"You need some help, man?" "Oh, god." "I don't care." "You wanna mess up your own shit?" "But you're gonna mess up mine, too." "I need to know, you got my back." "You're gonna come fall in' through the door behind me." "Don't worry your pretty little spick head off." "Anyway, that was all I wanted to say." "Is that it?" " But now I know." " Fuck you!" "Scudder." "Okay, get out." "Both of you." "I told you last night..." "Hey, Matt." "It's me, Peter." "You know, Peter Kristo." "Oh, Peter." "Right." "Do I know you, Peter?" "Yeah, I was at a meeting few weeks ago." "I'm a painter." "Got hook on smack and all the school..." "Oh, yeah." "You're the guy that did the Jackson Pollack number on the wall of the john with the blood from your" "Syringe." "Yeah." "Yeah, it was me." "Enjoyed your story." "Oh, thanks." "Appreciate it. " "Do you mind?" "Sure." "No smoking here, honey." "Something wrong, Peter?" "Ahh..." "It's with my brother, you know." "He needs your help." "What can I help?" "I think it's better you came up to Clinton Hill." "Talk about it there with him." "Clinton Hill?" "He pays for your cab out there and back each time." "Whether you take it or not." "Please." "Just hear what he's gotta say, That's all I'm asking." "When does your brother want to have this chat?" "You know, right now." "That's what I was afraid you were gonna say." "Here you go, Matt." "You know, I'm sorry." "You're eating." "I'll come back." "Yeah." "Jenny, can you keep this warm for me, please?" "I'll be back." "It's there on the right." "This is it." "Nice place, huh?" "Alright, Mr Matt." "Go on up." "Kenny don't want me smoking in the house." "Hey, Kenny." "Mr Scudder, come in." "So, you are a private detective." "Is that right?" "Unlicensed." "What's that mean?" "It means, sometimes, I do favors for people." "And sometimes, in return, they give me gifts." "Gifts." "But, you used to be a cop, right?" "Yeah." "I was with with the 6th Precinct, then I stopped for a while." "Before that, I was over here with the 75th." "So, why did you quit?" "I didn't like the hours, Mr Kristo." "Uh, corruption get to you, huh?" "Not really." "It would have been hard to support my family without it." "So, what can I do for you?" "Well, this was really my brother's idea, y'know." "Bringing you out here." "If you want, I can leave." "Someone's kidnapped my wife." "That's a federal matter." "They said not to call the cops." "Naturally, they would." "When did this happened?" "Yesterday." "You should be talking to the FBI." "I'm talking to you." "Look, Mr Kristo..." "Kenny." "Kenny." "If you're asking me to run a bag, deliver money, that's is not something I do." "I already paid them." "When?" "Last night." "How much?" "Four hundred thousand." "And your wife?" "Where is she?" "She's dead." "I paid them but they killed her anyway." "I see." "I'm sorry." "I don't want you to be sorry." "I want you to find the men who did this, and bring them to me." "You said you pay them the four hundred the same day?" "That's right." "You mind if I ask, what kind of business you're in, Kenny?" "Construction." "What exactly do you construct?" "Houses." "I guess Peter's standing outside right now because he, what, doesn't like your building methods?" "Peter is not supposed to associate with people like me." "People in my profession." "Since when is drug dealing a profession?" "I mean, that's the reason, isn't it?" "I'm sitting here." "Not the cops." "You're a dealer." "Properly speaking, I'm more of a trafficker than a dealer." "You understand the distinction?" "I really don't give a shit, one way or the other." "Whoever it was that took your wife, didn't just pick your name out of a hat." "They must have some idea you have that kind of cash in hand." "That's exactly what I want you to find out." "Who did this?" "And there's twenty thousand dollars." "Consider it my gift to you." "There's twenty more if you find the two fucks who killed her." "So, that you can kill them." "I'm sorry but I can't help you." "It would have been nice if you had told me what your brother was." "Yeah." "You wouldn't have come." "Right." "I wouldn't have." "I stopped drinking that day." "Just, er, it just wasn't as fun after that." "Well, I guess I'm just, er..." "Anyway, I'm, er, 8 years sober." "I...well..." "That's all." "Thanks." "Howie." "Hurt yourself?" "I found it out back by the dumpster." "Mrs Dolgren in 202 left it there when Mr "D" stroked out last week." "Any messages?" "I never told you her name." "I don't want you to think that I'm cruel... or don't care." "I just can't say it." "What happened?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "She never came home, right?" "Excuse me?" "We've got your wife, fucker." "Carrie?" "!" "Carrie?" "!" "Baby, you up there?" "!" "What is it you want?" "We want to help you get your wife back, if you want her back, that is." "Of course, I want her back." "Good." "Then, stay by the phone, don't call the police." "I will be in touch... very soon." "It was, maybe, 10 minutes before they called again." "How much does your wife weigh, Mr Kristo?" "110, 120?" "Something in the neighbourhood." "Something like...50 kilograms?" "Know what I'm saying?" "Now, 50 keys at 20 a key." "You know the score." "Adds up to a million, doesn't it?" "What's your point?" "My point?" "My point is that you pay a million for her if she were product." "If she was powder, Mr Kristo." "Isn't she worth that much to you in flesh and blood?" "I can't pay what I don't have." "How much do you have?" "Four hundred." "Five." "I'm not haggling." "I'll give you the top figure right away." "It's four hundred." "Oh, well... if that's the best that you can do." "Okay, four hundred it is." "Before I give you anything, I want to make sure that wife is all right." "Well, that's impossible." "I'm at a payphone." "How do I know that you even got her in the first place?" "Are you familiar with her tits?" "Excuse me?" "They're quite nice." "Would you recognise one of them?" "That would be the easiest way." "I could cut one off." "The one with the cute little mole on it." "I'll leave it on your doorsteps." "Would that put your mind at rest?" "Jeez, don't say that." "Alright, then." "Let's not talk anymore about