Dead Mans Hand

6:00 A.M.

Bre

"Good morning," Bre

"Just about."

"Need a shower," Je

"Sure." Bre

"All right." She stood and shed the sheet. "If you hurry, I'll soap your favorite parts."

Bre

The phone rang three times before it was picked up and an a

"This is Yeoman."

"Christ, do you know what time it is?"

"It's early," Bre

"All right, all right." Fadeout was obviously still a

"Do you know anything about a joker cop named Kant."

"Oh, him. Wyrm 's evil twin."

"What?"

"Nothing. A joke. They both look like they escaped from the reptile house. What do you want to know about him?"

"Is he honest?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say honest. He used to be one of E X. Black's boys. He did a little extracurricular arm twisting, but nothing really serious until lately. He's taken up with some foreign whore and been seen sampling the lessthan-legal delights at some of the kinkier nightclubs. Rumor has it he's been supplying her with drugs."

"Is this woman's name Ezili Rouge?"

"Something like that," Fadeout said. "What do you know about her?"

"Not much. Black, but light-ski

"Do you have an address?"

"No. Look around. She's hard to miss."

"I have."

"Well," Fadeout said, "I'm sorry I can't help. Tell you what, give me her phone number when you get it. I'd like to check her out myself."

"Sure. Do you have anything else for me?"

"I turned up something on that Morkle guy through our union co

"What about him?"

"Well, no one will say anything concrete, you understand, but there are whispers that he did an important job for Kien a couple of days ago, a job that no one else would handle." And, after a few moments of silence, Fadeout said, "Hello, you still there? Hello?".

"Yes."

"Oh. Okay. If you want to discuss things with him personally, he'll be at Lin's Curio Emporium later this morning, about eleven or so."

"The Chinese art shop on Mulberry?"

"That's right. You've heard of it?"

Bre

"I'll be in touch," Bre

The small shower stall was crowded when Bre

Tension and frustration swirled down the drain with the sweat and grime that had layered his body. First he'd run down the mysterious Doug Morkle, then Wyrm. But now it was just him and Je

"It's fine if you carry on your garment bag," the woman behind the Delta ticket counter told Jay, "but I'm afraid that your animal will have to be checked."

"Yeah, sure," Jay said wearily. He lifted the cat carrier onto the luggage scale, too tired to argue. He'd been up half the night finding the damn thing.

The Delta agent stapled a claim check onto his ticket envelope and handed it across the counter. "Here you are," she said. "Nonsmoking window. The flight is already boarding."

"Thanks," Jay said. He watched as she fixed a luggage tag to the handle of the gray plastic box and shifted it to the moving belt behind her. Jay had carefully lined the interior with old newspaper so nobody could see through the air holes. There didn't seem any point in waving good-bye. When the cat carrier had vanished into the depths of La Guardia, Jay headed down the concourse toward his gate. Even at this hour of the morning, the airport was crowded, and he had to stand in line at security. A large sign by the X-ray machine warned that guns and bombs were no joking matter; Jay decided they wouldn't be amused if he mentioned that he had dynamite in his garment bag.

The flight, scheduled for 6:55, departed forty-five minutes late. Jay slept all the way to Atlanta.

9:00 A.M.

The Fulton Street docks and the fish-rendering plants and warehouses surrounding them were swarming with activity in which a man could hide out through doomsday.

"Did Fadeout say what this Morkle looks like?" Je

"Just that he's a heavy-equipment operator." Bre

"Let's give it a try."

They searched the docks for an hour before a man with a blue knit cap, a drooping mustache, and tattooed biceps as big as softballs nodded when Bre

"Morkle? Yeah, I think I know him. Strange fellow. He works down on Wharf 47."

"Would he be there now?"

The longshoreman shrugged. "Could be. I think he usually works the night shift."

"Thanks," Bre

"Can't miss him. He's the guy without the forklift."

"Without the forklift," Bre

The ship unloading at Wharf 47 was larger than most. A steady stream of large wooden boxes was wending its way down the gangplank and heading to the processing stations and market stalls bordering the docks. The stevedore had been right. Doug Morkle was easy to spot.

He was five feet tall and almost as broad, with an immense chest and short, thick limbs. His face, Bre

He was carrying one of the huge crates without strain, balancing it with one hand atop his head. In that posture he resembled photographs Bre

"Doug Morkle?" Bre

The man glanced at him, kept walking.

"No. My name is Doug Morkle," he grunted, the weight of his load making it difficult to speak clearly.

"Ah, yes. Your name's not Morkle?"

"No. It's Morkle. Morkle."

Bre