Gin Palace 01 - The Poisoned Rose

other to witness. You’ll be working with this gentleman here. Understand so far?”
    The giant moved out of the darkness completely now and stepped toward the desk. I could see him clearly. His eyes were fixed on me, his disapproval obvious. He wore his brown hair in a severe military buzz cut, and there were flecks of white around his temples that made him look as if he had just come in out of a snowfall. He was, like Frank, in his mid-fifties, but unlike Frank he looked less well-tended, less groomed. A different kind of life from Frank’s had left its mark on this man.
    “He’ll get you started, Mac, show you how things go, what I expect from the men who work for me. Just follow his lead. He’s the best, end of story.”
    The giant and I were dressed alike, in jeans and sweatshirts and work boots. Beyond that we were as different as two people got.
    “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather work alone,” I said.
    The giant took another step forward. “I can do this better without him tagging along,” he said. “Playing nurse maid will only slow me down.”
    “Sorry, gentlemen. This is the way it has to be. My client is part of a very prominent family. There’s no room for error here.”
    In Frank’s book every family with money and property south of Sunrise Highway was a prominent family. Every job was an opportunity for him to grab at just a little more power. This and this alone was all that mattered to Frank Gannon.
    “I didn’t sign on to baby-sit, Frank,” the giant said.
    “Look, I need someone to show him the ropes, that’s all there is to it. And anyway, if it isn’t him with you tonight, then it’s going to be someone else. I want two men on this. I want it to go right.”
    “Then anyone but him.”
    “I need you to do this for me. Okay?”
    Neither the giant nor I said anything more. I glanced at him. His eyes were hard but I didn’t really care.
    Frank took the silence as compliance and said, “The upstart works at a bar in Sag Harbor. On slow nights he usually cuts out around eleven. Traditionally tonight’s a slow night. You’ll meet up here at ten and ride out together. Like I said, it’s easy money tonight. If all goes well, you should be done before one. Any questions?”
    I had only one. I had asked it already but didn’t get a real answer.
    “What exactly is the message we’re supposed to send?”
    “It’s a simple directive. No threats, just a reminder that he is breaking his word. Augie here will do the talking. Watch his back and pay attention, that’s all you have to do.”
    I glanced at the giant, the man Frank called Augie, then back at Frank. The rain picked up again and sounded like something brittle breaking into pieces against the front window.
    “I guess I should introduce you two,” Frank said. He smiled then. “Mac, this is Augie. Augie, this is Mac.”
    That afternoon I shaved and showered, then stretched out on my couch and fell asleep to the sound of the rain. I slept for a few hours, and when I woke up I was thinking about having a drink. But I just sat still and didn’t do anything about it. It was easy to do this sometimes, but not always. I was able to do it now, though, no problem, if only because it seemed the fewer moves I made, the better.
    I waited quietly till it was time to go, then grabbed my jacket and left.
    It was still raining hard and my head was soaked by the time I got into Augie’s truck. The heat was on, though, so I knew I’d eventually dry out. Together he and I rode in silence toward Sag Harbor. It was a twenty-minute drive from Southampton. Once there we parked across from the Sag Harbor Cinema, in sight of the bar in which the kid worked, and waited.
    We were down maybe fifty feet from the corner of Main Street and Washington Avenue, parked with the nose of the truck toward the curb. The red, blue, and white lights from the neon movie theater marquee bled into the rain-swept street, and farther down the road, where it wasn’t touched by the colored lights, the pavement shimmered under the dark sky like a long, taut banner of black silk.
    We sat without speaking and listened to the rain drum the steel roof over our heads. It made enough of a racket to distract me from the tangible tension between us. I didn’t really want anything to do with this man. And I knew he wanted nothing to do with me. I just focused on getting through the job and hoped that he and I would never have to work together again.
    Augie was