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“I've lost troops because of you.”
“The rabbit?”
“He was a valued member of my command.”
“The bear?”
Abruzzi gave a distracted wave of his hand. “The bear was hired help. He was sacrificed for your benefit and my protection. He had an unfortunate habit of gossiping to people outside my family.”
“Okay, how about Soder. Was he troops?”
“Soder failed me. Soder had no character. He was a coward. He couldn't control his own wife and daughter. He was a useless liability. Just like his bar. The insurance on the bar was worth more than the bar itself.”
“I'm not sure what part I play in all this.”
“You're the enemy. You chose to be on Evelyn's side in this game. As I'm sure you know, Evelyn has something I want. I'll give you a last chance to survive. You can help me get back what's rightfully mine.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Abruzzi looked down at my gun. “Two bullets?”
“That's all I need.” Oh man, I couldn't believe I just said that. I hoped Abruzzi left first because I probably just wet the chair.
“It's war, then?” Abruzzi asked. “You should reconsider. You won't like what's going to happen to you. No more fun and games.”
I didn't say anything.
Abruzzi stood and walked out the door. Darrow followed.
I sat in the chair for a while with the gun in my hand, waiting for my heart rate to drop back to normal. I stood up and checked the chair seat. Then I checked my seat. Both dry. It was a miracle.
Walking four blocks for a Tastykake had lost some of its appeal. Maybe it would be better to set my affairs in order. Aside from establishing a legal guardian for Rex, the only open end in my life was Andy Bender. I went upstairs to my apartment, and I called the office.
“I'm going after Bender,” I said to Lula. “Do you want to ride shotgun?”
“No way, Jose. You'd have to put me in a full contamination suit before I'd go anywhere near that place. Even then, I wouldn't go. I'm telling you, God's got something going on there. He's got plans.”
I hung up with Lula, and I called Kloughn.
“I'm going after Bender,” I said to him. “Do you want to ride along?”
“Oh darn. I can't. I'd like to. You know how much I'd like to do that. But I can't. I just got a big case. A car crash, right in front of the Laundromat. Well, okay, it wasn't exactly in front of the Laundromat. I had to run a few blocks to get to it in time. But I think there's going to be some good injury.”
Maybe this is for the best, I told myself. Maybe at this point in time I'm better off doing the job alone. Maybe I would have been better off alone always. Unfortunately, I still don't have handcuffs. And what's worse, I don't have a car. What I have is a gun with two bullets.
So I chose the only alternative left to me. I called a cab.
“WAIT HERE FOR me,” I told the driver. “I won't be long.”
He cut his eyes to me, and then he looked out at the projects. “Good thing I know your father, or I wouldn't sit here idling my engine. This isn't exactly an upscale neighborhood.”
I had my gun in the black nylon webbed holster, strapped to my leg. I left my bag in the cab. I walked to the door and knocked.
Bender's wife answered.
“I'm looking for Andy,” I told her.
“You're kidding, right?”
