Keep talking, young man. Just keep talking.

Newton gave Otis the once-over with pink, sleepy eyes.

Newton smiled and said, "I like you, Roman. Tell you what. I got an OZ of cola in the back room. How about I lay a gram on you and your personal tree here, you two can do a little clubbin' tonight, have a good time."

"I don't want it."

"How about this, then?" Newton placed the joint in the ashtray, picked up a watch off the table, and lobbed it to Otis. "Nice Hamilton I bought off the street. It's yours if you want it."

"I look like I need a Hamilton? I'm wearin' wearin' a Rolex." a Rolex."

"Take it as a backup. Go ahead."

Otis studied the face of the watch and tossed the watch across the room.

"Silly-a.s.s boy," said Otis sadly. "That ain't even a Hamilton. It's a gotd.a.m.n Hormilton, Hormilton, man." man."

"The money, Lonnie," said Lavonicus.

"The money, Lonnie," said Newton, mimicking the big man's monotonous drawl. Newton clapped his hands together and laughed. "Aha, ha, ha...." He stamped one foot on the floor and went, "Ssh, ssh, ssh...."

Otis reached into his jacket, found the grip of the .45.

"The money," said Lavonicus.

"d.a.m.n, Gus," said Newton, "why you so serious? Someone forget to put the bolts in your neck this morning?"

Newton was laughing as he went and stood before a framed mirror nailed to a wooden beam that ran from the floor to the ceiling. He looked in the mirror with admiration, patted his nearly shaved head, smoothed it where the barber had cut a faint part on the side.

"I look good, too," said Newton. "b.i.t.c.hes be formin' a line outside my door, know what I'm sayin'?"

Lavonicus grabbed Newton by the back of the neck and slammed his face into the mirror. The frame flew apart and the gla.s.s seemed to disintegrate. Lavonicus released his grip and Newton fell back in a heap on the floor.

Otis pulled his hand from his jacket and looked at the wooden beam where the mirror had hung. The beam was splintered and dented at the point of impact.

"I kill him?" asked Gus.

"I don't think so. Go in the bedroom and find the money."

Lavonicus went into the bedroom. The woman sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor, her fingers wound tightly together.

"I'm not going to hurt you," said Lavonicus. She reminded him of a young Cissy.

He tossed the bedroom and found a rubber-banded roll of hundreds under a stack of sweaters on the closet shelf. Lavonicus took the money out to the living room, held it up for Otis to see.

Otis ran a gla.s.s of water in the kitchen, kneeled over Lonnie Newton, and poured the water over Newton's face. His face was slick with blood, and beneath the blood was hamburger. For a moment, as the water washed the blood away, Otis and Lavonicus could make out a riot of small cuts and one deep gash running from Newton's eye to the corner of his mouth. The cheek was filleted there, hanging away from the face.

Newton's eyes opened. He moved his head, and pink saliva slid down from his mouth to the floor.

Otis took Newton's chin and straightened his face so that he could see Lavonicus standing over him.

"Take a look, Lonnie. Just wanted you to remember it. That's a face you're gonna be seein' in your sleep."

"He'p me," said Newton sloppily. "Pleee."

"Gonna have to get your girl to help you, man. That is, if she still plans on hangin' around." Otis stood up. "By the way. You approve of how we, uh, enforce enforce our rules?" our rules?"

Otis rolled the Baggie of herb into a tight tube, sealed it with his tongue, and placed the tube in his jacket. Might be wantin' some herb on that cross-country ride. He turned up the volume on the stereo before he and Lavonicus left the house.

They took the steps down to the street.

"Say, Gus - when you get mad, you ever do my sister the way you did Lonnie back there?"

"I'd never touch Cissy, bro. I swear to G.o.d."

"'Cause you sure do got a temper on you, Gus."

"I pushed him too hard. I didn't judge his weight too good. He was way lighter than me, I guess."

"They're all lighter than you, man."

Otis and Lavonicus went to the car. Otis drove slowly down c.u.mberland.

Lavonicus said, "We got two thousand."

"Ought to be plenty enough to get us to D.C."

"What are we gonna do there, Roman?"

Otis adjusted his shades. "Frank'll get us into some kind of drama. You can believe believe that." that."

TWELVE.

DIMITRI KARRAS ENTERED the Spot a little after two the day after Stefanos called him and had a seat two stools down from a gray-complected guy in a baby-s.h.i.t brown sport jacket. Karras rested his forearms on the bar, waited for the tender to finish marking one of several bar tab checks wedged between the bottles on the call rack. The bartender turned around and dropped a c.o.c.ktail napkin in front of Karras. the Spot a little after two the day after Stefanos called him and had a seat two stools down from a gray-complected guy in a baby-s.h.i.t brown sport jacket. Karras rested his forearms on the bar, waited for the tender to finish marking one of several bar tab checks wedged between the bottles on the call rack. The bartender turned around and dropped a c.o.c.ktail napkin in front of Karras.

