the women! Pops, it was somethin' else. They wouldn't stop comin' over to our table! Offerin' the Doze their phone numbers, or bendin' over and pullin' the front of their dresses down so he could autograph their—"
"Never mind, Theodore," I said.
"Autograph their what? " Big Joe demanded.
"I said never mind," I told him.
He caught the fire in my eye and let the subject drop, but only after he and his son had exchanged a brief but purposeful nod, making a promise to each other I was not supposed to be sharp enough to pick upon: We'll talk later .
"So what you're saying is that you would have been better off going to all of his regular hangouts," I said to Bad Dog.
"Yes ma'am. Of course, he might've got just as jacked up goin' to his places as he did mine, but he probably wouldn't have done it so fast. 'Cause, see, you can get pretty wasted just payin' for half your drinks, bur when you don't have to pay for none of 'em. . ."
"We get the picture," Big Joe said.
"'What I don't understand is why you didn't intervene when you saw things getting our of hand," I said sternly.
"I didn't see things gettin' our of hand," Bad Dog replied, somewhat defensively.
"Why not? You were there, weren't you? You were watching him, weren't you?"
"Yes ma'am, I was watchin' him. But…"
"But what?"
"But I wasn't really seein' him. You know what I mean?"
"No.I don't." I turned to Big Joe. "Do you?"
My husband just looked at our son and said, "Tell your mother how many drinks you paid for that night, boy."
Of course, the answer was none.
"Lord, have mercy," I said.
"I hung with 'im for about three hours, then the lights went out," Bad Dog said. "By the time it occurred to me that maybe he was overdoin' it, man, I was too far gone to care. Last thing I remember, this brickhouse in a leather skirt was pullin' down the zipper on one side and askin' the Doze to write his phone number on her—"
"Don't you start that again," I said. "So you fell down on the job and let Dozer get smashed. The next day, he played a terrible game and got suspended from the team. Is that right?"
"Yes ma'am."
"And everyone blamed you for what happened."
"Yes."
"And that's why Dozer wants to kill you."
"Yes."
"Okay. So far, so good. That leaves us with only one unanswered question, doesn't it?"
"What's that?"
"How in the hell did he find you?" Big Joe asked, cutting in. "Way the hell out here at the Grand Canyon?"
Bad Dog bit his lip and tried not to meet my gaze directly, afraid to say another word.
"You didn't tell him you were coming here, did you?"
I asked, already certain that I knew the answer.
"Moms, I had to," Bad Dog said, his eyes pleading for forgiveness. "He was gonna destroy me! I had to say I was gonna do something to make things right for him again!"
"So you told him you were going to get his fine money from us. Is that what you're telling me?"
"And then square things away with him and Cubby, yeah."
"Then he knows all about your father and me. And Lucille."
"Lucille?"
"Our trailer home, Theodore," I said.
He shrugged. "Oh. Well… he doesn't know it by name , or anything, but—"
"Don't stop me this time, Dottie," Big Joe said abruptly, his face as red and luminous as a stoplight. "When I grab hold of the boy this time to break him in half, please don't stop me! "
I was tempted not to, but I did.
"Pops, I told you!" Bad Dog cried. "I didn't have any choice! He asked me how I was gonna come up with that kind of money, and I told 'im the only thing I could think of—that I was gonna come out here and get it from you. What else could I do?"
"You could've taken your lumps like a man and left your mother and me out of this whole mess. That's what you could've done!" Joe started to pace anxiously about the room, his hands going this way and that as he ranted and raved. "Took forty-seven park rangers to get that man in the back seat of a car, he rips the heads off quarterbacks like I pop the caps on catsup bottles, and who's he
"Never mind, Theodore," I said.
"Autograph their what? " Big Joe demanded.
"I said never mind," I told him.
He caught the fire in my eye and let the subject drop, but only after he and his son had exchanged a brief but purposeful nod, making a promise to each other I was not supposed to be sharp enough to pick upon: We'll talk later .
"So what you're saying is that you would have been better off going to all of his regular hangouts," I said to Bad Dog.
"Yes ma'am. Of course, he might've got just as jacked up goin' to his places as he did mine, but he probably wouldn't have done it so fast. 'Cause, see, you can get pretty wasted just payin' for half your drinks, bur when you don't have to pay for none of 'em. . ."
"We get the picture," Big Joe said.
"'What I don't understand is why you didn't intervene when you saw things getting our of hand," I said sternly.
"I didn't see things gettin' our of hand," Bad Dog replied, somewhat defensively.
"Why not? You were there, weren't you? You were watching him, weren't you?"
"Yes ma'am, I was watchin' him. But…"
"But what?"
"But I wasn't really seein' him. You know what I mean?"
"No.I don't." I turned to Big Joe. "Do you?"
My husband just looked at our son and said, "Tell your mother how many drinks you paid for that night, boy."
Of course, the answer was none.
"Lord, have mercy," I said.
"I hung with 'im for about three hours, then the lights went out," Bad Dog said. "By the time it occurred to me that maybe he was overdoin' it, man, I was too far gone to care. Last thing I remember, this brickhouse in a leather skirt was pullin' down the zipper on one side and askin' the Doze to write his phone number on her—"
"Don't you start that again," I said. "So you fell down on the job and let Dozer get smashed. The next day, he played a terrible game and got suspended from the team. Is that right?"
"Yes ma'am."
"And everyone blamed you for what happened."
"Yes."
"And that's why Dozer wants to kill you."
"Yes."
"Okay. So far, so good. That leaves us with only one unanswered question, doesn't it?"
"What's that?"
"How in the hell did he find you?" Big Joe asked, cutting in. "Way the hell out here at the Grand Canyon?"
Bad Dog bit his lip and tried not to meet my gaze directly, afraid to say another word.
"You didn't tell him you were coming here, did you?"
I asked, already certain that I knew the answer.
"Moms, I had to," Bad Dog said, his eyes pleading for forgiveness. "He was gonna destroy me! I had to say I was gonna do something to make things right for him again!"
"So you told him you were going to get his fine money from us. Is that what you're telling me?"
"And then square things away with him and Cubby, yeah."
"Then he knows all about your father and me. And Lucille."
"Lucille?"
"Our trailer home, Theodore," I said.
He shrugged. "Oh. Well… he doesn't know it by name , or anything, but—"
"Don't stop me this time, Dottie," Big Joe said abruptly, his face as red and luminous as a stoplight. "When I grab hold of the boy this time to break him in half, please don't stop me! "
I was tempted not to, but I did.
"Pops, I told you!" Bad Dog cried. "I didn't have any choice! He asked me how I was gonna come up with that kind of money, and I told 'im the only thing I could think of—that I was gonna come out here and get it from you. What else could I do?"
"You could've taken your lumps like a man and left your mother and me out of this whole mess. That's what you could've done!" Joe started to pace anxiously about the room, his hands going this way and that as he ranted and raved. "Took forty-seven park rangers to get that man in the back seat of a car, he rips the heads off quarterbacks like I pop the caps on catsup bottles, and who's he
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