Part 26 (2/2)
When I entered the bedroom, silver cat in hand, K. T. Baum was dead. Apparently, he knew it all, too. I placed the statuette near his right hand and left.
I couldn't seem to find Gilda when I went back downstairs. I let myself out. I couldn't blame Gilda for wanting time alone. She had too many years of emptiness and self-deception to deal with in one night.
But Jack was gone too. When I stepped out into the cool black air of the Brooklyn night, all that remained of Jack Taylor on the planks of the wrap-around porch was a crushed cigarette b.u.t.t and wisps of pungent cigarette smoke. Whoos.h.!.+ The genie had gone.
”GRANDPA MOE,” I heard a little boy's voice coming out of the genie's smoke. ”Grandpa Moe.”
”Sssshhh, honey, Grandpa is very sick,” I heard my daughter Sarah say, her voice cracking slightly. ”He needs to rest.”
”But-”
”No buts, Aaron. G.o.d, you're just like your Great Uncle Aaron, may he rest in peace.”
”I'll take over, Sarah,” I heard my kid sister Miriam say.
”Where's Jack?” I said, my throat dry, my voice thin as a hair. I had trouble focusing my eyes. I saw the world through heat waves coming off hot tar and it smelled like a hospital.
”Take it easy, Moe. Rest. You really need-”
”Miriam, for chrissakes! Where's Jack?”
”Who's Jack?”
”Jack! Jack Taylor. Where's Jack Taylor?”
”I'll be right back.”
The door opened and closed. That much I could make out. Then it opened and closed again.
”He's asking for someone we don't know, someone none of us know,” Miriam was near frantic.
”It might be the drugs,” a man's voice explained. ”It might be the cancer. At this point, it's impossible to know. Just sit with him and call the family in.”
”Miriam,” I called to her in a whisper.”
”What is it Moe?”
”No silver cats for me, okay?”
”Okay,” she said, though only I understood.
Then I went to sleep.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR.
Reed Farrel Coleman-Brooklyn born and raised-is the former Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America. His third Moe Prager novel, The James Deans, won the Shamus, Barry and Anthony Awards for Best Paperback Original. The book was further nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, and Gumshoe Awards. The fourth Moe book, Soul Patch, won the 2008 Shamus Award, and was nominated for the Edgar, Barry, and Macavity Awards for Best Novel. He was the editor of the short story anthology Hardboiled Brooklyn and his short stories and essays appear in Wall Street Noir, d.a.m.n Near Dead and several other publications. Reed lives with his family on New York's Long Island. Visit him online at .
Tyrus Books publishes crime and dark literary fiction, offering books from exciting new voices and established, well-loved authors. Centering on deeply provocative and universal human experiences, Tyrus Books is a leader in its genre and the centerpiece of the F+W Crime community.
tyrusbooks.com.
end.
<script>