Bad Business by Anthony Bruno Page A

seem to bother me a lot more. I’m trying my damnedest to avoid the stereotype. You know, the woman who grins and bears it during the courtship, all the while thinking she’s going to change her man once they’re married. But he doesn’t make it easy.”
    â€œWhat eccentricities? Gibbons has been my partner for eleven years; I’ve never noticed anything that eccentric about him. I mean, he’s a pain in the ass, and he can be a mean son of a bitch—and very sarcastic to boot—but other than that he’s the salt of the earth.” Tozzi was grinning, waiting for her reaction.
    â€œWell, he can be the salt of the earth occasionally. But there are just some things he does . . .” She pressed her lips together and shook her fist. “I’d like to brain him sometimes.”
    â€œMe too. Like today. He was in a foul mood all day, bit my head off every time I turned around. And just because he saw this guy in court he can’t stand, a guy who used to be an agent with us.”
    Lorraine’s eyes narrowed. “What’s his name?”
    â€œJimmy McCleery.”
    Lorraine closed her eyes and winced. “That explains why he was such a bear last night. Oh, God.” Her eyes suddenly snapped open and she snatched a green Christmas tree from the cookie tin. “Why am I eating these?”
    â€œYou know McCleery?”
    She looked at him for a moment as if she were debating whether she should tell him or not. “Yes,” she finally said, “I know him.”
    Tozzi set down his coffee cup. “How well do you know him?”
    She made a face. “Not that well. We had a few dates, that’s all.”
    Tozzi was shocked. “When was this?”
    â€œYears ago. Jimmy had just arrived at the Manhattan fieldoffice. At the time, Gibbons and I had just had a big fight, a serious fight. We said some pretty awful things to each other, and I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore if that was the way he felt. Neither of us was willing to back down, and so we stopped seeing each other. I eventually calmed down, and I wanted to make up with him, but you know Gibbons—everything is Iwo Jima with him. He wasn’t ready for a truce yet. I had just met Jimmy at a Christmas party. I saw right away that he was the type Gibbons loathed, so to goad him into coming to his senses, I jumped at the opportunity when Jimmy asked me to go out with him.”
    â€œYou went out with Jimmy McCleery? I can’t believe this.”
    â€œIt never went very far, Michael. It was just two or three dates, I can’t even remember. Nothing happened. I told you, I just did it to make Gibbons jealous. And it must’ve worked. We made up pretty soon after that. It was Valentine’s Day. I remember it very well. He brought me roses.”
    â€œGibbons bought roses?”
    Lorraine raised the cup to her lips but didn’t drink. “He isn’t on the job all the time, you know. Gibbons does have a soft side. It may be buried deep inside him, but it’s there.”
    â€œYeah, like the center of a Tootsie Pop.”
    Lorraine frowned sternly. “I don’t appreciate the sarcasm. I get enough of it at home.”
    â€œI’m sure you do.”
    Lorraine ignored him and rummaged through the cookie tin again. More nervous eating.
    â€œTell me the truth, Lorraine. You really went out with Jimmy McCleery? I just don’t see it. I mean, he’s so—I don’t know—so full of shit.”
    â€œBut he has a beautiful voice. And a real passion for Irish literature. I remember he quoted Yeats on one of our dates. ‘Leda and the Swan.’ He even recited passages from Molly Bloom’s monologue in Ulysses , verbatim. He was quite mesmerizing.”
    Tozzi sipped his coffee and nodded. Sounds like a real fun date .
    â€œJimmy McCleery is a very sweet person. He’s not Gibbons, but he’s sweet.”
    Tozzi