He made eye contact with Karras and said, "Dimitri?"

"Nick."

They shook hands.

Karras saw a guy who kept late nights. A scar ran down one of his cheeks. There was silver flecked in the temples of his close-cropped cut. He remembered the boy with the curly shoulder-length hair, the skinny kid wearing the jeans and Sears work boots, standing in the warehouse of Nutty Nathan's, thumb-flicking the ash off a cigarette. c.o.c.ky, with everything in front of him. That boy was gone.

Stefanos saw a guy with gray hair and tired, dying eyes. He looked to be in shape, but the sh.e.l.l was hard and empty. No trace of the handsome, brown-haired ladies' man with the desperado mustache. Karras was only halfway through the race, but there was nothing left.

"You look good," said Stefanos.

"You too," said Karras.

"Yeah?" said Stefanos. "How about this? How about we say that's the last time the two of us will ever lie to each other?"

Karras chuckled. "Sounds good to me."

"Can I get you something?"

"No, I'm all right."

Stefanos leaned on the bar. "How long's it been, man?"

"Oh, I don't know. I was trying to think this morning. The last time I saw you was in eighty-six."

"The morning Lenny Bias died."

"Yeah. Every Washingtonian remembers what they were doing that morning, right?"

Stefanos nodded. "And before that, back around the Bicentennial weekend. My grandfather had sent you over to give me a talking to."

"I wasn't one to be giving you any lectures. But, hey, I tried."

"I didn't listen."

"You weren't supposed to listen. h.e.l.l, you were, what, nineteen years old? Which puts you at -"

"Forty. You?"

"Forty-eight."

The prelimineries were done. Stefanos struck a match, kept his eyes on Karras's as he lit a cigarette. "I heard about your son. My sympathies."

Karras nodded.

Stefanos exhaled a stream of smoke. Karras said nothing, and Stefanos took another slow drag.

Stefanos said, "So you got my message."

"Yes."

"You workin' now?"

"No."

"You interested?"

Karras had a look around the bar. Posters of John Riggins, Larry Brown, Phil Chenier, and Earl Monroe. A neon Globe poster advertising a concert by the Back Yard Band. A signed Chuck Brown glossy. An old Captain Beefheart, The Spotlight Kid, The Spotlight Kid, playing on the stereo. Some quiet patrons, a couple who looked like cops, none who looked like lawyers. No green plants. playing on the stereo. Some quiet patrons, a couple who looked like cops, none who looked like lawyers. No green plants.

Karras said, "Maybe."

A young Asian waitress with nice wheels bellied up to the service bar and said, "Ordering."

"Excuse me a second," said Stefanos. He went down to her, retrieved some bottles from the cooler, and set them on a bar tray.

When he returned, Karras said, "Elaine tells me you're a private investigator."

"Well, not exactly private. I do work for the public defender's office down there. I work for Elaine exclusively."

"Nothing else, huh?"

"Not anymore." Stefanos crushed out his cigarette. "You wanna meet the folks in the kitchen?"

"Sure." Karras slid off his stool and walked along the bar. "Who's the guy in the brown suit?" he asked, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"His name's Happy."

"He doesn't look too happy to me."

"He's pacing himself," said Stefanos.

Maria Juarez and James Posten were dancing to the salsa music coming from the boom box when Karras and Stefanos entered the kitchen. Maria had the flat of her palm on her stomach and was moving two steps forward, two steps back, smiling at James, who was counting out his steps, twirling, holding a spatula up at head level.

"Cha-cha-cha, senorita, senorita," said James. "We havin' us one of those carnival's now."

"Watch my feet, Jame," said Maria.

Darnell stood over the sink, the hose in his hand, his back to the door, one foot tapping time to the beat.

"Hey, everybody," said Stefanos as the song ended. "Meet Dimitri Karras, the guy I was telling you about."

Stefanos had briefed them earlier, told them that Karras might be dropping by. Darnell turned and appraised him; Maria did the same.

James turned the volume down on the box, crossed the room, and shook Karras's hand. "How you doin', man? James."

"Dimitri. Good to meet you."

"James is the grill man," said Stefanos. "And this is Maria - colds and salads."

"My pleasure, Mitri."

"My hands are kinda wet," said Darnell. "So you'll understand if I don't come on over there."

"It's all right," said Karras, but Darnell had already turned back to the sink.

Ramon came in, deliberately b.u.mped Stefanos as he pa.s.sed.