by Ian Vasquez
She wrapped an arm around his waist. “You’ve put that all behind you. You’ll never go back to those days. You’re stuck with me now.”
He felt a smile creeping up on him. “A two-bedroom house, huh?”
She caught on. “Can’t you see it? In a big yard. It’ll have bay windows and a skylight. Maybe a spare room with a cornice roof—that’ll be over the garage. And a lanai out back? A vegetable garden? A shed maybe, for tools? A pleasure garden, too.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “I like that. What’s in this big front yard?”
She stared off. “I’m seeing like a farm or something. No fences, tall oak trees, and the ground slopes away, tall reedy grass moving in the wind, yeah … and there’s a quiet road that curves round the yard…”
“And there’s you, coming back from a morning jog.”
“Hey, you see it, too?”
“I hear a dog barking somewhere, coming through the tall grass to greet you. It’s running … wait, is that … Lassie?”
She slapped his arm. “Oh, shut up, you ruined it.”
His cell phone chirped and he reached into his pants pocket, checked the screen. Harvey’s cell. “Hello? What’s that?” He stood up fast. “Really?”
Two teenagers shrieked by, a boy trying to push an ice cube down a girl’s back.
Riley stuck a finger in his ear and walked away. “Wait … say that again?” He had to go around the group of teenagers and nudge past a man pushing an old woman in a wheelchair to find a quiet spot by the door of a gift shop.
“Go ahead, Harvey.”
“I said I don’t want to hear you complain I haven’t done anything for you. I’m calling about your son. Duncan’s waiting to see you. At that place by the river that we went fishing.”
Riley tipped his head back and grinned.
When he returned to Candice, he was holding the phone limply and she said, “What’s wrong?”
“My son. Duncan’s with Harvey. My ex-wife came back from Mérida late last night, called Gert this morning, wanted to know where I was. She told Gert that she woke up this morning and noticed two men watching the house, parked out front, and then they kept passing by. She figured they were looking for me.”
“May I ask why they’d be looking for you?”
Riley slipped the cell in his pocket and said, “Okay. There’s a little situation.”
Candice folded her arms across her chest, cocked her head. “Uh-oh. Do I want to hear this?”
Riley scratched his jaw, looked across the lobby and thought things over. “I’ve got to see my son. But my ex doesn’t want him coming here to see me. She wants me to go there if I want to say good-bye. She’s scared.”
“And does she have reason to be?”
Riley ignored the question and said, “They’re at a quiet spot by the river, near the hotel, she and my son. Harvey’ll come in his rental, take me there. Our flight doesn’t board for another hour.”
Candice’s eyes were steely. “Why are these men searching for you?”
Riley made sure he looked at her straight. “They’ve owed me money for years. They’ve shortchanged me for years, and I may have helped myself to that money.”
“You may have?”
“Some of it. Not all. I’ll never be able to get back everything I allowed them to take from me.”
Candice crossed her legs, one foot bobbing. “Now is when I find out? Any other details you need to share, Riley, any shockers?”
“We’ll have all the time for that. I promise … I promise I’ll tell you everything.” He turned around so that he was facing the terminal exit. “But right now, I need to move.”
She was looking at the ground, shaking her head. “I am so goddamn stupid. I just don’t learn.”
Riley said, “Candice…” He stepped toward her. He breathed a sigh and looked away. “Candice, there’s a whole bunch of stuff I could tell you, but there’s only one thing that matters, one thing. I am never, never, going back to that life, that business. Two reasons: I’m tired, I’m sick of it. And I have something with you. I’ve got enough money now to take care of my son for a long while. If I can’t be here as a father for him, then he’ll be secure in some other way. And you’re with me and, now, all I want is to tell my Duncan good-bye, and that’s it. You and I’ll have all the time to talk, and if you want to leave me then, after you know everything? Well, at least you’ll know we gave it a fair shot, and I’ll always know that this meant something to me.”
She gave him her profile.
He waited, could feel her retreating.
A voice sounded over the PA: “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. American Airlines would like to welcome you to Flight 3622 to Houston, which will now begin boarding…”
Candice stood up in front of him. “So you’d like me to stand outside for you and look out for your friend?”
He smiled. “You’re reading my mind. He can park his car and come in to find me, but we’d waste time. I told him to pull up at the curb, as close to the front entrance as he can get.”
“What kind of car?”
“A white Honda Accord, he says. Harvey’ll pull up, back door opens, I pop out the terminal, slide down in the backseat. I have some recent experience in that area.”
She smirked, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t know about you, Riley.” She looked across the lobby, people passing through the security gate. “I wish this wasn’t so risky, but I agree, you should see your son.” She bent down, picked up her carry-on bag. “You and I aren’t done talking. Not by any stretch.”
