Last to die

“But you said it yourself at the begi

“Sometimes I do get tired of it.”

“It’s like my friend Theo always says. There’s two kinds of people in this world, risk takers and-” He stopped himself. Risk takers and shit takers sounded okay when belting back beers with Theo, but it seemed a little crude here. “And not risk takers,” he said, grimacing at the lack of poetry in his improvisation. “Anyway, you know what I’m saying.”

“Yes. But I’m Nate’s mother. I have to be careful about the risks I take.”

“I can’t disagree with that.”

“Then you understand?”

“I do. And I don’t. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I wasn’t expecting to have such a great time with you tonight.”

“It’s complicated, I know.”

“Until things went sour on your front porch, I was actually starting to think you had the right idea. I’ve been fixed up with two women since my divorce. Both had middle-schoolers who frankly scared the hell out of me. If I’m going to be dating single moms, why not date the one with the world’s greatest kid?”

“There’s definitely two sides to this, but-”

“But now you think my first instinct was right. Leave it to a couple of advocates,” he said, scoffing. “We’ve persuaded each other to reverse roles.”

“Look, we’re not going to resolve this tonight. Maybe it’s a good thing you’re going to Africa. It gives us time to think.”

“Right. A little time is a good thing.”

“So we’re agreed? We just put things on hold for a while, go back to normal.”

Jack had the frustrating feeling that the right words were floating out there somewhere between them, but damned if he could find them. “Okay. Normal it is.”

“Thank you. Have a safe trip, okay?”

“I will.”

“Good night.”

“Good night.” He flipped the cell phone shut and sat on the step, alone. Already, he didn’t like the feeling of “normal.”

Thirty

The urinal in the men’s room was busted again, and two guys were busily gratifying each other in the only stall, so Theo took the back exit into the alley behind the club. He found a dark, suitable spot between two parked cars, only to find that someone had found the very same spot minutes before he had.

“Son of a bitch,” he said, stepping out of it.

He continued down the dark alley, though he was suddenly thinking more of his talk with Jack than his bursting bladder. He hadn’t exactly told his friend the whole story about why he was going to Africa. Sure, it would be fun, and even more sure, Jack could use a guy like Theo to keep him out of trouble. But Theo’s real agenda was much more personal. The police were zooming in on his brother as a suspect in Sally Fe

The alley was getting darker with each step he took, and Theo finally stopped and looked around. On either side were the unadorned backs of buildings-bars, drugstores, Laundromats. A half block ahead, the lights from Sixteenth Street were a big glowing dot in the darkness, like the light at the end of the proverbial tu

Theo sat on one side of the prison glass; his brother, Tatum, on the other. His brother seemed taken by his baldness.

“What happened to your hair, man?”

“It’s just what they do,” said Theo. The prison barber had already shaved his head and ankles so that there would be a smooth co

“Swyteck is starting to scare me,” said Tatum. “What the hell is taking him so long this time? He ain’t never let it go this far before.”

“He’s doing what he can. Sometimes you just run out of shit to throw against the wall.”

“Then get a new lawyer.”

“They don’t give out new lawyers the night before an execution.”

“But you need more time. I need more time.”

From the day of Theo’s sentencing, Tatum had vowed to track down every last member of the Grove Lords, threaten them, beat them, crack their skulls-whatever it took to find the one who had gone into that convenience store and really killed that cashier.

Theo said, “I appreciate all you done for me, but-”

“But nothin’. Don’t you start with that good-bye shit now.”

“We gotta face facts.”

“The facts is, you didn’t do it.”

“You think I’m the first i

“Sittin’ here is one thing. They can’t execute you, damn it.”

“They can, Tatum. And they will.”

Tatum checked the clock on the wall. “Where the hell is that lawyer of yours?”

“He’s supposed to call in about a half hour.”

“Good. I want to talk to him.”

“What for?”

“I need to know if this is really it.”

“We’ll know soon enough.”

“Don’t say that. Because if he’s out of ideas, I got one for him.”

“What?”

With a pen, he scribbled onto the notepad in front of him. Then he leaned closer to the glass and turned the notepad so that Theo could see it. It read, “Let’s just say I did it.”

Theo looked his brother in the eye. “Say what?”

“I’m shit compared to you,” he said, his voice shaking. “You got a brain in your head, man. You could be somebody. So let’s just say it was me who done it. We look a little alike. That eyewitness was pretty shaky. Maybe she got it wrong, coulda’ mixed us up, you know?”

“You would do this for me?”

“You’re my little brother, man. You and me-aw, shit, don’t make me say it. We’re all we got, you know?”

Theo felt a knot in his stomach, wishing he could break through the glass between them. “Thanks, bro’,” he said as he pressed his fist to the window. Tatum did the same from the other side, the prison handshake.

“What do you say?” asked Tatum.

“You’re awesome, totally. But even if I was go

“Damn you, stop sayin’ it’s too late.”

“It would never work anyway.”

“I’ll make it work,” he said, his anger rising. “I can make those bastards believe.”

Behind Theo a door opened, and the dull rumble of club noises rolled into the alley. He turned and saw a man step into the weak glow of a security light by the Dumpster.

“Jack?”

“I thought I saw you walk out this way. Your band’s gearing up for the next set.”

Theo started toward him and said, “Guess I lost track of time.”

“What are you doing out here?”

He put his arm around Jack’s shoulder and walked him to the door. “Just strollin’ down memory lane, buddy. And you really had to be there to know what a shitty place that is.”

“I was there, remember?”

“Absolutely. I remember everybody who was there. And I do mean everybody.”

They went back inside the club, the security bars clanging as the door closed behind them.