proof, okay?" "Put the money in 2 plastic bags and go to the corner of Columbia and Converse, to the payphone and wait for my call." "Hello?" "Where's the money?" "In the back seat." "Two bags like you said." "Good." "Now, leave it." "Walk up Columbia." "Do it quickly." "And then what?" "Wait on the corner for five minutes, then walk back." "Get in your car and go home." "But, what about my wife?" "She'll be in the car waiting for you." "Carrie?" "!" "Damn it!" "They run me around and finally, they called me and tells me that she's at home waiting for me." "I go home and she's not there either." "Carrie!" "The phone rings again." "Damn!" "Where is she?" "He sent me out on a rat hunt." "Tells me she's in the trunk of this abandoned car." "He taped this to the inside of the trunk... with a note that says "For your listening pleasure"." "This is my number." "Oh yeah, are you scared?" "Hey, Carrie Anne..." "Yes?" "Where, in the red hood?" "She tipped me 2 dollars which is twice anybody else tips if they even tip at all." "You mentioned a van?" "Yeah." "It was park tight there." "Two guys got out of it." "I remember they checked her out pretty good." "They were both dressed the same, some kind of uniform." "They pulled out after Mrs Kristo." "Cut off the cabbie." " Remember what the van looked like?" " Yeah." "It was light blue, definitely light blue." "I could tell she's a good cook." "Nothing frozen in the car." "She said she was making kanafeh." "Said she's trying the Lebanese place down the block." "Yeah, the van was parked across the street." "I thought they were making a delivery." "I don't remember a van." "I do remember the pewter maker, Mrs Newess, came in and saw, like, "Oh, what happened?"" ""Are we okay?"" "She said two men and the woman run across the street away from the store and leaped into a van." "She thought they had just robbed the store." "Two men?" "Yes." "I think they have the name of a TV repair place on the side." "Two Initials like..." "B  R TV." "For sure, "J  M PA."" ""R  L Stereo."" ""B  A Appliance."" "Remains of Queen's woman found in vacant lot." "TJ, I'd like a word with you." "Now, please." "I know you didn't sleep in here." "I know because Mr Keyser said you left a god-awful mess in the men's room." "Not to mention the mess you left here." " TJ, you gotta..." " Jill, clean that up later, okay?" "Right now, he's helping me with something." "For what?" "No." "I'm good." "Sheet's for my head." "Not the first store white dude coming here try to put a hand on me." "Okay." "Child of god." "What?" "The name." "Gotteskind." "It means Child of God." "It's German." "Except, clearly, God never look out for more reef." "TJ... that uh...short for something?" "Yeah, short for TJ." " You Five-O?" " No." " But you got that look." " I work private." "Yeah?" "Like Sam Spade?" "Yeah, just like him." "All I'm saying is, I've read about him." "He immortal, too." "All of those guys." " You spent that much time in here?" " Some." "Mostly when it rains." "I just like the sound it makes, you know?" "Matt." "Short for Matthew." "So, why're you looking at dead pictures, Matthew?" "So, these guys you're looking for, they'll be like real 7:30 or just" " like thugs?" " Like real what?" "7:30." "It's the time they give out the meds at the men's ward." "Ah, right. 7:30." "Can that program go back another year?" "Listen to you." "That program." "It'll take me maybe a minute to figure out how to work Yahoo all by yourself." "Why bother." "From what I hear, it's all going to shit in 6 months." "Please, please, man." "I've got way more important things to do than worrying about all that Y2K bullshit." "How ironical." "What's that?" "Dumping an already dead body at a cemetery." ""Tuesday, the body of Leila Andresen,"" ""a 25-year old interior design major at Brooklyn College"" ""was found at Green-Wood Cemetery."" ""Andresen had been missing 2 days when Eduardo Solomon,"" ""a florist across the street from the cemetery, "" ""found what was later identified as a portion of the victim's leg in a dumpster behind a shop."" ""The same day, more human remains were found scattered about the cemetery by groundskeepers."" ""Witnesses said Andresen was last seen getting into a blue van with two men."" ""Anderson's fiance Rueben Quintana, told police that he and Leila was supposed to meet over lunch..."" ""...but she never showed."" "Good guess." "Thanks for your help." "What's this?" "What's what?" " My time is valuable, man." " How valuable?" "10 bucks." "Here's 20." "Take it easy." "I'm gonna go get something to eat." "You want a hamburger or something?" "I don't eat meat." "Oh, okay." "Nice meeting you, TJ." "What I'm saying is, I don't care nothing about cows." "Just care about what I put inside my body." "No meat, no soda, no pringles, none of that shit." "I was thinking about getting a little eat-on myself." "Alright." "Shall we then both get our eat-ons together?" "Come on." "Come on, Watson." "Where do you sleep?" "It's nice again hiding in the library." "It's a nice place to stay." "What happened to your parents?" "You don't have to feel sorry for me." " I don't." " Good." "You could hire me, though." "Make me a partner." "I don't think so." "Why?" "You think I don't have what it takes to be a good detective?" "I'm sure you do." "I'm just not the partner type." " What does it takes to be a good detective anyway?" " A strong bladder." "Seriously." "I don't know what it takes." "I don't know?" "Patience." "Instinct." "Blind luck, mostly." "And a good name." "A good name is very important." "One with varied flavour like..." "Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe." "What's wrong with the name you got?" "No, man." "You think something more like Daunte Culpepper?" "Quarterback from Minnesota." "It's a good name for a detective but a real louse name for a guy who plays football." "Daunte Culpepper." "Ya, Daunte Culpepper, private eye." "Now, I like that name a lot." "You sure you don't want a soda or something, honey?" "I know you just love to give a young black male like myself one of your sperm killer sodas, but no, thank you, ma'am." "I'll stick with the water." "What?" "You only give sodas to some low income people, with a