wiseguy.”
“I was a cop, Betty. Nothing more.”
“Was, is, and always will be. I don’t think that’s something you grow out of, Lou. You were born a cop.”
“And you were born beautiful, Betty, and still are.”
“Are you romancing me, Lou?”
“I’m not that naive.”
“Pretend.”
“Okay, finally something I’m good at. Is Pete still keeping you guys safe around here?”
“Yep. Do you want me to call him and tell him you’re here?”
“Yeah, would you, please.”
“Why have you stayed away so long, Lou?”
“I didn’t know I was welcome. I won’t be a stranger anymore. I promise.”
She sat down at a desk, picked up a phone, and dialed a three-digit extension. Lou had dated Betty enough years ago for them both to forget any indiscretions he might have committed under the influence. They’d both been recently divorced when they met. It hadn’t been love at first sight. It was more like a car crash and they had agreed to remain friends after the wreck got towed away.
“Pete, the prodigal son has returned and he needs a favor.” Lou heard his old pal shouting into the phone.
“You tell Lou Klein he still owes me fifty bucks on the Holy-field fight.”
Lou winked at Betty.
“Tell him gambling is against the law.”
Pete responded with that bullhorn voice he was known for. He broke up fights with that big mouth and scared small children. He’d taken the job as director of security for Lankenau Hospital after retiring from the Philadelphia Police Department. He and Mitch had worked together in Homicide and he was one of the few people Lou had managed not to offend.
“Go get a warrant or go to hell.”
Betty feigned impatience.
“Just like old times. I’m passing messages between you two when you could just as easily be in the same room.”
“We like it better that way, less confusion and no confirmation.”
“And I don’t have to smell his breath.”
“I’ll be right down.”
Pete Kryeski hadn’t changed much. He still had a bushy brown mustache with a dark red tint and a full head of hair. His eyebrows were thick and ran in a unbroken line across his broad forehead. His nickname in the squad was hammerhead and he hadn’t lost his bite. Lou filled him in on the case.
“This guy Vincent, I heard of him. I think they’re his trucks picking up the garbage here, not to mention the medical waste, the linen, the food service. They’re in and out of here all day. I wouldn’t doubt if he was on the god-damn board of directors of this place. And that’s his wife in there, huh?”
“Keep your eye on her if you can, Pete. But don’t stick your neck out too far on this one. If there’s a problem, call me first. Then call Mitch.”
He slapped Lou’s back, almost breaking two ribs, and told him to stay in touch. Pete took Mitch down to the cafeteria for coffee. Betty circled her arm in his and walked with him down the hall.
“Am I still on the back burner?”
“I think I’ll turn up the heat a bit.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Lou knocked gently on the door and pushed it slowly open. He didn’t get an answer, stuck his head in, and took a few hesitant steps into the room. Sarah’s eyes were closed, her face framedby the white pillow. He walked quietly past her to the window. Thick gray clouds still dominated the sky and the freezing rain from that morning had turned to sleet. He heard the tiny pellets of ice tap against the glass.
From the ninth-floor window he could see most of West Philly. Brown tenement buildings sprawled in every direction, connected by a maze of intersecting streets. Cars and buses were navigating the streets in what appeared to be a very orderly fashion. But he knew it was an illusion, a pattern that could only be seen from a distance, from a great height. From inside it, immersed in it, all perspective was lost. He wondered how he expected to find anyone in all that chaos.
Sarah opened her eyes, obviously struggling to focus on the
“I was a cop, Betty. Nothing more.”
“Was, is, and always will be. I don’t think that’s something you grow out of, Lou. You were born a cop.”
“And you were born beautiful, Betty, and still are.”
“Are you romancing me, Lou?”
“I’m not that naive.”
“Pretend.”
“Okay, finally something I’m good at. Is Pete still keeping you guys safe around here?”
“Yep. Do you want me to call him and tell him you’re here?”
“Yeah, would you, please.”
“Why have you stayed away so long, Lou?”
“I didn’t know I was welcome. I won’t be a stranger anymore. I promise.”
She sat down at a desk, picked up a phone, and dialed a three-digit extension. Lou had dated Betty enough years ago for them both to forget any indiscretions he might have committed under the influence. They’d both been recently divorced when they met. It hadn’t been love at first sight. It was more like a car crash and they had agreed to remain friends after the wreck got towed away.
“Pete, the prodigal son has returned and he needs a favor.” Lou heard his old pal shouting into the phone.
“You tell Lou Klein he still owes me fifty bucks on the Holy-field fight.”
Lou winked at Betty.
“Tell him gambling is against the law.”
Pete responded with that bullhorn voice he was known for. He broke up fights with that big mouth and scared small children. He’d taken the job as director of security for Lankenau Hospital after retiring from the Philadelphia Police Department. He and Mitch had worked together in Homicide and he was one of the few people Lou had managed not to offend.
“Go get a warrant or go to hell.”
Betty feigned impatience.
“Just like old times. I’m passing messages between you two when you could just as easily be in the same room.”
“We like it better that way, less confusion and no confirmation.”
“And I don’t have to smell his breath.”
“I’ll be right down.”
Pete Kryeski hadn’t changed much. He still had a bushy brown mustache with a dark red tint and a full head of hair. His eyebrows were thick and ran in a unbroken line across his broad forehead. His nickname in the squad was hammerhead and he hadn’t lost his bite. Lou filled him in on the case.
“This guy Vincent, I heard of him. I think they’re his trucks picking up the garbage here, not to mention the medical waste, the linen, the food service. They’re in and out of here all day. I wouldn’t doubt if he was on the god-damn board of directors of this place. And that’s his wife in there, huh?”
“Keep your eye on her if you can, Pete. But don’t stick your neck out too far on this one. If there’s a problem, call me first. Then call Mitch.”
He slapped Lou’s back, almost breaking two ribs, and told him to stay in touch. Pete took Mitch down to the cafeteria for coffee. Betty circled her arm in his and walked with him down the hall.
“Am I still on the back burner?”
“I think I’ll turn up the heat a bit.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Lou knocked gently on the door and pushed it slowly open. He didn’t get an answer, stuck his head in, and took a few hesitant steps into the room. Sarah’s eyes were closed, her face framedby the white pillow. He walked quietly past her to the window. Thick gray clouds still dominated the sky and the freezing rain from that morning had turned to sleet. He heard the tiny pellets of ice tap against the glass.
From the ninth-floor window he could see most of West Philly. Brown tenement buildings sprawled in every direction, connected by a maze of intersecting streets. Cars and buses were navigating the streets in what appeared to be a very orderly fashion. But he knew it was an illusion, a pattern that could only be seen from a distance, from a great height. From inside it, immersed in it, all perspective was lost. He wondered how he expected to find anyone in all that chaos.
Sarah opened her eyes, obviously struggling to focus on the
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