5432852385743

I mean.”
“Would it have to be killing? Couldn’t you just . . . I don’t know . . . frame him for something?”
“Maybe, but by then I was sick. I don’t know if I could have done it even if I was well. On the
whole it seemed simpler to just end him, once I was sure. Like swatting a wasp before it can sting
you.”
I was quiet, thinking. The clock on the wall said ten-thirty. Al had opened the conversation by
saying he’d be good to go until midnight, but I only had to look at him to know that had been wildly
optimistic.
I took his glass and mine out to the kitchen, rinsed them, and put them in the dish drainer. It felt
like there was a tornado funnel behind my forehead. Instead of cows and fenceposts and scraps of
paper, what it was sucking up and spinning around were names: Lee Oswald, Bobby Oswald, Marina
Oswald, Edwin Walker, Fred Hampton, Patty Hearst. There were bright acronyms in that whirl, too,
circling like chrome hood ornaments ripped off luxury cars: JFK, RFK, MLK, SLA. The cyclone even
had a sound, two Russian words spoken over and over again in a flat Southern drawl: pokhoda, cyka.
Walk, bitch.
5
“How long have I got to decide?” I asked.
“Not long. The diner goes at the end of the month. I talked to a lawyer about buying some more
time—tying them up in a suit, or something—but he wasn’t hopeful. Ever seen a sign in a furniture
store saying LOST OUR LEASE, EVERYTHING MUST GO?”
“Sure.”
“Nine cases out of ten that’s just sales-pitch bullshit, but this is the tenth case. And I’m not
talking about some discount dollar store bumping to get in, I’m talking about Bean’s, and when it
comes to Maine retail, L.L. Bean is the biggest ape in the jungle. Come July first, the diner’s gone like
Enron. But that isn’t the big thing. By July first, I might be gone. I could catch a cold and be dead of
pneumonia in three days. I could have a heart attack or a stroke. Or I could kill myself with these
damn OxyContin pills by accident. The visiting nurse who comes in asks me every day if I’m being
careful not to exceed the dosage, and I am careful, but I can see she’s still worried she’ll walk in some
morning and find me dead, probably because I got stoned and lost count. Plus the pills inhibit
respiration, and my lungs are shot. On top of all that, I’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Nobody loves a smartass, buddy—when you get to be my age, you’ll know. In any case, I want you
to take this as well as the notebook.” He held out a key. “It’s to the diner. If you should call me
tomorrow and hear from the nurse that I passed away in the night, you’ll have to move fast. Always
assuming you decide to move at all, that is.”
“Al, you’re not planning—”
“Just trying to be careful. Because this matters, Jake. As far as I’m concerned, it matters more than
anything else. If you ever wanted to change the world, this is your chance. Save Kennedy, save his
brother. Save Martin Luther King. Stop the race riots. Stop Vietnam, maybe.” He leaned forward.
“Get rid of one wretched waif, buddy, and you could save millions of lives.”
“It’s a hell of a sales pitch,” I said, “but I don’t need the key. When the sun comes up tomorrow,
you’ll still be on the big blue bus.”
“Ninety-five percent probability. But that’s not good enough. Take the goddam key.”
I took the goddam key and put it in my pocket. “I’ll let you get some rest.”