Part 78 (1/2)

'Maybe tomorrow,' I said. 'For now she just wants to live in the Village and stay stoned and entertain nice men from Wall Street.'

'So I still got Fran.'

'That's right.'

He'd been pacing the floor. Now he dropped onto the ha.s.sock again. 'Be a cinch to get five, six more of them,' he said. 'You don't know how easy it is. Easiest thing in the world.'

'You told me that once before.'

'It's the truth, man. So many women just waiting to be told what to do with their d.a.m.n lives. I could walk out of here and have me a full string in no more than a week's time.' He shook his head ruefully. 'Except for one thing.'

'What's that?'

'I don't think I can do that anymore.' He stood up again. 'd.a.m.n, I been a good pimp! And I liked it. I tailored a life for myself and it fit me like my own skin. And you know what I went and did?'

'What?'

'I outgrew it.'

'It happens.'

'Some spic goes crazy with a blade and I'm out of business. You know something? It would have happened anyway, wouldn't it?'

'Sooner or later.' Just as I'd have left the police force even if a bullet of mine hadn't killed Estrellita Rivera. 'Lives change,' I said. 'It doesn't seem to do much good to fight it.'

'What am I gonna do?'

'Whatever you want.'

'Like what?'

'You could go back to school.'

He laughed. 'And study art history? s.h.i.+t, I don't want to do that. Sit in cla.s.srooms again? It was bulls.h.i.+t then, I went into the f.u.c.kin' army to get away from it. You know what I thought about the other night?'

'What?'

'I was gonna build a fire. Pile all the masks in the middle of the floor, spill a little gas on 'em, put a match to 'em. Go out like one of those Vikings and take all my treasures with me. I can't say I thought about it for long. What I could do, I could sell all this s.h.i.+t. The house, the art, the car. I guess the money'd last me a time.'

'Probably.'

'But then what'd I do?'

'Suppose you set up as a dealer?'

'Are you crazy, man? Me deal drugs? I can't even pimp no more, and pimping's cleaner'n dealing.'

'Not drugs.'

'What, then?'