bunch of chemicals that metabolizes you." "That's why I only drink water;" "A gallon a day and stay hydrated." "You don't eat meat?" "Yeah, so what?" "You got a problem with that?" "Not at all." "My ex-wife, she was vegetarian." "So, what happened?" "Why did you split?" " What was she?" "A clucker?" " A what?" "A clucker." "A chicken head." "You know, those females that only like you if you give them nice things." "If you ain't "bling bling", you ain't seen shit." "Can't you speak English?" "I don't know." "Sorry." "Wait a minute." "What time is it?" "Almost 10." "Shit." "I gotta go back to the shelter." "They close at 10." "Thanks for the pancakes." "Jonas Loogan?" "Yes." "You're the gardener here." "I'm the groundskeeper here." "Can I help you?" " I'm Matthew Scudder." " Whoa, that was fast." "Public Affairs back at the 77th said that it would be at least a week before anyone get back to me." "Excuse me?" "You really want the book to have the authentic feel, you know?" "Book?" "That's why this ride along is so important to me, you know." "Spent some real time with real cops?" "What do you want?" "I was hoping I can talk to you about Leila Andresen." "Who?" "The woman they found over here." "Yeah, I don't know anything about that." "Your boss tells me you were here that day." "You spoke to Larry?" "Yeah." "Great." "Cause my boss is Gretchen, okay?" "Oh boy." "I messed up." "You are too smart for me, Jonas." "Damn." "Think you can help me anyway?" "I already told everything I know to the police." "Eduardo, the guy who owns the shop across the street, says there were about 20 garbage bags over here." "That true?" "Eduardo was wrong." "There were only about 10, and most of those were on the 5th Avenue side." "And there were 4 more floating in the pond down there." "So, you saw them?" "I saw the pigeon first." "I keep a coop on my roof." "This was a helmet." "Leave it alone, which if you know anything at all, but helmet's quite unusual for that breed." "It was sitting on one of the bags trying to get at whatever was in there." "I just fish them both out after they've done with the mowing and threw it away." "You didn't open them?" "Nah." "I figure it was all just some water-logged trash the kids have thrown into the night before." "They do that, you know." "Throw their rubbers and their empties into the pond." "You see the corpse across the street?" "Yeah, I didn't make that connection till Vince came running over from the 5th Avenue entrance." "Vince?" "Yeah." "The other groundskeeper." "He's the one that found the bags over there." "Is Vince around?" "I'd like to talk to him." "He quit." "He opened one of the bags." "You know, I was just starting to forget about her." "Thank you so much for bringing that all back." "What's your book about?" "Don't patronize me." " Yo, Matt, what cha doing?" " Hello, TJ." " You know I've been shadowing ya." " No kidding?" "Er, so, I followed subject back from dinner till meeting night in church." "Used to drink some, huh?" "I then followed subject back to some shitty-ass building on 45th" " where subject remained..." " I know where I was, TJ." " You met me at that flower shop, didn't you?" " I met you back at the subway." "Damn!" "This book I'm reading says that a foot tail's hard if you're doing it on account it's so easy to spot." "That it is." "They said it's good to use 3 guys." "Two alternating behind and another guy on the other side of the street." "Sure, if you have 3 guys." "You know, you used to spend a lot of time in church and you used a lot of payphones." "So?" " So, you don't got no cellphone?" " I don't like them." "You don't like computers and you don't like cellphones." "Fucking Amish got more flavour than you do, Matthew." "I watched you follow some dude." "You didn't even try to hide or nothing." "He wasn't looking for me." "It's funny." "Me following you while you follow some other guy." "It's real ironical." " TJ." " Yeah?" "Stop following me." " Reuben Quintana?" " Can I help you with something?" "My name's Matt Scudder." "I was wondering if I could talk to you about your fiance?" "Fiance?" "Leila Andresen." "Oh, Leila, ah..." " You know, I kinda have this little place I have to be..." " It'll just be a minute." "Yeah, okay." "Yeah, come on in." " Can I get you something to drink?" " No." "Thank you." "Must be nice to have the time to work out in the middle of the day." "I'd rather be working." "Period." " I'm an actor." " Yeah, I thought you were familiar." "Have I've seen something you've been in?" "Maybe." "I did a Stetson commercial few years back." " Stetson the hat?" " No, cologne." " Ran during the Stanley Cup final." " Most admirable." "Leila went to Brooklyn College, is that right?" " Study decorating?" " Interior design." "Right." "You told the police that it was 3 men who took her." " Yeah, that's right." " You sure about that?" "Yeah, I saw them." "I was at the coffee place on Prospect." "She used to meet me there sometimes." "When I see 2 guys jumped out of the van and grabbed her." " What they look like?" " I couldn't really see the faces but I could see a third guy behind the wheel." "Hey?" "!" "Hey!" "What are you doing?" "!" "It's the last time I saw her." "This is a nice place." "Lots of nice stuff." " Leila do the design?" " Yeah, you should see the bedrooms." "Wait, that doesn't sound right." "You don't deal, do you, Reuben?" " What?" " You heard me." " You're asking if I'm a drug dealer?" " Unless you prefer trafficker?" "Or maybe you wanna tell me you made your money peddling cologne on ESPN?" "I got a trust fund." " From your rich family up in the Bronx?" " Yeah." " My mom won a lawsuit a few years back." " Come on, Reuben," "Nor even a dog's dumb enough to buy that one." "Look, I don't care how you earn your living but the guys that grabbed Leila, they might have." "How do you mean?" "How do you mean?" "Thanks for your time." "Thank you." "Jonas, what are you doing outside?" "What's happening?" "Why did the police come looking for me?" ""He carried her through the field"" ""the dandelions and cattails still wet with morning dew,"" ""and set her down by a steam,"" ""whispering through the strands of her fine yellow hair."" ""You're safe now." "You're