Sacrifice Fly

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by Tim O'Mara


  “You thought wrong,” I said. My tone made Frankie take a step back. My hand closed tightly around the car keys. “I felt pretty much the way you do now, Frankie. My father’s death was…” I found myself searching for the right word. “… avoidable. I’ve had a lot of problems dealing with that.”

  “How did you? Deal with it?”

  “I became everything he wasn’t,” I said.

  “Like a cop?”

  “Especially like a cop.”

  “That help?”

  “Not as much as I thought it would. Not at all, to tell the truth.”

  Frankie looked at me for a few seconds, digesting the spontaneous philosophy lesson. He stuck out his fist, and I met it with my own.

  “See ya Tuesday, Mr. D,” he said.

  “You better,” I answered. “I don’t want to have to come looking for you again.”

  He smiled and turned away. I got in behind the wheel and started the car. Instead of shifting into Drive, I rolled down the driver’s window and shut my eyes for a while. It would take me no time at all to get to my place. As much as I wanted that ten minutes ago … I thought about what Frankie had said, and what I had said, and suddenly I didn’t feel like going home, dealing with the mess left by Vega and Ape. I called Edgar. He picked up after one ring.

  “Yeah?” he said.

  “When do you need the car back?” I asked.

  “Not until tomorrow if you really need it. Got plans?”

  “Yeah, I do,” I said, looking in the rearview mirror at Frankie walking away. “I’ve got one more thing to do. Someone I need to say good-bye to. You mind?”

  “No, Ray, not at all.”

  I thanked Edgar, closed up the phone, and pulled away from the curb. About a minute later, I had to roll up my window and turn on the wipers.

  It had finally started to rain.

  About the Author

  TIM O’MARA is a teacher in the New York City public-school system. Raised on Long Island, he now lives in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen with his wife and daughter.

  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.

  SACRIFICE FLY. Copyright © 2012 by Tim O’Mara. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  www.minotaurbooks.com

  Cover art by Marc Yankus ISBN 978-1-250-00898-5 (hardcover) e-ISBN 9781250008992

  First Edition: October 2012

 

 

 


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