Part 26 (1/2)

”If I can prove that, prove I'm not making it up about a will, you'll show me Albie's books?”

”If you can prove prove it? There's only one way you could do that, Wilson.” it? There's only one way you could do that, Wilson.”

That's when I got my idea. I thought about it for a minute. She didn't move. Then I said, ”I need to go out again. I need to make a call.”

”Just stay right where you are,” she said. Then she got off the bed and walked out.

By the time she came back, she had changed into one of those silly outfits you see in gyms all the time. Fit her like blue paint, with white stripes down the sides of the legs. And she had a cell phone in her hand.

”Yes, it's clean,” she said, handing it to me. She stood there with her hands behind her back, telling me she wasn't leaving.

Okay.

I dialed Solly again. When I heard the click, I said, ”What if I had to prove that there really was was this certain paper? Is there any way I could do that without actually holding it in my hand?” this certain paper? Is there any way I could do that without actually holding it in my hand?”

”She's standing right there, huh?”

”That's right.”

”Good!” he said. Which surprised the h.e.l.l out of me. ”Ask her, does she know what a partners desk is?”

”Do you know what a partners desk is?” I said.

She just nodded.

”Yes,” I said to Solly.

”Then tell her to go sit on it. Tell her you'll be there in five minutes.”

I told Rena. I couldn't read the look on her face, but she turned around and walked out.

Then Solly told me what I had to do.

I walked through the house, cursing myself for always being such a f.u.c.king dope. And just when I thought I had played it so smart, too.

See, I knew Rena was sitting on a partners desk. And what I was supposed to do with that desk. Only, I didn't know where the d.a.m.n thing was.

I knew where it wasn't wasn't, because I hadn't seen anything like what Solly described. But I didn't want to walk through the whole house. It was dark. Maybe she was thinking Solly knew she could hear what he was saying, so he'd used some code. Like ”tell her to go sit on it” was really telling me to kill her.

It wasn't just that I didn't want to scare her; I was scared of what she'd do if she thought I was coming after her.

”Rena?” I called out. Not loud, but strong enough to carry.

Nothing.

I turned on the TV in the living room. Maybe the sound would tell her where I was.

But then I shut it right off. For once, I wasn't going to mess something up. If I'm Rena, maybe I think the TV is just a trick. So I could trap her instead of trying to hunt her down.

So I went to the gym.

I was doing lat pulls, front and back. Ten front, ten back. Over and over, until I lost count. I don't even know what I set the weight for. I wasn't tired. And nothing was coming to me.

Except Rena. She came into the gym and stood in front of me. She had on that same blue outfit, but now she was holding a pistol. She handled it like she knew what it was for.

”What happened?” she said.

I let the bar go back up. Slow, the way you're supposed to.

”I'm stupid,” I said.

”Meaning ...?”

”I tell you, go sit on the desk. Only, I don't know where that d.a.m.n desk is is, okay?”

She made a pretty sound in her throat. It made every part of her wiggle a little. Except the hand holding that pistol.

”Go that way,” she said, pointing with her other hand.

I walked. She was behind me. When she said to turn, I turned. Finally, we were in a little room. The desk was just old dark wood with a couple of drawers, little gla.s.s k.n.o.bs. The only weird thing was that it was facing the wall.

”Stand still,” she said.

I saw her walk around from behind me. She went right up against the wall, then she turned around and faced me. She sat down so her elbows and wrists made a triangle, with the pistol centered on my chest.

”You get it now?”

”A partners partners desk. So one partner sits facing the other one, right?” desk. So one partner sits facing the other one, right?”

”Yes. This is Albie's den. For his special, private stuff. Not his work work stuff, understand?” stuff, understand?”

”Yeah.”

”I've been in here plenty plenty of times,” she said. of times,” she said.

I remembered hearing a girl say something like that, a long time ago, when I was still in school. The other girls were really stabbing her. With words, I mean. Not like playing the dozens-really vicious stuff. Like, her mother must be a real wh.o.r.e,' cause the girl didn't even know who her own father was. ”I do too too,” the girl kept saying, like she was a little kid.

That's how Rena sounded now.

Back then, I'd waited around after school until the worst one came out. I didn't know her name, but I could see she was with her special friends.

When they saw me coming, they didn't know what to do. A guy like me, I wasn't supposed to be around people like them. I stepped close to the leader girl. Before she could say anything, I slapped her, hard enough to make her fall down and start crying.

”Tell your boyfriend I did that,” I said. ”He's not gonna do nothing. You know why? Because he don't give a f.u.c.k about you. He's only with you because everyone knows you give the best b.l.o.w.j.o.bs in school.”