safe."" "Fuck!" "Jonas." "You caught me." "You gave the cops a different address, didn't you?" "That's why they never put you across the street from Leila." "This is my mother's building." "I live in Sunset Park, but I am not allowed to keep my birds there." "Even though there's room on the roof." "Your mom home right now?" "Maybe we can go down and talk, have a cup of coffee." "I can't let you leave here." "They'll kill me if I do." "Who's they, Jonas?" "The other two." "So what?" "You're gonna stab me now with the big fucking knife?" "It's going to bother me, too, for a long time." "I know it will." "How much is it gonna bother you if I take that knife away and stick it in your neck?" "Could you really do that?" "Yeah, I will." "I could." "But I rather not." "How about let's say we trade?" " Okay." " Set it down." " What was it I said gave me away?" " Everything." "You're a weirdo, Jonas." "I never laid a hand on Leila." "The other two." "They're the ones you've better worry about." "What other two?" "Jonas." "What other two?" "They're not human." "How 'd you meet them?" "It's this video store near my house." "They've got this basement where they keep some of them more specialised stuff." "I was killing the game." "You wouldn't really noticed them unless they spoke to you." "One of them had a beard or a goatee." "The other one smile a lot." "He did all the talking." "What about names?" "You don't exchange names in a place like that." "Not real ones, anyway." "They love that I worked in the cemetery." "Thought it was funny." "Want to buy me drinks." "So, we went to this bar in the middle of the day." "Had rum and coke." "Talked about the different videos we liked." "I saw the awful way they laughed, like watching over drug addicts fucked each other." "They were like obsessed with that whole world." "Dealers, addicts, different kinds of drugs." "They told me they work with the DEA." "They were cops?" "I wouldn't say for sure... except what they did was secret." "But they have one of those police radios, you know." "One of those hand held unit and they had all these files on drug dealers with DEA stamps on them." "Told me they work on special assignments." "You told them about Reuben?" "I..." "I told them about Leila." "About how I wanted to save her from Reuben." "So, we came up here and we watched them for a while." "They said they wanted to help her too." "So, you followed her?" "Picked her up off the street." "Then what?" "I drove around with her." "We finally parked somewhere near the water in Brooklyn." "Said they wanted to make their own video." "She was really scared." "They love that." "They kept talking to her." "Pick one." "Which one is your favourite?" "Eenie, mini, minee, mo." "You pick one you wanna keep and I'll pick the other." "One for you, one for me." "That's fair, isn't it?" "You're gonna pick one or I'm gonna take them both." "Well, what are you waiting for?" "You trying to stall?" "You trying to make me mad?" "Touch the one that you wanna keep." "This one?" "Okay, good." "It is an excellent choice." "That means that one's yours..." "and this one is mine." "Practice is practice." "You never change." "Then, 2 days later, I think they thought it to be funny... showed up for work and there's cops dispatched everywhere." "You know, I never say anything." "Where was this video place you met these two?" "He moves around a lot." " I'll still be there, who knows?" " How do I get in?" "Helps if they know you." "What if you come with me?" "Can I feed my birds first?" "Ray." "What was that?" "That was his name." "Which one?" "The quiet one?" "Or the..." "Jesus." "I was off duty one day in this bar in Washington Heights." "The cops didn't have to pay for their drinks." "And a couple of guys came in to rob the place." "I chased them into the street." "Shot two dead." "Got the third one in the leg." "He never walk right again." "Yeah." "I quit drinking that day." "It's just... wasn't as much fun after that." "People are afraid of all the wrong things." "I'll be right back." "I wonder if he pays much for the nurse." "No mistake." "Come on." "Let's go." "Wait, wait." "They worked for the fucking DEA?" "Probably not for very long and almost certainly not its agents." "And what were they?" "I don't know." "Maybe they were used as confidential informants." "Maybe they were office staff." "Whatever they were, they couldn't have gone very far or lasted very long." " Why not?" " Because they're insane." "If only you managed to get your hands on some files, one of which had my name on it." "And if my name's on the DEA file, that means I'm being locked down, right?" "Well, you were at one time." "You know a lot of people who do what you do?" "It's not like we have a union or anything but I know a few." "Why?" "I want you to call them and tell them what happened to Carrie." " Tell them you hired me..." " Are you fucking kidding me?" "!" "Word gets out about Carrie, the cops will" "They've done this before... and they're gonna do it again." "And this time, I wanna hear about it." "What do I say?" "I'll think of something." "I could have paid him." "I had the whole million." "It was our nest egg." "You know, the money I was going to use to get out." "This guy I know, he's gonna put me in some internet start-up, sells shoes on line or some bullshit." "It was our future, and I didn't want to give it to them." "Now, how fucking stupid is that?" "She was already dead." "And if she wasn't, they would have killed her anyway." "Call your friends." "I just knew her as Marie." "Jacinto, my man." " You have any cold drinks?" " You know where it is." "She lives around here?" " She works around here." " Where?" "On the corner." "No, no." "Your mama like the 1 %, not the 2." "She was a dealer?" "She works out of the crib not too far from here, if you know what I mean." "See that old building down the block with the vacant patch on the ground?" "Alright, tell me, cocksucker." "What do you want with Marie G?" "You're on the job, fucker?" "Retired." "Who you working for?" "The family?" "Shit." "When are you guys gonna leave it alone, huh?" "We didn't do it, okay?" "Okay." "You think we just chopped up a cop and leave her on our own fucking doorsteps?" "My