The Darkness - Jason Pinter [43]
city. If he was going to be a power broker, a master of the
universe, he had to live within the castle walls. But now
the powers that be were trying to evict him, trying to get
him to leave the grounds he so desperately wanted to
The Darkness
123
remain on. They'd taken his job, his livelihood, his dignity. It was up to him to figure out a way to stay.
So if Chester wanted to bullshit him about who he
was calling, that was fine. Morgan didn't need to know
everything. As long as the paychecks cleared, that's all
that mattered.
"We're almost there," Chester said. Morgan nodded,
looked out the window across the river.
Somewhere in the distance, he could hear fire trucks
screaming.
17
For at least a minute, I couldn't hear a thing. The ringing
in my ears pounded like I was being pummeled by a
hammer, and shutting my eyes and clasping my hands
over them didn't do a thing. A dozen of us had run to the
corner, under the scaffold of a construction site, to escape
the brick and ash that was dropping from the sky like
small mortar shells.
I looked up at the Park Avenue building, still shocked
to see the gaping hole where Brett Kaiser's apartment had
once been. Where just a moment ago I'd seen his blinds
close. Where just a moment ago I'd questioned the man
about his potentially illegal dealings with a company that
may or may not have been responsible for the death of
my brother.
Where a man and his wife once resided. Where at least
one of them was now dead.
As the world slowly came back into focus, I could hear
the sirens of police cars and fire trucks speeding to the
scene. Onlookers stared at the building with masks of
horror. Mouths open wide, hands covering them, tears
streaming down their faces.
Then I saw Donald, my new good friend, standing
The Darkness
125
across the street, his face covered in soot, his lower lip
trembling as he watched flames lick at the open space
where there used to be a window.
Dozens of people were pouring out of the building,
screams and cries when they saw the devastation above
them. Some people wondered whether it was a terrorist
attack, or another prop plane accidentally banking into a
residential building. I wasn't sure if the truth, that Brett
Kaiser had undoubtedly been murdered, would comfort
them or make it worse.
When the first cop car pulled up, four officers exited
and stood outside of the building looking up. One of them
was barking into a walkie-talkie. I watched a small piece
of gray ash float down and nestle itself on his brown
mustache. He didn't notice. The other cops looked at it
for a moment, then turned back to the burning building.
A fire truck pulled up, and immediately nearly a dozen
of New York's finest went to work hooking the hose up
to a hydrant in front of the building. As they did this, I
walked over to the cop car. When he noticed me coming,
one of the officers turned to me.
"Sir, we're going to have to ask you to step back. We
don't know how much damage there's been to the structure of the building."
"I understand that," I said, taking my wallet from my
back pocket. I slid my business card out and handed it to
him. "My name is Henry Parker, and I'm with the Gazette. "
He rolled his eyes and prepared to hand the card back
to me. "Mr. Parker, I--"
"I spoke with Mr. Kaiser. Just minutes before this happened. I don't know if I was the last person to speak with
him but...I thought someone should have this in case they
need to get in touch with me. If there are any questions."
126
Jason Pinter
The cop looked at my card, understanding. He nodded,
then slipped it into his uniform. "I'll give it to the lead
detective," he said.
"Thank you," I said. "And good luck."
He nodded, turning back to the gaping hole in the
brick building.
I walked a few blocks away, making sure I could hear
right again and was away from the commotion that would
surely envelop that area for the next few days. I took out my
phone and called Jack. He picked up on the second ring.
"Hey, Henry, good timing. Brett Kaiser left