Riley lifted his backpack off the floor and held it out to her. “Do me a favor and keep this for a while? It’s not that heavy, and I won’t be long.”
Candice slung the backpack across her shoulder and started walking to the entrance. “We now have fifty-six minutes till boarding. This better be quick, Riley James.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Riley lay flat on the backseat of the car, smiling at the sky. Wispy clouds, a bright morning. Man, he was feeling good.
“You should be,” Harvey said. “If I had children too and at the last minute I get the opportunity to kiss them good-bye? You should feel good.”
They were speeding down the road. The radio was playing a synthesizer-rich eighties beat that Riley couldn’t name but the familiar rhythm, from the days when he and Harvey were coming up, suited the moment like a theme song. It was almost over now and he was thinking all sorts of foolishness, picturing Duncan’s smile and picking him up to tickle his ribs and holding that slim body tight. Wondering if Duncan would cry when Daddy told him how long he’d be gone. Riley conjuring an image of a house on a grassy plain that looked like Candice’s dream, seeing Duncan in it, in the middle of the field, his black hair ruffling in the wind.
“What’s he wearing, Harvey?”
“What?” The car slowed for a curve.
“Duncan—what’s he wearing.”
“Shorts, plaid shirt with buttons, I think. No, yeah, plaid, khaki shorts. Why?”
“Just wondering.” Riley smiling at the sky, seeing Duncan in the field in shorts and a red plaid shirt. One day, you’ll come to visit me.
That’s what he was going to tell him.
You’ll visit and we’ll take trips, do anything you want.
The car slowed way down and rolled into a right turn and continued along a bumpy road that Riley knew the hotel was on. He could see trees through the windows, the sky sweeping past, as the tires crunched gravel.
“Stay down there a little longer for me, Riley. I don’t trust a car that was behind me on the main road.”
“A brown SUV?”
“No, looked like a Chrysler.”
The car rattled over bumps, and springs creaked. Dust billowed up, momentarily clouding the view of the sky.
Harvey cleared this throat. “You know, I got a bone to pick with you.”
“What’s that?”
“How come you didn’t tell me that guy Brisbane had
plans to intercept? Riley, man, that was one rude surprise. I’m still pissed. I almost shat myself.”
Riley chuckled. “I apologize, Harvey, but you can understand, I couldn’t let you in on that. A trap is a trap only if it’s a secret.” Riley watched the back of Harvey’s head.
Harvey mulled that over and said what Riley was expecting. “So let me understand. In other words, you think I was going to divulge this to somebody?”
“Harvey, let’s not talk about this, it’s over. Everything went down cool, let’s move on.”
“It’s me talking to you. Me and you, we’re supposed to be in this together and you kept me out of the loop.”
His anger surprised Riley. If Harvey wouldn’t let it go, fine. Riley would let it go for him. He would not engage him on that subject again.
“You didn’t trust me, that’s how I see it. You still have your doubts, but that’s okay, I see how it is.”
Riley kept quiet. The car turned right, onto what felt like a rocky road, narrower, trees closing in, no more lampposts, no more wires.
“They beat up one of Lopez’s guys. They didn’t mess around, they whacked him with their guns, and don’t worry, I know who was behind it as soon as things started jumping off. I said to myself, that fucking Riley, he set us up good.”
“What do you want me to say, Harvey?”
“I don’t know, man, I don’t know, just I never had nobody pull a gun on me like that and I’ve never seen a man get clubbed in the face like that before. Tell you the truth, I heard it more than I saw it, but I’ll never forget it.”
Riley was tired of listening to this. If it continued, it would spoil his moment with Duncan, so he said, “Do you want an apology?”
Harvey banged the steering wheel. “I want your respect!”
Riley closed his eyes briefly and said, “Okay. I mean this. Harvey, I apologize for not telling you about Brisbane and as a result almost letting you crap your drawers.”
The car rolled down a slant and Harvey turned around with a slow grin, the old Harvey again.
They were coming into a clearing. Riley could tell from the sparse number of trees and the sound of the tires. He found himself smiling again, thinking of Duncan. The car rattled over a rough stretch and up a long smoother path. Then it eased to a stop. Harvey cut the engine.
“We’re here.”
Riley sat up. A clearing of wild grass, a glimpse of the river down an incline and through the trees. The grass was a beautiful green in the bright light.
The brown SUV came barreling out from behind the trees and lurched to a sideways stop behind them, blocking their path to the road. Riley spun back to the front and saw Harvey pocket the car keys and open the door, and a car and white van speeding toward them, kicking up dust.
Riley said, “You didn’t bring me here to see Duncan, did you?”
Harvey was halfway out the door and Riley snatched at him. “Come here, come here you son of a bitch,” grabbing a fistful of shirtsleeve. Harvey twisted away, nearly falling backward.
