Bone Dry

The shopper glanced around and said, “Uh, yeah, can you tell me where the saws are at?”

The clerk pointed toward the rear of the store. “Those would be in Hardware. Aisle twelve, I believe.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

The customer strode away and the clerk thought: Rat poison and a saw. What a strange young man.

Marlin was in the kitchen, drinking a beer and eating some cold pizza for dinner, when the phone rang. He was tempted to let the machine get it, but during deer season duty called at all hours.

On the third ring, he grabbed the phone, his mouth full of cheese and pepperoni. “John Marlin.”

“Hey, John, it’s me.”

His heart thumped, as it always did lately when he heard her voice. It was Becky, calling from Dallas.

“Oh, hey, I was just thinking about you.” The truth was, he thought about her all the time. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing okay. How are you? How’s deer season so far?”

“Pretty quiet, really. Some bad weather yesterday….” He saw no need to tell her about the woman he had arrested this morning. “How’s your mom doing?” It was a question he hated to ask, but it needed asking.

“That’s kind of why I’m calling. She’s not doing real well and she’s back in the hospital. Her white count is sky-high and she has another infection. This one seems much worse and I’m afraid-”

Her voice broke and Marlin knew she was on the verge of tears.

After a moment, she said, “I don’t think she has much longer, John.”

Marlin wished he could reach out and hold her, wipe her tears away. He wasn’t very good over the phone. “Becky, I’m so sorry. Margaret is a tough woman….” His voice trailed off because he didn’t know what else to say. Both of them knew Margaret’s illness was terminal. It was just a question of how long. “I wish I could be there for you,” he finally said.

“I know you do, and I appreciate it. That’s sweet. But I’m doing all right, really.” She gave a little laugh. “It’s just that when I talk to you, my emotions tend to get out of hand a little. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Becky. You know I’m here to talk whenever you want. I just wish I could do more. Sometimes I feel like I’m letting you down.”

“Don’t say that, John. You could never let me down. If anything, it’s the other way around.”

Marlin assured her this wasn’t the case, even as a wave of melancholy washed over his heart. Sometimes, when he was upset, he felt that she was right, that she was letting him down. After all, she was the one who had left. Four months ago, when Becky had first learned of her mother’s illness, she had packed a few things and headed for Dallas. It was to be a temporary stay, just an extended visit to help her mother through the crisis. But when Becky had discovered the true condition of Margaret’s health, she had decided to remain with her until the end. Becky would come home on weekends and as the weeks went by, Marlin began to notice a change in her mood. She continued to be distraught about her mother-but professionally, she seemed to be elated.

She had taken a nursing position, a short-term contract, at a hospital in Dallas, one of the top facilities in the Southwest. It’s so exciting, John, he remembered her saying. This hospital is absolutely amazing. It’s making me remember why I became a nurse to begin with. Marlin had known that Becky hadn’t been happy with her job at Blanco County Hospital. It was a small, unimpressive facility, where the most challenging case might be a kid getting his tonsils removed, or an elderly person with the flu. The tougher cases went to Austin or San Antonio. Becky had considered returning to her old job in San Antonio, at the hospital where she was working when Marlin had met her. But it was more than an hour’s drive each way, a longer commute than she had wanted to make on a daily basis.

The last time Marlin and Becky talked, she’d told him the hospital had made her an offer. They wanted her on the permanent staff. The salary was outstanding, the benefits were excellent, and the career potential was enormous. She would be able to work on the kinds of cases she had always dreamed of. Have you accepted the offer? Marlin had asked. She hadn’t. She wanted time to think it over. Now, with this phone call, Marlin figured her thinking was done.

“How’s the job?” he asked, knowing he wouldn’t like the answer.

“It’s great,” she said and took a deep breath. “And I’ve decided to take the offer.”

Both of them were silent for a moment. Marlin wanted to tell her she was doing the wrong thing, that he loved her and wanted her back by his side. He even considered-as he had in the past-asking her to marry him. But that would never resolve the problem at hand: Becky was an independent, career-minded woman, and Blanco County simply didn’t hold anything for her.

Marlin said quietly, “I know it’s what you wanted, Becky. Good for you. I’m proud of you.”

But Becky was choking up again. “This just isn’t fair,” she said. “I can’t live in Blanco County…and you wouldn’t be happy anywhere else.”

And, of course, she was right. Marlin had considered asking for a transfer to the next available game-warden position anywhere near Dallas. But it was a fleeting thought. There was no way he could ever leave his hometown. His roots were too deep.

“So I guess that’s it, then,” Marlin said. No sense in dragging this out, he thought. It would only make it more painful.

“You know I would do it differently if I could. I love you very much, John.”

“I love you, too. Good luck with everything.”

“Thanks.”

“You take care of yourself. I’m sure I’ll see you again sometime….”

“I know you will, John. Oh, what are we saying? I’ve still got to come back down there and pick up the last of my things. I’ll try to do that in the next few weeks.”

“That sounds fine.” Marlin said. They each said a sad goodbye, and he cradled the phone. The house seemed so quiet and empty. Hell, it’s no big deal, Marlin thought. He had lived alone for years. It was nice to have a woman like Becky around, but he knew he’d be able to handle her leaving. Just had to get back in the groove of being single again.

He sat in the quiet house for a moment, and then his eye wandered to the bottle of Wild Turkey perched on top of the refrigerator. It had been weeks since he’d had a good stiff drink.

And right now he could use one.

Make people fear you.

Vinnie Mameli could remember his dad telling him that as if it were yesterday.

Actually, though, it was three years ago, when his father took Vinnie out to dinner one night, ordered linguini and clams for the both of them, then calmly revealed what he did for a living. Vinnie always suspected there was more to his dad than the concrete business. But for his dad to take him into his confidence-to lay all the cards on the table-was quite a rush for a seventeen-year-old already buzzing from too much wine. You’re a man now, Vinnie, Sal Mameli told him. And a man needs to know certain things to get by in this world.

On that night, and on many nights since, Sal had done his best to share his wisdom with the boy.

A bribe will almost always get the job done. And if a bribe don’t work, a threat will.

Surround yourself with people you can trust. But never completely trust anyone but yourself.

No matter how much you hated the guy, always go to his funeral.

And Vinnie’s favorite: Respect may work for the Pope, but not for you and me. Fear is better. Make people fear you.

And that’s exactly what Vinnie had in mind Monday night when he drove toward Emmett Slaton’s house, dressed head to toe in black. He would show the old douche bag that you don’t fuck around with the Mamelis. Before Vinnie was done, the old geezer would be begging to sell his business.

Vinnie spotted the entrance to Buckhorn Creek Ranch and slowly idled past. Two hundred yards farther down the road, he found another ranch entrance. He knew the place was a deer lease, not a residence, so nobody would