son's a fucking moron but he's not an idiot." "Wait." "Marie was a cop?" "Who are you?" "I'm not after you or your son." "I want..." "I want the guys that killed Marie." "Not if I kill them first." " You dealing out of the store?" " Not any more." "But she was working you?" "Working you?" "The fucking moron wanted to marry her." "That's how good she was." "Hello, my name is Peter." "I'm an alcoholic, and still drug addict." " And I got one date back..." " Hi, Peter." "To see all friendly faces again." "Still have managed to turn your backs on me." " So, I slipped, you know." " It happens." "The funny thing is, I ain't start using it until I was 28." "Up until then, I haven't smoke a joint even when I was overseas and half my unit were on one thing or another." "You were in the army?" "Yeah, in Germany and Desert Storm." "I come home." "Go back to school, and me and Kenny start dealing." "It's enough to get by..." "I was dealing in College, I do it to pay for art school." "I wanna get hooked on the product, dropped out." "Meanwhile, Kenny, he stays in the business aspects and gets some real money." "While I'm in garbage and sleeping in abandoned buildings." "Till one night, I nearly blew my fucking heart out of my mouth up in Harlem." "What you gonna do now?" "I got this job as a bread maker." "I figure, stay busy at night, sleep during the day." "Get into less trouble." " Alright." "See you around." " Take it easy." "The number you have reached is not in service." "Please try..." "Directory assistance." "Hello." "I'd like the number for the East Village Plumbing, please." "Which zone?" " I assume it's the East Village." " One moment." " No listing in Manhattan." " Try Brooklyn." " Nothing in Brooklyn." " Try all the boroughs." " I'm sorry." "We have no listing." " Thanks." "What happened to you?" " I bumped into something." " You okay?" "I'm fine." " What you got there in your bag, man?" " Nothing." "It's my notebook, some twislers and my pencil case." "No." "I'm talking about the black Baretta with the taped grip you've got tucked beside your water bottle." "Oh." "You mean this." "A new gem." "It's a nice one." "What are you planning on doing with it?" "I don't know, man." "Right now, I use it for protection." "I figure, being a detective, you need a piece." "Uh huh." "Where did you get it?" "I was taking a nap in some alley." "Heard some footsteps." "I seen some dude who works as a lookout for some bulls and he just threw the bag in the dumpster and split." "You stole someone's stash?" "I didn't steal it." "I left the money in the rock where it was." "They'll gonna come back for the piece, you know that?" "Nah." "There ain't no way, man." "You can trust me." "The cops clipped their ass." "You know how to use that?" "Shit." "Point it at me, like you're gonna shoot me." "Go ahead." "Come on." "That's the way you hold a gun." "It's the way I hold it, yeah." "You know how to eject the clip?" "Empty it?" "Clean it?" "But the gun's still not empty." "You know that, right?" "There is still a round left in the chamber here." "Now, put it back together." "Grasp it." "Rub it." "Like it's part of you." "Feels good, doesn't it?" "Yeah." "So oily and what not." "Turn off the safety." "Now cock it." "Now, put it to your temple and pull the fucking trigger." " What?" " You heard me." "Shoot yourself in the head." "Might as well get it over with now." "Cause you walk around with a gun, sooner or later, it's gonna happen anyway." "No rewind." "No going after popcorn and coming back to the show." "It's just you with that gun on your hand, a stupid look on your face... and your hash all over the wall." "Take it easy now, TJ." "East Village Plumbing Supply." "Ah, fuck!" "Scudder, I'm assuming that you're not dumb enough to shoot a federal agent." " Show me your badge!" "Right now!" " Okay." "I'm reaching for my wallet." "Stover, Drug Enforcement." "Put it down!" "Great." "It's broken." "Next time, identify yourself, okay?" "Maybe we should pull over and try again this time without a sucker punch." "We'll see how you'll do." "Why wait?" "Hey, that's enough." "Who're you working for?" "Kenny Kristo?" " I can't say" " Cut it out, Scudder." "You're not licensed so you don't have privilege and retired." "So this gives you 'bout as much legal authority as a fucking mailman." "So, the sooner you tell me what you're doing hanging with a known drug dealer, the sooner you'll get to the AA meeting and not talk about it." "I'm trying to find Ray and his buddy whats his name." "You know, the two guys that killed Maria Gotteskind?" "I don't know who you mean." "Really?" "They go around saying they're on the DEA payroll." "It was right before they chopped someone into little pieces." " Was Gotteskind looking at Kenny Kristo?" " I can't answer that." "Maybe Mrs Kristo can... although we haven't seen her around for a while, have we, guys?" "I know..." "Maybe you should talk to the brother, Peter." "Seeing he used to spent a lot of time over there." "You know what?" "I was wrong." "This guy didn't know a fucking thing." "Uncuff him." "We're done here." "In the program, they have this saying." "Don't give up 5 minutes before the miracle happens." "Scudder!" "Of course, the flip side of that one is, if you do give up," " you'll never know." " What are you doing here?" "I'm admiring your wallpaper." "Oh..." "It's a rush." "It's started as we do for a painting." "You do them all here?" "Yeah." "We had to." "Want to be a surprise for Kenny." "Was it?" "A surprise?" "What do you want, man?" "You and Carrie put the DEA on to your brother, didn't you?" "Hey, I wouldn't blame you for hating the guy, I mean..." "It's not just that he has a beautiful wife, it's not just that he's got all that money, while you work some get-well job making donuts." "What really get me... is how you can be around a whole lot of junk... and never use." "Carrie had nothing to do with it." "About 9 months ago, they go to Bermuda for their anniversary." "Carrie asked me to watch the house." "I may as well be dead... to find some cash Kenny had locked up." "All I was thinking about..." "I go to Queens, this guy I know to score." "And you get busted." "Yeah." "Get caught in a room with this woman DEA