Among Thieves

“Where do those lead?” Kozlowski asked Devon.

“The door goes to the kitchen,” he said. “The hallway goes to the bedrooms and a bathroom.”

“How many bedrooms?”

“Two.”

“Anything else back there?”

“A closet, but that’s it.”

Kozlowski held his gun at the ready, with two hands, pointed at the ceiling. He moved across the living room to the hallway. For such a large man, it was amazing the way he could travel without any sound, Fi

Fi

Kozlowski disappeared down the hallway. It seemed as if he was gone for a long time, though it was probably only a minute or so. He came back out and shook his head. “Nothing,” he said. He motioned toward the kitchen door and gave a signal for Fi

Fi

The kitchen was small, little more than a galley, and Kozlowski was standing in the middle of it, making it difficult to see. Moving to the side, though, Fi

The refrigerator door was standing open, and there was food on the counter. Flies buzzed around a smorgasbord of hamburger meat and ham that had been left out.

“That fuckin’ bitch,” Devon said. He moved around Kozlowski to get a better look. “Fuckin’ Shelly. She did this on purpose.”

“Probably,” Fi

Kozlowski opened a window. “It can be cleaned.”

“I know, but still,” Devon said.

“You left her with your mess for a couple of days,” Fi

“Fuck,” Devon said.

“You’ve got bigger problems than this,” Kozlowski pointed out. That brought them all back to reality.

“The money,” Fi

Devon pulled some paper towels off a roll on the counter and swept some of the mess into a nearby garbage can. “This is fucked up,” he said, holding his head away from the smell.

“I’m serious, Devon,” Fi

Devon threw the paper towel into the garbage can. “You’re a bloodless shit,” he said. “You wait here. I’ll be right back. It’s in back.”

Fi

“I swear to God, it’s in back,” Devon said. “I just don’t want you to see where.”

“That’s too bad,” Fi

“Fine,” Devon said at last. “Knock yourself out.” He walked out of the kitchen and around into the hallway. As Fi

Devon walked halfway down the hallway and then turned into the bathroom. Fi

Devon stood on the edge of the tub and reached up to what looked like a vent in the ceiling. He pushed the vent cover up gently, then slid it to the side. Reaching into the opening in the ceiling, he withdrew a sack. He held the sack in front of his body, away from Fi

He stepped down off the tub and walked back out into the hallway. Holding out his hands, he said, “There’s thirty-five thousand there.” Fi

Fi

“You stupid, lying motherfucker,” Fi

“What? Count it, it’s real!”

“I don’t give a shit about the money, you stupid asshole.” Fi

“What do you mean?” Devon ’s voice was cracking, and he looked confused as he tried to wrestle away. Fi

“Where are the paintings, Devon?”

Devon ’s confusion morphed to panic. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Still holding on to Devon ’s neck, Fi

Devon jackknifed on the hallway floor in front of Fi

“Cut the shit, Devon, or I’ll turn this over to Koz here. He was a cop for twenty-five years; you don’t think he’s got some experience getting people like you to talk?” He knelt down, putting his face right up next to Devon ’s. “We know you were the one who offered to sell the paintings. You gave potential buyers photographs and paint chips to prove the offer was real. That means you know where they are. Now you’re going to tell us.”

“Fuck you!” Devon yelled. “You don’t know shit!”

“I know that you live in a shithole roaches wouldn’t set foot in for all the fuckin’ mess. I know you haven’t been doing any steady work for Murphy or Ballick or anyone else for years. I know that you just reached into your ceiling and pulled out thirty-five thousand dollars without batting an eye, and if you’d had that kind of money for any amount of time, you wouldn’t be living here. And I know that the IRA paid someone one hundred thousand dollars for confirmation on the paintings. It doesn’t take a fuckin’ rocket scientist to put all this together, Devon. Are you really this stupid?”

Devon was still lying on the floor. It seemed as though the physical pain had subsided, but he looked utterly defeated.

“I also know that this Kilbranish out there has got your daughter, and he’s going to kill her if he doesn’t get these paintings. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“It means everything to me!” Devon yelled. “It’s the only goddamned thing I care about. I’m giving myself up. I’ll trade myself for her, and I’ll take the pain! Even death!”

Fi

“Fuck you,” Devon said. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Fi

“Where are the paintings, Devon?” Fi

Devon looked up at him. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he said.