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PART II
ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS

55

HE DRAGGED IN the door at seven a.m. and stumbled up the stairs, turning out lights all along the way. Marina was asleep and he was too tired and pissed off to care what she thought about how he smelled. He didn’t even bother to take his shirt and trousers off. He simply flopped on the bed and went to sleep. It was going on four o’clock by the time he awoke, hot, itchy in his clothes, and desperately needing a bath.

He didn’t smell bacon or biscuits or coffee, but he hadn’t expected to. Still reeling from the half bottle of gin he’d drunk while he and his boys were unloading the whisky, then shutting down the speak, he stumbled into the bathroom, ran a cold bath, and damn near dove into it. He relaxed back and closed his eyes.

“Good morning.”

He almost smiled but he was too tired. “Morn’.”

“I brought you some coffee and a sandwich.”

He waved a hand. “Could you set it on the stand there, Sugga? I do shorely appreciate it.”

“Could you, um—first, could you … ”

She was standing in the threshold looking resolutely away from him and he resentfully grabbed a washcloth to cover his dick. “It won’t bite, you know.”

He saw her throat bob, but she entered the bathroom and, without looking at him, set his sandwich and coffee on the little table by the bathtub.

“Why were you so late?” she asked hesitantly. “I was worried something bad happened to you.”

“Had to run up to Chouteau City—” His lip curled. “—to get my Remus.”

Silence. Then, “What time did the— What did you call it? The slip you sign?”

“Bill of lading.”

“Yes. What time did you get that?”

“’Bout one. Goddammit, can’t figure out the pattern of those deliveries and Chouteau City’s in the back of beyond and don’t know why I had to go all the way up there— Siddown, Sugga, this is gonna be a long slog.” She put the toilet seat down without hesitation and plopped her cute little ass down. Then he was off, ranting because there was someone to listen to him rant, although he didn’t rant about the thing he really needed to rant about, but he had no one to rant about that to, so he just ranted about what a shithole Chouteau City was and what a shitty thing to do, making him go all the way up there at one in the morning. She handed him the coffee, which he took with gratitude.

He sipped while he finished ranting about Chouteau City, then went into ranting about his girls.

“ … all-out war now. Made it so they can’t get a place they can afford and the places they can afford won’t let ’em do their jobs. The new girl I got, well, she brings in a lot of dough but she’s always high an’ she thinks that just ’cuz I’m easy to work for, I’m a pushover.”

“Well, don’t they … I mean, isn’t it good she’s … ” She huffed, slapping her hands on her knees. “No! I mean, doesn’t it make you want to … more? And so then she’d make more money?”

“Different dope, but yeah. I know she don’t get it from me, but junkies gonna eventually try to get it where they can and she’s gonna try to find my stock and steal it an’ then I’mma put her ass out. I don’t care if they have coke for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but they gotta be able to control it and her habit makes her get all arrogant about what she can and can’t get away with in my speak. When she’s not high, she’s just fine.”

“Oh.”

“My others keep their heads on straight an’ I need ’em back, but I’ll be damned if I do it on their terms an’ I don’t care I’m losing money. An’ on toppa all ’at, Solly Weissman’s making noises about how he’s gonna firebomb me. He won’t, ’cuz the speak’s almost as valuable to Boss Tom as it ever was, but it does make me nervous, if I’m bein’ honest. Cat’s got a grudge and he’s stupid. That’s dangerous. Carrollo, now, he’s a sharp cat, and he wouldn’t put it around if he wanted to do anything to me, so he’s even more dangerous than Solly.”

“So … if I … am indecent with you, your girls will come back and you’ll start making money again? It’ll make up for what you have to pay to Boss Tom?”

“Don’t take that as me wantin’ to be indecent with you just to get my girls back. They got no right to use what you and me do in bed as a bargainin’ chip and yeah, before you say anything else, no, I shouldn’t be spreadin’ our business all over town and I’m sorry for that. You do what you need to, askin’ Sister Albright for advice.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, which gutted him all over again because she was so grateful for every little thing he did for her, it was almost painful. With Marina, he knew there was one person in the world who would express appreciation for what he tried to do for her.

Shit, he wouldn’t care if she stopped making him bacon and biscuits every morning so long as he could watch her little face light up with delight if he so much as brought her a daisy he’d swiped out of the neighbor’s yard. Doing things for her was like blinking. He did it, he didn’t notice, and he couldn’t keep from doing it if he tried. She either didn’t know that or understand it.

He made a note to bring her some flowers.

Then he was silent.

“Um, I have an idea where to put the books, but … I’ll need you to hire a carpenter.”

“Oh, yeah? Let’s hear it.”

“Well!” she said brightly. He opened one eye to see her excited expression, although she was staring at the wall in front of her, not at him. “You know the folks who just moved in down the street? The Hilliards? Ollie and Leona? They have a nifty swing in their back yard. It’s not a seat, though. It’s a whole bed! Leona’s from Georgia and she grew up with a sleeping porch. Anyway, their house doesn’t have one, so they sleep in their swing bed at night. They have mosquito netting draped over it like a tent.”

Trey thought that was a mighty fine idea and said so. Her face got even brighter and she actually glanced at him.

“But what’s that got to do with the books?” In her growing excitement, she looked at him without embarrassment. In fact, he didn’t think she even remembered he was naked.

“I thought we could make it so it’s a box instead of just a board. And then there would be a door somewhere to put the ledger.”

Trey blinked. It was a good idea except … “What about the weather?”

“We can wrap the ledger in oilcloth. Or we can put a rubber sheet under the mattress. Or both. But also we would cover the swing itself in oilcloth like a teepee and only take it off to sleep. Then I would put it back on when I make it in the morning. Even if somebody knew the ledger was there, they couldn’t get to it while we were sleeping in it. And an oilcloth is perfectly commonsensical over a bed against the rain, so no one would be suspicious anyway.”

“Goddamn,” he whispered, completely in awe.

She flushed prettily and looked away, embarrassed but pleased.

“I guess you like it?” she whispered.

“Love it.”

“I drew it out.”

“We can put the cash in there too.”

“I think it would be better to put it in Bon Ami cans.”

Trey’s eyebrows rose.

“I thought about the flour, but it took me a while to figure out they may think to look there. I don’t think anyone would think to look in the cleaning cupboard. Father wouldn’t even know where to look for the Bon Ami even if he thought of it, which he wouldn’t. Men don’t do that.”

He paused. “Yanno, Marina,” he said slowly, thinking about Flo, “we got our problems—”

“Problem. One.”

“Right. Well, if I believed there was a god who cared, I might start thinking he knew what he was doing when he put us together.”

She nodded, but with some doubt.

“Look, I’d’a married you first if it hadn’t been a condition of the bet and I am truly sorry for what I put you through.”

Her gaze flickered to him. “I only wanted a beau for a little while,” she said softly. “I never thought about having a husband, so I was scared about Dot going to college, but … now I’m not.”

Trey’s heart turned over. “What are you sayin’, Sugga?”

“I’m glad I won’t be alone when she leaves.”

55

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