Manhattan Is My Beat

She used me! Emily. The bitch used me. She knew all along where Symington was and got me out there to make it look like I killed him.

And, hell, my fingerprints're all over the place!

Primary suspect…

Tony snatched the newspaper away from her. "You can pick up your check on Monday."

"Please, Tony," she said. "I need money now. Can't I get cash?"

"No fucking way."

"I've got to get out of town."

"Monday," he said. Returned to his paper.

"Look, I've got a check for fifteen hundred bucks. Give me a thousand and I'll sign it over to you."

"Yeah, like you've got a check that's going to clear. I'm sure."

"Tony! It's payable to cash. From a law firm."

"Out."

Frankie Greek stuck his head out of the storeroom and said, "Hey, Rune, like, you got a couple calls. This cop, Manelli. And that U.S. marshal guy. Dixon. Oh, and Stephanie too."

Tony barked, "But don't call 'em from here. Use the pay phone outside."

Stephanie! Rune thought. If they'd been following me, they've seen me with her.

Oh, Jesus Mary, she's in danger too.

She ran back to the counter and swept the phone off the cradle. Tony started to say something but then seemed to decide that it wasn't worth fighting the battle; after all, he'd won the war. He turned on his worn heel and retreated to the other counter, carrying the newspaper.

Stephanie's groggy voice finally answered.

"Rune! Where've you been? You missed work last night. Tony's really pissed-"

"Steph, listen to me." Her voice was raw. "They murdered that man I was trying to find, Symington, they're trying to make it look like I did it."

"What?"

"And they tried to kill me!"

"Who?"

"I don't know. They work for the Mafia or something. I think they might've seen you too."

"Rune, are you making this up? Is this one of your fantasies?"

"No! I'm serious."

Several customers glanced at her. She felt a shiver of fear. She cupped her hand over the receiver and lowered her voice. "Look on the front page of the Post. The story's there."

"You have to call the police."

"I can't. My fingerprints're all over the house where Symington got killed. I'm a suspect."

"Jesus, Rune. What a mess."

"I'm going back to Ohio."

"When? Now?"

"As soon as I can get some money. Tony won't pay me."

"Prick," Stephanie spat out. "I can lend you some."

"I can give you a check for fifteen hundred."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, it's payable to cash. You can have it. But, listen, you have to come with me!"

"Come with you?" Stephanie asked. "Where?"

"To Ohio."

"No way. I've got an audition next week."

"Stephanie…"

"I'll get you a couple of hundred. I'll stop at the bank. Where'll you be?"

"How 'bout Union Square Park? The subway entrance, southeast side."

"Okay. Good. A half hour."

"Is it safe?" Stephanie asked cautiously.

"Pretty safe."

A pause. "I don't want to get beat up or anything. I bruise real easy. And I can't be bruised for my audition."

As she stepped into the street, Rune heard the man's voice right beside her.

"You're a hard person to find."

Panicked, Rune spun around.

Richard was leaning on a parking meter. The yuppie in him had been exorcized; Mr. Downtown was back. He wore boots, black jeans, and a black T-shirt. He also wore a gold hoop in his ear. She noticed that it was a clip-on. He looked tired.

"You have," he continued, "as FDR said, a passion for anonymity. I called you at the store a couple of times. I was worried about you."

"I haven't been in for a while."

"There was this party last night. I thought you might want to go."

"You didn't ask… what's her name? Cathy the Amazon?"

"Karen." He held on to the parking meter and spiraled around it slowly. "We've only had di

"That's your business. I don't care."

"Don't act so possessive."

"How can I be acting possessive if I tell you I don't care what you do with Cathy/Karen?"

"What's wrong?" He was frowning. Following her eyes to the short, dark-complected man with curly hair standing two doors away. His back was to them.

Rune inhaled with a frightened hiss. The man turned and walked past them. It wasn't Pretty Boy.

She turned back to Richard, trying to focus on him, though what she was seeing was the stupid grin of the plaster statue of Dopey or Sneezy as it disintegrated under the shotgun blast. The gun had been astonishingly loud. Sounded more like a bomb going off.

Richard took her by the shoulders. "Rune, aren't you listening to me? What's wrong?"

She backed away, eyes narrowing slowly. "Leave me alone."

"What?"

"Stay away from me. Do you want to get hurt? I'm poison. Stay away."

"What are you talking about?" He reached out and took her hand.

"No, no!" she shouted. The tears started. She hesitated, then hugged him. "Get away from me!

Forget about me! Forget you ever met me!"

She turned and ran through the crowds of Greenwich Village toward Union Square.

Waiting under the art-deco steel entrance to the subway, Rune slouched against the cool tile.

She absently watched a crane, a lopsided T-shaped structure rising above an enormous new housing project on Union Square. It's just a crane, she told herself. That's all it was. Not a tool of the gods, not a huge skeleton of a magic animal. What she. saw was just a construction crane. Moving slowly, under the control of a faceless union worker, lifting steel reinforcing rods for workmen in dusty jeans and jackets to install.

Magic… hell.

She thought again about calling Manelli or Dixon.

But why should they believe her? There was probably an all-points bulletin out on her already, just like there'd been for Roy the cop after he'd stolen the loot in Manhattan Is My Beat. At least she'd had the foresight to get rid of some of the evidence: When she'd stopped by her loft to pick up the check, she'd realized she still had Spinello's accordion envelope and thrown it into the trash. If the cops found her with that, it'd be a sure conviction.

No, she'd leave town, leave the Side, leave the Magic Kingdom. Go back home. Get a job. Go to school.

Well, it was damn well about time.

Time to grow up. Forget quests…

She saw Stephanie, her reddish hair glowing in the afternoon sun as she walked through the park. They waved at each other. It seemed ridiculously i

Rune looked around, saw no one suspicious-well, no one more suspicious than you'd normally see in Union Square Park-then joined Stephanie.

"You're hurt." The woman glanced at her forehead, where Rune had been cut by a piece of glass or plaster.

"It's okay."

"What happened?"

Rune told her.

"God! You have to go to the police. You can talk to them. Tell them what happened."

"Yeah, right. They can place me at two different crime scenes. I'm the number one suspect."

"But won't the cops find you in Ohio?"

She gave a faint smile. "They might-if they knew my real name. Which they don't."

Stephanie smiled back. "True. Oh, here." She handed

Rune a wad of bills. "It's about three hundred. That enough?"

Rune hugged her. "I don't know what to say." She gave Stephanie the check.

"No, no, this is too much."

"Little Red Hen, remember? I just need enough to get home on. You keep the rest. Tony'll probably fire you too. Just for helping me."