agent." "She's so nice to me, you know?" "And I gave Kenny up like that." "Of course it didn't help that you're in love with his wife." "Sometimes, I think Kenny left that money on purpose." "Yeah, I'm sure that what it is." "I'm sure this is all exactly what he wanted to happen." "What're you talking' about?" "That agent that busted you?" "The nice one?" "Her name was Marie Gotteskind." "She was killed by the same two men that got Carrie." " How do you know about this?" " They stole her files." "And one of them, thanks to you, has Kenny's name on it." "Tell your brother I'm done." "I'll return his money tomorrow." "Does Kenny know about me?" "Not unless you tell him." "Yo... there goes the bitch ass right there!" "Hold up next to him, man." "Yo, TJ!" "I know you hear me talking to you, right?" "Let's go fuck this boy up." " Hold your ass, man!" " Whoa." "Whao." "What's up?" "What's up?" "Yo, we got something 'bout the rules, me man!" " What you talking 'bout, man?" " Where's my get up, man?" "Where's my favourite piece?" " Man, I threw it in the fucking river, man." " What?" "!" "Why did you do that for?" "What do you mean you threw it in the river?" "What are you going?" "I just wanna talk to you." "Give me your mother fucking bag!" "Give me that!" " What is this cartoon shit?" " No." "No." "No." "No." " No, man..." " Shut up!" " Where did you get this money?" " It's my allowance!" "You sold my gun?" " No!" " You take the fucking things off, man!" "No, man." "What the fuck's wrong with you?" "Are you out of your mind?" "Any messages?" "Yeah, JR called." "TJ?" " Yeah, whatever." " Did he leave a message?" "Let me think..." "No." "Well, yeah." "He's in Belville." "He got worked over pretty good but he was also out in the rain." "Either one could have triggered the crisis." " Crisis?" " He's a sickler." "He's got sickle cell anemia." " You didn't know that?" " No." "When a sickler gets a cold or a chill, anything that makes a normal person's blood cell count go up, anytime the body gets ready to fight something, the red blood cells panicked and take on a sickle shape," "actually created a kind of traffic jam in the arteries." "The blood gets very thick." "Suddenly, you're not getting any oxygen." "What are you doing for him?" "Well, we're hydrating him." "Giving him demerol for the pain." "But he knew the drill." "He got in here early enough." "So, I don't think it will go on for too long." " I'll be right out there if you need me." " Thanks." "Don't feel sorry for me." "I don't." " How long you gotta be here for me?" " Depends on how well you behave." "You know my mom told me once that I've got special blood." "That I can never catch malaria." "It's how sickle cell got started in Africa as a defense against malaria." "Where is your mother, TJ?" "Why aren't you a cop no more?" "You first." "I had a crisis once." "I was..." "I was about 11." "My mom took me to the hospital but never came back to check me up." "So, I guess she thought that if she left me there, they'll put me with a really nice family." "Little does she know." "I saw her on the street a few times after that, but... that... that was a while ago." "She had some issues then." "Your turn." "I was off duty one day." "I was in a bar in Washington Heights where the cops didn't have to pay for their drinks." "Wait a minute." "Three kids held up the place." "On the way out, they shot the bartender in the heart." "I chased them out into the street..." "And I shot two dead... got the third one in the thigh." " I heard this already." " No." "You didn't." "You see, one shot... well, the bullet took a bad hop." "It hit a 7-year old girl in the eye." "Killed her instantly." "Reach higher and it would have grazed her head." "But the next is gone, that's all." "So, wait." "They quit your ass after you took on 3 baddies by yourself?" "They gave me a commendation." "I quit my own ass." "I've never met anybody that type before." "Type?" "Brave." "I wasn't brave." "I was just drunk." "Don't feel sorry for me." "I don't." "Now, please." "Watson?" "Watson?" "You know how lucky you are?" "Scudder." "Hello?" "Kenny?" "Anybody home?" "And where have you been?" " Been trying to call you." " Where's Kenny?" "Whitestone." "With a friend." "Says he's having the same kind of problem's Kenny had." "The wife?" "Worst." "I don't have that kind of money." " You're the detective, right?" " Matt Scudder." "Dani, why don't you go outside and keep an eye out." "That's a good boy." "Now, I have to post guards." "The horses don't run far." "I locked the barn." "For what?" "Huh?" "What can they take from me now?" "She's 14 years old." "14." "This is Anna, the nurse." "They took her last night." "Called us in the morning and tells us not to call the police." "I remember Kenny called up the other day." "So I..." "I put two and two together," "Mr Landau, listen." "You have to know that.." "I'm sorry." "What's your daughter's name?" "Lucmina." "She calls herself Lucia." "You have to know that the men that took Lucia had already killed at least 2 women including Kenny's wife." "The next stand." "They haven't the slightest intention of releasing your daughter alive." "And that... there's a strong possibility that she's already dead." " No." " The police know about these two." "They know who they are." "They know what they're doing." "No, no, no." "No police." "You have to help me." "Kenny said you would." "I'll pay." "I'll do whatever you ask." "Please." " Hello?" " Okay, you know what happens next?" "Yes." "Please, I'm trying..." "I'm working on it..." "Go work harder, Yuri." "We want our money." "I just need some time." "Please, I'll give you whatever you want." "But, please, one thing I want is to talk to my daughter." " She can't talk right now." " You gotta let me talk to..." "If she's dead, you get nothing." "And who the fuck are you?" "I'm the best chance you've got if you wanna get your money." "But the girl's gotta be alive and all in one piece for any kind of deal to happen." "Are you listening, motherfucker?" "Fuck this shit." "I can't believe you talked to him like that." "He knows what he's doing." "The important thing right now is to keep Lucia alive." "That means these guys have to know that they can't