Thirty yards in front, the car and the van had stopped and men were getting out.
“Why, Harvey? Tell me why.”
Harvey backed away from the open door, fear in his eyes, his lips trembly. He looked around fast and shrugged at Riley. “Why do you think? Huh? What the fuck do I know about Guyana? I told you, man, I told you I never wanted no part of this operation, I told you.”
Riley shook his head in disbelief. Up ahead, Lopez stood in front of the white van, flanked by two men with pistols held low. Barrel was helping Israel Monsanto out of the car. Barrel, the man Riley should have killed. He looked over his shoulder and saw Boat and Jinx standing by the SUV, also with pistols. Then he looked at Harvey, whom he definitely should have let them kill, and said, “You were this close. You had money, you could’ve created a new life. But instead you made a stupid move.”
“New life? Make a clean break, get a fresh start, like toward better days? Yeah sure, right. I already have a life, and this is it right here, this is my home. I got to do what I got to do to protect myself if I want to live and prosper here, my country, not no Guyana.”
“You think you’re so wise but you outsmarted yourself this time, Harvey. This time—”
“I don’t want to hear no more, I’m tired of listening to you.” He swung away and walked off.
“Hey!” Riley lifted himself off the seat and shouted through the door. “They’ll kill you too, don’t you know that? When they run out of use for you, you’re gone. You can’t see that?”
Harvey clapped his hands over his ears like a child and walked on. “I don’t want to hear it, shut up shut up, Riley, please.” He slouched toward Israel Monsanto, who was leaning on his cane with a wistful smile.
Riley flopped down in his seat and laid his head back. So this was it? He covered his eyes, then he brought his hand down and punched the back of the front seat and kicked a door viciously, and after a moment, he started to regain control. He looked through his window at the slice of river gleaming between the trees, and a sudden calm fell over him.
Candice’s field and house took shape in the air and he could picture it right there, right out there by the river. Could see himself lying in the grass by the river, under a tree, staring up at the rustling branches, his head on the tree’s buttress. It was a soothing image to hold in the mind. He let it settle into him.
One of the men said something. A door slammed. Riley looked straight ahead and saw Harvey in the backseat of the Monsantos’ car. Lopez and Israel, standing a distance apart, were talking, nodding, glancing at Riley. Two foes banding against him. In this equation Riley was the odd number, and maybe had always been.
Harvey was a child, and watching him sitting in the backseat, staring at the floor, Riley gave him four months, maybe five, before one night after locking up the bar, he would put a hand on his car door and hear footsteps behind him a second too late, a second before he felt a gun barrel cold against the back of his neck.
Riley squinted at the glitter of light on the river, seeing himself under that tree on the slope … yes … A screen door slammed and he turned his head lazily to see Candice on the porch across the field, calling to him. Her voice drifted away in the breeze but he heard faintly, Time to put the steaks on the grill, then something else, a question about red wine.…
Lopez and his men were advancing. Behind him, a loud clack. Boat and Jinx had chambered their rounds and were strolling toward the car.
Riley’s body went rigid with anxiety, down to his calves, but his mind was quiet and unafraid. A deep, deep breath and a long exhale and he relaxed.
They surrounded him on four corners, guns held low, fingers on triggers. Lopez turned and spoke to Israel. Israel leaned on his cane with both hands and gazed at Riley across the distance. Then he raised a hand. Good-bye.
Riley nodded.
When Israel’s hand fell and he turned away to hobble to his car, Riley realized it wasn’t a wave but a signal. One of Lopez’s men was stepping forward, big pistol raised.
Riley looked out at himself lying in the grass by the river. Somewhere in that world, perhaps in the field, a dog was barking and he saw his son running through the knee-high grass bringing a frog in cupped hands. If he listened really well, he could hear the river and his heartbeat.
When the fear rose again, he thought of Sister Pat and his bench at home, and he succeeded at the thing he’d been trying to do for the longest time. Breathed evenly, lowered his gaze and let the worries go, let the fear fall. Let it fall, let it fall …
All the men raised their weapons and took aim.
Sitting there, picturing himself tranquil in the sunlight on the grass, it was only natural for Riley James to believe that if he had another chance, if he could live his life again, easy happiness would always be with him, even in his dreams.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to Kris Dinger and Enrique Noble for patiently sharing their marine knowledge; to Ma
rkus Hoffmann, Kelley Ragland, and Christina MacDonald for their editorial assistance; and to my wife, Pamela Vasquez, a dependably candid and astute first reader.
Also by Ian Vasquez
Lonesome Point
In the Heat
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
MR. HOOLIGAN. Copyright © 2010 by Ian Vasquez. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
ISBN 978-0-312-37811-0
First Edition: December 2010
eISBN 978-1-4299-2540-2
First Minotaur Books eBook Edition: December 2010