Dane was beginning to think he should call it a night. He checked his watch. Still pretty early, not yet midnight, but he'd ruined the mood here and Glory was panicked and probably angry.
He said, “I should go.”
“You don't have to. I didn't mean to pry.”
“You haven't. I really do need to leave. I'm sorry I didn't fill you in. It wasn't a matter of trust, if that's what you're thinking. There's just a few things I need to handle on my own, and you're better off not knowing what they are.”
“At least tell me what's going on.”
“Like I just said, it's better if you aren't in on it.”
“I still have a little money. Maybe I can help. Get you out of the city. It'll be safer for you in LA, so long as there are no earthquakes or mudslides.”
“Or the wildfires and riots. And you were complaining about the possibility of shooting your little toe off? How long'd you live in that town? Staying there sounds like a death sentence.”
He turned and she started tugging at his wrist, like a little kid who wants what she wants and refuses to let go. It was the first time she'd been like this. He looked down at her hand on him and said, “What?”
She repeated herself, with a firmer voice. “Let me help you. Discuss the circumstances with me. Tell me what's going on and we can work through it. I know we can. My lawyers might be shysters, but hey, they're the best shysters around.”
“Glory, give it a rest.”
And there it was, the first edgy moment between them. Where neither of them knew what to say next. He knew he'd fucked up in a big way but wasn't sure exactly when. With the gun? Talking about Maria?
He had to leave anyway. The timing was bad. It would look like he was either pissed or scared, neither true. He searched for some way to lighten the moment as she drew her underwear on, but there wasn't anything for him to do. He got dressed too.
She straightened the bed while he poured himself a double Chivas with a splash of water. His father's drink. It went down smooth, and he waited for the fire in his chest to move along and burn into his thoughts.
Glory watched and said, “I thought you didn't touch the hard stuff.”
“I don't really. It's what my father used to have every night, to unwind. Doesn't have anything to do with the drinking.”
“After what we just did in there, you feel the need to unwind?”
“No, I just feel the need to be close to my old man.”
She sensed his honesty and it relieved some of the tension. She came up into his arms again. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Still pushing it, like a cop nudging. “Nah.”
“I was serious about the attorneys. They might be able to help you get out from under whatever you're in.”
“You still paying them?”
“Yeah.”
“And how much time is your husband doing?”
“He's hoping to plea-bargain it down to eighteen years.”
“I think I'll take my chances alone, thanks.”
He started to pull away and she held on for another second. She had real muscle. He drew her chin up, pecked her bottom lip, and said, “Don't worry about it, okay? I'll be fine.”
“Exactly what my husband said. If you don't get killed, maybe the two of you can share a cell.”
Dane laughed, and that made her smile. They kissed again, long and with more meaning, as they tried to get back to where they'd been before.
The Chivas was just giving Dane that relaxed feeling by the time he hit the street. He got into the Buick and drove it around the corner. He parked in front of the hotel where Special Agent Daniel Ezekiel Cogan was staying.
Dane snapped on the radio and had another cigarette, thinking about Maria. Every guy had a woman in his life who meant more to him than she should. You couldn't call it love, or even an obsession. It had a greater complexity than that. It dealt more with the man you wanted to be than with the man you were.
He had always been tied to her, just like JoJo Tormino had been, and Dane figured he'd wind up just as dead, and probably for the same reason.
He leaned his chin down on his fist and focused, feeling a little resistance at the back of his skull, where the metal doors hadn't quite opened. Cogan was in bed, fading but not yet asleep. Dane could feel him in there, starting to slip into the comfort of darkness.
It took half an hour before the music began to change, the voices shifting and growing harsher, like people starting to argue. The drumbeat got steadily stronger, more primal. The music dissipated until it became only static disturbed by faraway, forlorn cries. Dane leaned in, put his ear to the speaker, concentrated on trying to make sense of what they were saying, but he couldn't make any of it out.
For a second there though, he thought he heard his mother moaning, the way she did in the back room while she was dying, seeing angels with golden wings as shiny as coins.
Carefully, he snapped the radio off, hoping to avoid sparks. He settled back into the seat and waited, feeling Cogan up there coming closer.
Step by step, nearly here.
Dane looked over through the passenger window and saw Special Agent Daniel Ezekiel Cogan standing naked on the sidewalk.
SEVENTEEN
The straw-yellow hair was a wild mess. It looked like Cogan was one of those types who didn't sleep well, thrashing around for a while before he got into REM. Dane clicked on the interior light. That hee-haw smile broke out on Cogan's face when he spotted Dane in the car. He fumbled his way to the curb, arms and legs moving clumsily. He sat in the backseat and said, “Well, ain't this somethin' special.”
“You said I should come by some night.”
“Tha's right, I surely did.”
“This is what happens when I come by at night,” Dane told him.
“My word, son. Some folks do have themselves special consideration under the Lord!”
“That what you call it?”
“My blessed granny would say so,” Cogan said.
“Mine calls it a burden. In Sicily they burned her with sulfur for having visions.”
“Even those graced by the angels got their hardships and trials.”
Dane took off, enjoying the ease of the empty streets, the rhythm of the traffic lights allowing him complete access. He was a touch surprised that Cogan was taking the situation so well. He looked happy back there, at perfect ease with the situation. Just enjoying the night ride.
“You spend a lot of time doing this thing right here? Moseying on along with all kinds of passengers in the dark? You can do this to anyone?”
“No. Hardly anyone at all.”
“Then how is it you know who all to pick up?”
“I simply know.” It sounded stupid, but just about everything did when you were driving around with somebody's soul in your backseat. “No real way to explain it, except that I feel a nudge inside my head.”
“The angels tapping at your brain. So what exactly is the purpose of all this, son?”
“I have some questions and I think you can help me,” Dane said. “You said Vinny was investing money. Did you mean movies?”
“Yes, that's a new orbit for the family.”
“Any idea why?”