get a nickle out of you until we first know that she's okay." " What if you make them mad..." " They are already mad." "You... you're giving them an excuse to kill her." "They don't need an excuse." "They're gonna kill her anyway." "All they need is a reason to keep her alive." " How much cash we've got?" " I don't have that much right now, but do these bastards want cocaine?" "Because I got 15 kilos ten minutes from here." "I don't know, maybe I can get my hands on a few hundred in counterfeit but..." "I can't guarantee the quality and I have to return it." "You'll need at least five hundred in cash." "When the time comes, I'll go get it." "Is there another line I can use?" "There's a phone in my daughter's room." "Culpepper Investigation, Dante speaking." "Where the hell are you?" "In my office, man." "What's up?" "Why did you leave the hospital?" "I don't want some social services person come hauling my ass away to a foster home." "I need you to do me a favour and get me some muck out of my apartment." "What's going on?" "There's a box up on my closet." "I want you to get it for me." "The kid at the front desk will let you up." "Apartment 11G, key's above the door." "A guy named Peter will meet you out front." "Give it to him." "And then, get back to whatever it is you're doing." "Hello?" "I understand we have a new player in the game." "I don't believe we've been introduced." "I'm a friend of Mr Landau." "My name is not important." "I'm assuming that Mr Landau's not dumb enough to speak to the police?" "He hasn't." "Then who are you?" "One likes to know who's on the other side." "We're on the same side." "We both want this to happen." "Good." "Then, all you gotta to do is follow instructions." "No." "It's not that simple." "Of course, it is." "We tell you what to do and you do it if you ever want to see the girl again." "You'll have to convince me that she's alive in the first place." "You have my word on it." " That's funny." " Why, it's not good enough?" "Let's just say you've lost a lot of credibility when you returned Mrs Kristo in poor condition." "There were special circumstances regarding Mrs Kristo." "Her husband tried to haggle with me." "Sliced the price." "We, in turn, I don't know... you can finish it up all for yourself, can't you?" "We are not going to argue the price." "You will pay the million?" "For the girl alive and well." "I assure you she's both." "Your assurance mean shit to me." "Put her on the phone, let her father talk to her." "Uh, I'm afraid I won't be able to put her on the phone right now." "Please deposit 25 cents." "Out of quarters?" "Give me your number, I'll call you back." " Yeah?" " I'm afraid the girl cannot come to the phone." "That's out of the question." "How else can we re-assure you of her well-being?" "Wait." "Tell me something your daughter would know." "The dog." "His name." "They could know that." "They've been following her." "They know your schedule." "They'd probably seen her walking the dog." "Heard her called him by name." "Think of something else." "We have dog before this one." "A little black and white one." "It got hit by a car." "The dog's name, and the name of the dog before this one." "Have her describe both of them and call me back." "For 16 years, we were married." "I don't even remember her even having a cold." "Then, one day, she wakes up and says she can't smell anything." "You were a policeman?" "Yeah, I was." "You dealt with situations like this?" "No." "Not like this." "Still, your gut must be telling you something?" "What's it telling you now?" "Is she alive?" "Yeah?" "It's good to know how you figure all this." "Tell me the dog's name." "Oh, well..." "let's see." "What would it sounds like, huh?" "Fido?" "Towser?" "King?" "Rover." "That's always a popular choice." "Hey." "I know what it is." "How about Bingo?" "What about Spot, huh?" "Run, Spot, run." "Not a bad name for a Rottweiler." " The dog's name is Watson." " Watson." "And the other dog?" "The one before." "She couldn't tell what breed the other dog was." "She was young when it died." "They had it put to sleep, she said." "It's a silly term for it, don't you think?" "I mean, you gonna kill someone, you ought to have the courtesy to say that's what you're doing." " You're not talking." "You're still there?" " I'm here." "I gather it's a mongol." "So many of us are." "Now, the name although may be a problem." "I may not have it right." "It's a Russian word." "How's your Russian, my friend?" "Tell me." "I may be saying this wrong." "Balalaika." "Balalaika." "The name of a musical instrument, so she tells me." "What do you say, pal?" "Does this strike a chord?" "You got 2 hours to get the money together." "TJ?" " TJ?" "What are you doing here?" " Had to give you this." "I told you to give it to Peter, not to come down here." "Matthew, that dude was sponge." "There's no way I was going to give it to him." "Later." " How much have we got?" " Hang on for a second." "Holy fucking shit." "This is, er, TJ, my associate." "The paper is good." "Ink's looks right." "It's nice if they don't..." "This looks real enough." "We repack them some slightly." "We rused the bank robbers to protect 6 billions out of each bank and replaced them with the real ones." "Three on top and three on the bottom." "What's this make the count?" "I got at least 200 could go another six..." "Just right about eight." "It's good enough." "We have to meet face to face." "You got the opportunity to inspect the money." "We get to see that the girl's all right." " And then you people come down on us." " You'll have the girl covered." "A knife at her throat?" " If you want." " The edge of a blade cut up under her windpipe?" "Whatever." "Yeah, I don't like this face to face business." "We'll set up 50 yards apart." "You'll be in place first." "You'll see us arrive." "You show the girl and I come over with the money." " By yourself?" " Yes." "Unarmed?" "With a suitcase full of money in each hand, a gun won't do me much good." "Keep talking." "You check the money." "When you're satisfied, you let the girl go." "Your man takes off with the cash." "You and I wait until you feel good, then we go home." "You could grab me." "You have that knife you keep