Blossom - Andrew H. Vachss [33]
When I got downstairs it looked the same. Except for a canvas sack suspended from a beam in the ceiling by a short length of towing chain. I tapped the bag—it was stuffed with something. I looked a question at Virgil.
"Heavy bag," he said. "Best I could do. Lloyd, he's one angry young pup. I figured, let him pound on it awhile, work some of that stuff out. Like we used to do inside."
"Good idea. He know how to do it?"
"He don't have a clue. Figured maybe you'd show him a few things, give him something to work on while he's down here."
The kid was sitting on his cot, watching me in the faint light. "Would you?" he asked.
"Sure. But first, we got to talk." His face fell. "All of us talk," I said. The kid brightened up at that.
I sat down, lit a smoke. "First of all, we got to get us some breathing room. The cops still want you guys—we got to make that right."
"Roll on in?" Virgil asked. Ready for it, if that's what it had to be.
"I think so. The detective, the one who came to your house . the one who scammed you into waiting till his partner came up with a search warrant…?"
"Sherwood, he said his name was. Don't know if it was first or last. Sherwood."
"How'd he strike you?"
Virgil gave it some thought, rolling it around in his mind. Knowing this wasn't casual conversation to kill time. Doing time teaches you the difference.
"Smart."
"Straight?"
"Yeah, I think so. There's all kindsa dope money in Gary. I heard something about him. He was up there, got in some beef with the bosses about shaking down crack houses. But the way I heard it, he was just too rough on the dealers, not grafting."
"You got a lawyer? For Lloyd?"
"Yeah. Bart Bostick. I got his name from one of the guys I play with in Chicago."
"You talk to him since you went to ground?"
"No."
I dragged on my cigarette, thinking. "I can contact him easy enough. Give him some references. We need someone to go in the middle for us. Make a come–in deal with a walk–away in front, okay? You and Lloyd surrender, they got to cut you loose even if they hold Lloyd."
"Let 'em hold me."
"It won't fly, Virgil. You're on a minor league thing and they know it. Besides, I need you out on the street. I don't know my way around out here."
"You already did your part, brother. You did what I needed you for. Lloyd, he didn't do this thing. That's enough for me. His family, we'll take it from here."
"What good is that? You know Lloyd didn't do it. Me too. So what? So he goes to jail and you all wait for him. Keep enough money on the books for him to stay in smokes? There's going to be a trial. They don't have much, but maybe they got enough. Lloyd's got no alibi and he looks good enough. Maybe not good, but good enough, you understand? They want a sniper, big time. He wouldn't be the first man to go down for something he didn't do."
"What's left?"
"Lloyd didn't do it, somebody did. There's a sniper–rapist out there."
"You could find him?"
"Remember what you called me for. I don't know who he is, Virgil, but I know what he is."
"It's not yours." The kid spoke up. "Like Uncle Virgil said, it's family. I'm family. I didn't do it. But I've been talking to Uncle Virgil. I know what it takes. I won't disgrace my people—I done enough of that already."
"Who asked you?"
"Mr. Burke." The kid's voice was steady now. Not deeper, but stronger. Growing into his lines. "I don't mean no disrespect. I know what you did for me. Like Uncle Virgil promised me—you'd find the truth…make it come out. My part's now…I'll go to trial. Stand up. Like I'm supposed to."
"Yeah. You want to go to jail, Lloyd? Make it right? Your uncle Virgil ever tell you how he came to do time?"
"Burke!"
"Hey, let me tell him, Virgil. You been pushing the truth like it's cocaine. You got the boy high on it."
"Whatever I did, it's long dead. It's the past—this is now."
"What you did, you didn't have choices at the time, right? The way you saw it? We got some choices now. More cards to