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edged in white piping.  Here it is. I knew I hadn t donated it this is a Bill Blass! He wore it to the CPA
Association ball in  75, I think.
 Bill Blass?
 No. Don t be fresh. Your grandfather. Nan held the garment by its hanger, turning it slowly so I
wouldn t miss a stitch of its finery.
 Nan. I m fine. Really.
 Nonsense. Try it on.
Shit.
At nine I stood on the sticky sidewalk facing Cappy s Luxury Auto Sales, and for the first time since a
college walk of shame eight years ago, I was sporting a baseball hat and dark shades. Earlier, I d been
www.samhainpublishing.com 65
LB Gregg
asked several times if I was the sleazy guy from the newspaper. The beemer-basher. And that was in my
own neighborhood. I was forced to duck into the fresh market, and for twenty-five bucks I now looked like
every other paparazzi-dodging idiot in the city.
Still. Only one person asked me for a cigarette on the train, and a couple coeds in Mary-Kate and
Ashley inspired rags wanted to know if I was the guy who played Peter Petrelli. That was four fewer than
yesterday, so maybe the hat and glasses were a good idea.
At Cappy s the beach balls drooped heavily on their thin wires and the colorful pennants hung
lifelessly in the crushing humidity. It was early, but the service-department door was propped open in
Cappy s vain attempt to cool Manhattan with its overworked a/c unit. My father would have had a seizure
over that waste. A few preoccupied salesmen stood squinting at their cell phones. I didn t see Tommy
Cappelletti or his ten-gallon hat.
I texted Dan again. His silence wasn t unusual he was working. So, adjusting the strap on my
messenger bag, I headed to the showroom.
The first person I saw? Dan s blond friend leaning indolently against the back wall near a cardboard
cutout of an eighty thousand dollar SUV. Obviously the car held no appeal for me. The mechanic held a
plastic clipboard, and he blanched when I entered the blissfully cool room. Recognition turned his smile of
welcome into a frozen grimace of alarm.
I sometimes have that affect on people, but in this instance, I m sure I looked equally pale. There was
something about John I didn t trust.
Something other than his too-good looks and his too-easy way with Dan.
It was dim inside the building with my sunglasses on, and cold air condensed on the cheap lenses. It
was likely Carrera was still on my tail, but I tucked my glasses into my bag anyway. I approached the
mechanic.  Hey. How are you? Is Stew in?
 Stew? His confusion looked real, but it was key to remember that this guy wasn t just watching the
door at Shep s apartment for ten bucks an hour. He d been Dan s paid squealer an informant back when
Dan was on the force. Squealing was something Romanos frowned on in principle and reacted poorly to in
person, so I gave him my best faux Soprano s smile. If I were a couple inches taller and a foot wider, it
might have made all the difference. I made do by jabbing two fingers in his direction.
 Someone gave my license to the paper. Someone from Cappy s. I was here yesterday 
 I know. Who could forget? You saw the paper? Wow. Hey, we have a few extra copies here if you
need one for your family 
 Yes. I saw the paper, I snapped. Everyone in New York had seen the paper.  So. I made a firm
slicing gesture with my left hand.  Last time I laid eyes on my I.D.? It was in the hands of your tattooed
friend from the service department. Stew. Where is he?
66 www.samhainpublishing.com
Trust Me If You Dare
John s name, stitched in white on his cotton breast pocket, moved as he shrugged.  I m sorry, but
there s no one by that name here. Could you have given it to someone else?
He was so& mild.
 Where s Cappelletti?
 Tommy? He was let go after yesterday s incident.
My voice hiked an octave.  Let go? You mean fired?
 This wasn t his first incident.
 So the big guy? Buzzed blond tattoo that said mother he s not here?
 No. No Stew that I ever met. I m the only blond in service or parts. You sure he worked here? There
was quite a crowd yesterday.
 I  There had been quite a crowd, actually. I only assumed Stew was an employee of Cappy s. He
could have been someone off the street. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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