talking about, a gun too if you want one." " You will see my face." " Wear a mask." "It cuts the visibility." "I already know what you looked like, Ray." "What do you know?" "I know you're a genetic fuck-up who fucked men in the streets ten years ago." "I just thrown you out of a fucking window." "Be careful." "It's been a busy year for you and your boyfriend." "You know I could cut the little cunt's throat, send it back to daddy, a chunk at a time." " And you're dead." " Oh?" "Yeah... oh." "You want your money or you want to be looking behind you for the rest of your worthless fucking life?" "Do this deal and I'll see nobody knows about you." "You can take your little Burton-Ernie act to the other side of the country." "There's plenty of dope dealers in L.A." "Where do you want to do it?" "How about Green-Wood Cemetery?" "Yeah, I think I know that place." "You should." "That's where you dumped Leila Andresen." "There's 2 entrances on the 5th Avenue side." "Take the 35th street entrance and head south about 20 yards inside the fence." "We'll enter at 25th and approach it from there." "Say, er, 10:30." "It gives you over an hour to get there and set up." "Leila." "Was that her name?" "I would think you'd remember." "No." "Once they're in the van, they're just body parts." " 10:30." " Oh, god." "She was so scared." " Have you got a rifle?" " Dani." " Is he a good shot?" " Back then maybe." "I think he's a little near-sighted." "Peter was in the army." "Yeah." "It was a while ago, man." "Give him the rifle." "Keep Dani and the other one here with your wife." "We don't want to spook our friends." "Who would like to read the 12 steps?" " Hi, I'm Sarah." "I'm an alcoholic." " Hi, Sarah." "Step One." "We admit it we're powerless over alcohol that our lives have became unmanageable." " What's the drill?" " Stay in the car and lock the doors." "Call 911 if anything goes down." "This is such a bullshit." "Step Two." "Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us the sanity." "That's far enough." "Come out where I can see you." "Show the girl." "I got a knife to her throat." " If my hand slips..." " Let's hope it doesn't." "Is that our money?" "Step Three." "Make the decision to turn up well in our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." "Now." "Let her go." "We ought to just shoot this cocksucker." "Don't change the rules now, Ray." "Let her go." "Sweet Lucy." "I hate to see you go." "Lucia, walk towards me." "Your father's just over here, Lucia." "Step Four." " What's the matter with her hand?" " Nothing." "She's bright as rain." "Make the searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." "It's before you set the terms." "Go to your dad." "Go to your dad, baby." "Go on." "Get out of here." "I like her." "She was nice." "What the fuck is the matter with you, man?" "Why aren't you afraid?" "I don't know." "Maybe I don't care if you shoot me or not." "Or maybe there's a high powered rifle pointed at your head." " I can still kill you." " I'm right here." "In some ways, you'll be doing me a big favour." "Nah." "It don't pay to be shot." "They fucked us." "Shoot him!" "Step Five." "Admit it to God, to ourselves and to another human being with exact nature of our lives." "Step Six." "We're entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of characters." "Peter!" "Step Seven." "Humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings." "Step Eight." "Make a list of all the persons we have harmed and became well into making amends to them all." "Don't move." " Kenny, I got to tell you..." " It's okay." "You gotta know." " I love..." " Step Nine." "Make direct amends to such people..." " I love..." " I love you too, brother." "Except want to do so, would injure them or others." "Which way did they go?" "He shot me!" "TJ?" "Oh, Christ!" "He must have panicked when he heard the shooting." "He can't be out in this rain." "We have to find him." "He's got a phone, right?" "Come on..." "Albert." "Shit!" "Hello?" "Oh, fuck!" "TJ." "Scudder, I got in the van." "They don't know I'm here." "Listen to me." "Get out from there... now." " It's cool." "I'm in the garage and they're in the house." " Which is where?" "Sit." "I've never been shot before." "There's a first aid kit in the bathroom." "Hey, I don't see any numbers." "Try next door." "Er, 6-9-7." "Wait, no. 6-9-2." "Okay." "Now walk away from the house." "Go to the corner." " Is any of that real?" " Some." "Er...51st Street and Church Avenue." " Borough Park." " It's not even a mile from here." "Stay put, you hear me?" "Here." "Hey, who's...?" "Shit..." "Shit..." "Shit." "You can have your money back." "He's downstairs." "You're the husband." "So?" "I'm just wondering." "You're just gonna leave Ray down there?" "No." "I was gonna get something to eat." "I was gonna clean up before I left." "What were you gonna do with him?" "Chop him up... wrap him, put the bags in the cupboard." "And then what?" "Delivering it to somebody in the trunk of a car?" "No." "That was just for you." "He's not yours tonight, Kenny." "There's a lot a hard evidence against this asshole." "He's got his dead buddy in the basement." "Not to mention the van in the garage." "It's gonna be lots of fibres and blood traces and god knows what else." "He ought be looking at 3 life sentences." "Personally, 20 or 30 years tagged on as a bonus." "And what about the other choice?" "You and me?" "No." "I could turn him in, I'll sleep just fine." "I don't think I could." "That's why it has to be your decision." "Then, I guess I just made it." "Take it easy, man." "Come on." "You know, I could help you with that hand." "Will you?" "Shelter's gonna be closed." "Wait for me back at my place." " Where are you going?" " Just do as I say." "Step Ten." "Continue to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, calmly admitted it." "Step Eleven." "Start your prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understand Him, praying only for the knowledge of His will to us and the power to carry that out." "Step Twelve." "Having had a spiritual awakenings as a result from these steps, we try to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs." "Kenny?" "You know what?" "I just wanted..."