Hardball

10

I HAD HOPED THAT WHEN I LEFT THE PUBLIC DEFENDER’S Office, I had also left Joh

I tracked down Joh

The lawyer’s name was Greg Yeoman, with an office on Fifty-fifth Street. So Joh

I drafted a letter to Joh

I was finally packing up for the day when the outer bell rang. I saw my cousin on the video monitor and walked outside to meet her. Elton Grainger was there, too, offering Petra a copy of Streetwise.

“Vic, you saved my life.” He gave an elaborate bow and kissed my fingertips. He was graceful on his feet but smelled of sweet wine.

“You did?” Petra’s face lit up. Perhaps she pictured me stepping in front of a sniper, or some other exciting scene from Burn Notice.

“I didn’t haul him from a burning building or a sinking ship,” I said drily. “He passed out in front of me, and I got him to a hospital.”

“I lost consciousness,” Elton corrected me. “It’s my heart. The doctors said I could have died without medical attention.”

“The doctors also said you could die if you don’t stop drinking, Elton. And I saw Pastor Le

“But I already got my own crib. It’s private, and it’s a damned sight safer and cleaner than those shelters. And after lying in a tu

He turned to Petra. “You ever been in a shelter? ’Course not. Young girl like you, you got your parents to look after you, like I shoulda done with my own girl, but what with one thing and another, I let her down.”

He squeezed his eyes shut briefly, hiding a drunken tear, while Petra shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. Elton offered Streetwise to a couple of passing joggers, then looked at Petra again.

“Trouble with shelters, they rob you blind. You go to sleep for one second, and they steal the shoes off your feet. When you’re homeless, your shoes are your best friend. You walk an awful lot and you need good soles under your soles, if you get my drift.”

“Where’s your crib, Elton?” I asked.

“It’s private. I start telling the world, and it won’t be private anymore.”

“I’m not going to give it away to anyone, not even the pastor. But if I don’t see you for a number of days, then I’ll want to know where to look for you, see if you need a doctor again.”

He looked up and down the street. “It ain’t that easy to find, which is why it’s such a good place, but it’s over by the river. You get off Honore, and then there’s a path. And then there’s this shack, hidden way out of the way under the train embankment. Now, don’t you go telling no one, Vic. Not your daughter, neither.”

Petra giggled. “She’s not my mother; we’re just cousins. But, Scout’s honor, I won’t say anything.”

I gave Elton a dollar and took a paper. “I’m coming back in ten minutes with a sandwich for you.”

“Ham on rye, mayo, mustard, no tomatoes, and I’d be real grateful, Vic.” He danced across the street on his light feet to a coffee shop, where people were sitting at outdoor tables.

“What are you doing here?” I asked Petra. “Lock yourself out again?”

“I saw your car was still in the lot when I was driving home and I hoped you’d let me use your computer for a little bit. Just, like, half an hour, maybe, while you get him his sandwich.”

“They shut down the Net at the Krumas campaign?”

“No, but I want to catch up on my own stuff, and the wireless signal I’ve been using in my building disappeared today.”

“You’ve been stealing someone else’s signal?”

“It’s not stealing when it’s just out there,” she said hotly.

I was too tired to argue the point, and, anyway, I didn’t really care. I showed her the code to get into the building and made sure I hadn’t left any confidential papers lying on my desk.

“Try to remember to turn out the lights when you leave, okay? The outer door will lock automatically behind you, so don’t worry about that.”

She gave me her biggest, brightest smile and a warm thank-you. “Did you really save that guy, Elton, is it? Did you really save his life?”

I felt embarrassed. “Maybe-I don’t know-I got him to a hospital, but he might have recovered on his own. The alcohol doesn’t help. He’s a Vietnam vet, which I only learned when I picked him off the sidewalk last week. War sure messes with people’s minds.”

“I know. PTSD: we studied it in psych.”

“Brian got a plan for them?”

Petra nodded solemnly, feeling responsible for her candidate. “Of course he does. He ought to be president-after Barack Obama finishes, I mean-but if we get him into the Senate, he’ll do everything he can for people like Elton.”

Something about her youth, her solemnity, her faith in Brian Krumas, made me nostalgic for my own youth. I gave her a quick hug and went off to buy Elton’s sandwich.

The next morning I started my dance with Joh

“I’m not paying for the privilege of talking to Joh

“Yes, Ms. Detective, but that kind of work costs money. If you want to see Joh

Ah yes, becoming friends. A Chicago euphemism for bribe.

“After all, the Anacondas still have a street presence, and you wouldn’t want word to get out that you were threatening Merton,” Yeoman added.

“But if it does, I’ll know where to come for help, is that it?” I smiled sweetly.

He gave the satisfied smile of a man who sees that the little woman understands how powerless she is. “If Joh

“Then we’ll hope it doesn’t come to that. Of course, Lamont Gadsden was close to Joh

Yeoman gave me a look that made me glad I was standing near the exit, but he said there was no need to be so very literal-minded, he’d talk to Joh