it.”
Evans said, “We got too many now. We’re gettin’ in each other’s way.” He had a round, ruddy, freckled face. In ten years, he would look angry all the time.
Williams, who was black but otherwise much like Evans, asked, “You plain clothes?”
“Used to be,” the man in the blue overcoat said. “Had seven years of it. Eighteen on the force. I’m Mick Malloy.” He extended his hand to Proudy, who took it.
“I make you,” Proudy said. “Eleventh precinct, ain’t that right?”
“Right.”
“Williams, you see if you can get that ax. Leave the car here. We’ll have another shot at the door while you’re gone.”
Williams nodded and went down the steps. The sidewalk was white with snow; his footsteps compacted it without melting it. Evans said, “Maybe those guys could swing their wrecking ball and hit this door, Sarge.”
“And maybe there’s somebody standing in back of it.”
“I never thought of that,” Evans admitted.
Malloy said, “A cop can’t think of everything, and one slip-up’s all it takes. Maybe somebody else gets it, or maybe he does.” He rattled the knob. “We used to have a guy at the Eleventh we called Whitey Nelson. One night they found his cruiser parked in front of an empty store. Whitey was inside the store with one in the pump. Nobody ever found out why he went in there or what he walked into.”
“Probably he saw a light or somethin’,” Evans said.
“Maybe. He left a wife and six little kids. You want to have a go at this?”
Proudy said, “You and Mick do it, Evans. I’ll count. I wouldn’t want to get in your way. Get set now, boys, and give it all you got. One—two—THREE!”
The two big men slammed their bodies against the door; it shivered but remained solid.
There was a rattle and a bang as a window on the second floor opened. The two policemen and the former policeman looked up.
A woman with a wide face and curly blond hair leaned out. “Fuck off, you bastards!” she yelled. “We’re not leaving!”
Sergeant Proudy started to say something, but she withdrew. A moment later she was back, holding a tin wastebasket. “Fuck off!” She upended the wastebasket. The three men jumped to avoid the water, and the window slammed shut.
“Assaulting an officer in the performance of his duty,” Proudy said. “We’ll get her.”
Evans nodded. “Damn right, Sarge.”
Malloy shrugged and smiled. “Hell, it was just water. Suppose it had been acid or something? We could all be dead, or maybe crippled for life.”
Evans said, “I bet they got a crowbar in one of them trucks.”
“Good idea,” Sergeant Proudy told him. “You take a look, Fred. You’re getting in my way up here anyhow.”
As Evans turned to go, Malloy said, “You married, Sarge?”
“I look like a fairy?”
“Hell, I’ve known single guys that were as straight as you or me. Sometimes the wife dies first, you know? You’d be surprised how often that happens. Got any kids?”
“Noway.”
“That’s a shame. I got three, myself. Back when I was on the Force, I used to think if anything happened to me, they’d look after the old lady.”
Sergeant Proudy nodded as if acknowledging some deepdrawn confidence. “A guy can’t stay on the Force forever. You do something, maybe, for one guy. Then bingo, it’s another guy that’s in, and you’re out on your ass. Or you don’t do it, and you’re out even faster. Everybody slips up sometimes.”
“Hell, it was nothing like that. It’s my heart. I got angina.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have hit that door.”
“Don’t worry, Sarge, I know what I can do. I got it under control. Besides—”
A small crowd, mostly children, had gathered to look at the machine. Now a short, red-faced man with an attache case was elbowing his way through. Catching the policeman’s eye, he called, “Are you Sergeant Proudy, sir?” He gave a somewhat theatrical start as he appeared to see Malloy for the first time. “Hello, Mick.”
“Hi, Steve.”
“Mick, if you’re making your pitch, I’ll wait. You know me, I’m one of the boys.”
“Sure,” Malloy said. He sounded tired.
“A lot of guys would horn right in. Not me. I don’t consider that ethical.” The red-faced Steve turned his attention to Sergeant Proudy. “I’m S. B. Marshal.” He extended a business card. “I just want to caution you at this time to wait and hear us both. I’m not asking you to do that out of fairness to me, but out of fairness to yourself and your family. As an intelligent and dedicated public servant, you can surely see it’s to your advantage to shop around and get the best.”
Malloy said, “I wasn’t making any pitch, Steve. The Sarge and me were just talking about old times. Never having been a cop, you wouldn’t understand.”
