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Fuck!

—Roman, let’s talk.

—Go ahead.

—I want out and I want to know if that is possible at this point. Can I be put in the clear?

—That would be pretty tough at this point.

—Tough, but possible?

He’s silent again. In the background I can hear traffic sounds. He must have stepped outside the precinct house.

—I’ve been watching the news. Did I mention that, Roman?

—No.

—Well, I have, and I have this theory. See, I think someone is connecting the dots. Connecting the bar to me to Yvonne to me to Russ to me and connecting all of it to you. I think you’re getting asked questions about what the fuck is going on. And I think pretty soon, your credibility is going to be shit and you’re gonna be needing that money to get lost with. So you better find a way to help me out before I decide to just keep it for myself.

—It will be difficult, but not impossible to get you in the clear.

—What will it take?

—Beyond the money, it will take just one more thing.

I close my eyes.

—What’s that?

—We’ll need a fall guy.

On the bed, Russ turns in his sleep and makes a little sighing noise.

—Yeah, I’ve got one of those.

Roman is so very happy to hear that Russ is back in town. We hack out the details. Roman gets the money. I get some semblance of my life. And the cat. Russ gets plugged into the frame that puts both me and Roman in the clear. I have questions.

—What if the rest of the cops don’t buy it?

—They will. Miner has a criminal record, he is the subject of an existing investigation and he’s already involved in this case up to his neck. Now listen: Unbeknownst to you, he left the key. When he came back to get the key, it had already been stolen from you by persons unknown. He did not believe your story and so began to hunt you across the city in order to get the key and, in the process, murdered your girl and instigated the slaughter at the bar.

—What happens when Russ denies it?

—He won’t.

I think about the implications of those two words.

—I don’t want him dead, Roman. I won’t give him to you just to kill him.

—Not to worry, we need Miner alive to confess. And confess he will. He’ll see that extended police custody allows him his best chance of survival. It will keep him in good stead with me and away from the brothers DuRanté.

—The brothers DuRanté?

—Ed and Paris, Ed and Paris DuRanté.

Great names. I have to give it to these guys: they all have great names.

—And what about Ed and Paris, what happens to them?

—The brothers are the subject of a national manhunt, they will soon be forced to flee the area. And if they are ever found by the police, they will go down in the hail of bullets that is waiting for them.

—What about me?

—You stay in hiding until the news breaks that Miner has been captured. At which point you turn yourself in and explain that you were hiding because you were confused and afraid. You turn yourself over to me and only me. I will then ease your passage through the criminal justice system with the aid of my good name and a considerable amount of cash. With luck, we’ll both be heroes. Just relax. Soon this will be over and they’ll make you into a movie of the week.

I’m not stupid. I don’t trust him.

—Henry?

—Don’t call me that.

—It’s your name, right?

—Don’t call me that. You want to use my name, you call me Hank.

—Very well. Hank, you must relax. It will all go fine if you do not panic. It’s not out of reach, Hank. Your old life, it’s not out of reach.

And with no other choice that I can see, I do it. I make the deal and I don’t panic. We set up a time and place to make the exchange. He wants me to bring the cash, I refuse and tell him he can have the key, but he’ll have to use it himself. He insists and I hang up the phone and let him wait a couple minutes before I call back. He agrees to accept Russ and the key. He tells me to stay hidden until after dark and he tells me to keep an eye on the news. I tell him to make sure that Bud is in one piece tonight and he says good-bye.

I hang up the phone and get some Advil from