Page 22 of Witness 8

‘You sure? No problems?’

Tony shook his head.

Shit.

I didn’t wish any ill on Jimmy. He was my friend. But if he wanted to talk about last night’s game, or shoot a game of pool, he would’ve called. This was a summons. This was official. He’d sent a made guy to pick me up.

If Jimmy was good – that meant this was about me.

And it was urgent.

And it was probably bad.

Real bad.

As we drove, I tried to work out why Jimmy had sent a car for me.

Tony didn’t help my thought process. It was only a short journey, but Tony liked to talk.

‘That gal you got fuckin’ working for you. The fuckin’ blonde, what’s her name?’

‘Denise? The office secretary. You met her last year.’

‘Fuck, that’s it. Fuckin’ Denise. Is she married?’

I looked at Tony.

‘What do you mean is she married? YoulikeDenise?’

‘Of course I fuckin’ like her, you know. Real fuckin’ nice gal. So is she married or what?’

‘She’s single, I think.’

‘Any fuckin’ chance you could put in a good fuckin’ word for me?’

I recalled Denise and Tony had hit it off last year, after Tony and his pals had done some driving for us.

‘You want me to ask her out for you?’

He nodded, said, ‘I ain’t so fuckin’ good at that kind of fuckin’ thing.’

I called Denise on my cell.

‘You remember Tony, Jimmy’s driver, who helped us out last year?’

‘Tony Two Fucks? What about him?’

‘He wants to know if you’re free Saturday night?’

‘And he’s getting you to ask me out? He doesn’t have the balls to ask me himself?’

I glanced over at Tony. He looked like a ten-year-old waiting to see if Santa Claus had come on Christmas morning. Some guys are built like that. They can kick down a door to a bunker in Baghdad, jump out of an airplane, even shoot somebody in thehead and chop up their body, all without breaking a sweat. But ask them to visit a sick relative, make up with their mom or ask a girl out on a date and they’ll be paralyzed with fear.

Tony was one of those guys.

‘He’s shy,’ I said.

‘If Tony Two Fucks wants to date me, he’s gonna have to grow a pair and ask me out in person. Until then, tell him to go fuck himself. Twice.’