Twenty-Four Jimmy

TWENTY-FOUR

Jimmy

JIMMY IS AT THE end of his bar, nursing a beer. Jimmy has the Yankee game on both sets, but he's paying no attention.

Jane and Ben left about fifteen minutes ago and Jimmy is thinking about Jane—what McKenzie said to her at the courthouse, what Joe Too said that night at Jimmy's house, and what a shame it would be if Jane died of something other than the cancer.

If Joe Too and his girlfriend could get to Jimmy that easily, they could get to Jane if they wanted to. It really does seem as if that sonofabitch Joe Champi has come back from the grave to terrorize them all over again.

Jimmy finishes his beer and is getting ready to leave when his phone makes that marimba sound Jimmy is too lazy to change, the one that has half the people in the bar reaching for their phones every time they hear it.

UNKNOWN CALLER.

"Cunniff," Jimmy says into his phone.

"McKenzie," the voice at the other end replies, as if trying to imitate Jimmy.

"Oh," Jimmy says, "it's the asshole who called my partner one today."

"Just wanted to get her attention."

"Well, let me get yours," Jimmy says. "Stay away from her. Or the next time I see you I'll swing you around by your nuts."

McKenzie waits a beat before responding. "I'm just calling to tell you what a thrill it was for me to finally meet Jane. I saw her leave the bar. Next time you talk to her, tell her I'd do her in a heartbeat."

Jimmy calmly gets off his barstool and walks out the door. His eyes are searching Main Street, then farther, past Bay Street, to where the harbor begins.

No sign of Edmund McKenzie.

But he's out here somewhere.

"Since you're obviously in the neighborhood, why don't you drop in and I can start bouncing you around right now?"

"Wow. The attitude. And here I was just trying to pay her a compliment. I would think she'd be happy that all the miles she obviously has on her wouldn't be a deal breaker."

"Fuck you."

McKenzie just laughs.

"You and your partner need to know something, Cunniff, in case you don't already."

"And what might that be?"

"Things aren't always what they seem."