“What?” Shepherd took a moment to process this information. His brain sparked unpleasantly when it finished verifying her statement for accuracy. “The guy we saw yesterday? But he wasgross.”
Ginny threw open her door, smiling at him over her shoulder. “Isn’t it amazing what a shower and a shave can do? Come on, let’s get this show on the road. One step closer to rescuing my mother and shoving her in my stepmother’s perfect face.”
Shepherd left the car with all the dignity and pep of a man walking to the hangman and his noose. Charlie reeked of cologne. Shepherd rubbed at his nose and accepted his fate. This new version of Charlie was still gross. A different type of gross. And there was no way in hell he was going to leave him alone with Ginny.
Charlie shook his hand: firm, dry, calloused. “Ordered a pizza last night from your place. Delicious.”
Shepherd grunted in reply.
“Well, come on over, you two. I set out some drinks in theshade.” Charlie had a plastic picnic table with a giant umbrella on top set out on his concrete dock. The canal had ocean access, but it still had an unseemly amount of star jellyfish lurking among the algae. The ocean access was probably on the other side of the neighborhood. Far enough to be a decent trip in an idling boat, but close enough that the smell of rotten seaweed hung in the air with the changing of every tide.
Still, a house like this in a neighborhood like this with a canal like that didn’t come cheap, and yet Charlie was motivated by free pizzas.
He poured them each a glass of lemonade out of the condensing pitcher and handed it over with a smile. “I don’t like this,” Shepherd mumbled in Ginny’s ear. “This is how we each lose a kidney.”
Charlie overheard. He laughed, reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out a package of American Spirits. “No, no. I’m not here to harvest your organs. I’m here to help you free your mom.”
Ginny wiped the lemonade off her top lip. “You know where she is?”
“Ah. No.” He lit his cigarette and took a deep pull.
Ginny traced her mouth with her fingertips. “You will loan us the money to pay her ransom?”
He pointed his cigarette at her. “Also no.”
“You will give us the money?” she tried, her tone of voice slipping into such a high register at the end of the question that several birds took flight from nearby telephone poles.
Charlie grinned, his teeth perfectly straight and bright white. “We’re gonna steal it. The three of us, as a team.”
THIRTY-ONE
Shepherd sat there for a long moment, hot, humid air hitting the back of his throat, before a guttural laugh escaped. Charlie just grinned at him.
Ginny, though, touched his knee and gave him a look. Shepherd closed his mouth and put a hand over it for good measure.
Her fingernails scratched inside a plastic groove of the picnic table. “Mr. Cardello,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “As your legal representation, I cannot condone theft of any kind.”
Charlie nodded, still grinning, and gave a little wave with his free hand as if to hurry her along her point.
“But as a … friend? What, um, kind of stealing are you talking about?”
Shepherd’s hand fell from his mouth and smacked himself in the lap. Fortunately, it landed two inches away from the danger zone—which is what he called it whenever he used the urinal. “Virginia,” he admonished. “You can’t be serious. He brought us here to discusscrimes.”
“I’m a defense attorney,” Ginny said. “Was. Was a defense attorney. And, really, Shepherd, you of all people should know about crimes.”
“Excuse me?”
“There are crimes, right? And then there arecrimes. And really, Shepherd, there areso many laws. So many stupid laws and it’s just … almost no one can get through an entire day without committing at least one crime.”
Charlie hmmed and nodded as if he were attending Ginny’s TEDx Talk. “Exactly. You’re so smart, Ginny. I like that about you. That, and your pretty face.” He winked.
Shepherd grabbed the arms of his plastic chair to help him stand up. “We’re done,” he announced with a creak.
“Wait, wait.” Ginny touched his leg again. “Let’s just hear him out, Shepherd.”
“Yeah,” Charlie chimed in. “Just hear me out, Shepherd.”
Shepherd lowered himself back down, glowering the whole time. That’s all he wanted right now, some canned-cheese-eating retired gangster hitting on his not-girlfriend in front of him.
