the cash. If I don’t, who knows what he’ll doto me.”
“Jules, listencarefully,” he says clearly. “We will get our hands on that book,and when we do, there’ll be no need to worry about that assholeanymore. I promise.”
I want tobelieve him, but I’m hesitant.
I hear myfather calling me from the front room, and I tell Slinky that Ihave to go. He lets me know that he’ll be in touch soon then hangsup. I breathe a sigh of relief that Slinky’s alive.
Slipping myphone into my jean pocket, I walk out to the living room. Dad isstanding in the kitchen and is riffling through the cupboards.
“Where’s thefood?” he asks.
“We need to buysome, Dad.”
“Ok. I’ll giveyou some cash. You pick up some grub, and I’ll make dinner. Don’tforget to pick up some cheese and crackers too. I want to take aplate with me to Charlie’s later.”
“You’re reallygoing over there?”
“Why not? It’llbe good to talk to another male, nothing personal,” he winks.“Plus, maybe you can get Katie to come over while I’m gone and youtwo can spend some time alone?”
That soundslike a great idea. My day has been anything but calm and seeingKatie is probably exactly what I need.
After Dad givesme a list of items for our dinner, plus cheese and crackers, I headout.
Once I’m in thetruck, I pull out my phone and call Katie.
She answers onthe first ring, “Jules, I was wondering when you were going tocall. Did you have a good night with your dad?”
“Hey, sexy.Yes. Thanks. I had a great night with Dad and day too.”
“Really? Whatdid you two get up to?”
“I’ll tell youall about it later,” I say, not wanting to get into it rightnow.
Katie is offfrom work, so I ask her if she wants to spend the night.Thankfully, she has no plans soshe agrees.
“I’ll be overto get you in a few minutes,” I say, smiling.
As I pull outof the underground and merge into traffic, I can’t help but reflecton Slinky and our conversation. Can his plan really work? There’sprobably more that can go wrong with it than can go right, but whatother choice do I have other than to go along with it? I have noway to raise the amount of money Fournier is demanding from me.Plus, who’s to say that if I did raise that kind of cash, hewouldn’t make me pay again? It’s not like the guy has aconscience.
* * *
It takes quitea bit of time to drive through the congested city center, but Ifinally reach Coal Harbor
