interesting case."
"That's why I tried to call you, Hoke, to tell you my good news. Are you ready? I resigned today."
"Resigned from the department? You're shitting me."
"Not this time, Hoke. I told you before I've been writing letters around the state. Well, the chief of police in Sebring offered me a job as desk sergeant, and I took it."
"That means going back into uniform, doesn't it?"
"So what? I'll be out of Miami. When I typed up my resignation, I never felt better."
"What kind of salary goes with it?"
"Not much."
"How much? Sebring can't pay Miami's union scale."
"I know. It's only fourteen thousand, Hoke. I'm making thirty-one in Robbery, but the chief said there'd probably be another two thousand a year when the new Sebring budget comes out."
"Christ, Red, that's less than half of what you're making now."
"I know, and I don't give a shit. It doesn't cost as much to live in Sebring, and the chances are that I'll live a hell of a lot longer up there."
"There's nothing going on in Sebring. They have the race once a year, and that's it."
"I know. That's why I took the job. Last week, a kid in Overtown threw a brick through my window."
"You shouldn't drive your car in Overtown. You know that."
"It was a squad car, Hoke. I was down there with Nelson to pick up a fence. We never found him, either. But that brick was it. I'd been wavering, because of the money and all, but the next morning I called the chief in Sebring. He's a nice guy, too, Hoke. You'd like him. He's a retired detective from Newark. That's in New Jersey."
"I know where Newark is, for God's sake."
"Don't get pissed off, Hoke."
"I'm not pissed off, I'm just surprised, that's all. I know damned well you aren't going to like living in a little town like that. Why don't we meet some place and talk about it?"
"I can't, Hoke. I've got a lot of things to do and then I've got to meet Louise later when she gets off work."
"When are you leaving, Red? I'll see you before you go, won't I?"
"Oh, sure. I'll be in town for another week at least. If I can't sell my condo, I'll have to rent it out. But we'll get together. We'll tie one on to celebrate."
"Right. I'm here at the Dupont bar, if you can get away for a while before you pick up Louise."
"I can't, Hoke. Not tonight."
"Call me, then."
"I'll call you."
"I'm real happy for you, Red, if you think that's what you want."
"Thanks, Hoke. It's what I want."
"Call me."
"I will."
Hoke racked the phone, and the bartender put it beneath the bar again. "Another beer, sir?"
"Yeah. And a double shot of Early Times. I don't want any more of the stuff on this plate either. Can you dump it for me?"
Hoke took his shot of whiskey and fresh bottle of beer over to a table by the window. He really hated to see Red Farris leave the department. He was one of the few bachelor friends Hoke bad left. Red was almost always available to go out for a few drinks, or a little bottle pool, or to bowl a few lines. And Red Farris had saved his life, too. They had gone to pick up a wife-beater who was out on bail. The man's wife had died, and that upgraded the charge from assault to second degree murder. It was a simple pickup; the man didn't put up any fight or argument. He had been too shocked by the news of his wife's death. And then, just as Hoke had started to put the handcuffs on him, the man's twelve-year-old son had come out of the bedroom and shot Hoke in the chest with a .22 rifle. Farris got the rifle out of the kid's hands before he could get off another shot, and Hoke spent six weeks in the hospital with a nicked left lung. It still hurt if he took a very deep breath. But if Red Farris hadn't twisted that rifle out of the kid's hands-- Well, the kid was in a foster home somewhere, the kid's father was up in Raiford, and the boy's mother was dead. In Miami, a family could break up in a hurry
It used to be a lot different when Hoke was still married. Four or five couples would get together for a barbecue and
"That's why I tried to call you, Hoke, to tell you my good news. Are you ready? I resigned today."
"Resigned from the department? You're shitting me."
"Not this time, Hoke. I told you before I've been writing letters around the state. Well, the chief of police in Sebring offered me a job as desk sergeant, and I took it."
"That means going back into uniform, doesn't it?"
"So what? I'll be out of Miami. When I typed up my resignation, I never felt better."
"What kind of salary goes with it?"
"Not much."
"How much? Sebring can't pay Miami's union scale."
"I know. It's only fourteen thousand, Hoke. I'm making thirty-one in Robbery, but the chief said there'd probably be another two thousand a year when the new Sebring budget comes out."
"Christ, Red, that's less than half of what you're making now."
"I know, and I don't give a shit. It doesn't cost as much to live in Sebring, and the chances are that I'll live a hell of a lot longer up there."
"There's nothing going on in Sebring. They have the race once a year, and that's it."
"I know. That's why I took the job. Last week, a kid in Overtown threw a brick through my window."
"You shouldn't drive your car in Overtown. You know that."
"It was a squad car, Hoke. I was down there with Nelson to pick up a fence. We never found him, either. But that brick was it. I'd been wavering, because of the money and all, but the next morning I called the chief in Sebring. He's a nice guy, too, Hoke. You'd like him. He's a retired detective from Newark. That's in New Jersey."
"I know where Newark is, for God's sake."
"Don't get pissed off, Hoke."
"I'm not pissed off, I'm just surprised, that's all. I know damned well you aren't going to like living in a little town like that. Why don't we meet some place and talk about it?"
"I can't, Hoke. I've got a lot of things to do and then I've got to meet Louise later when she gets off work."
"When are you leaving, Red? I'll see you before you go, won't I?"
"Oh, sure. I'll be in town for another week at least. If I can't sell my condo, I'll have to rent it out. But we'll get together. We'll tie one on to celebrate."
"Right. I'm here at the Dupont bar, if you can get away for a while before you pick up Louise."
"I can't, Hoke. Not tonight."
"Call me, then."
"I'll call you."
"I'm real happy for you, Red, if you think that's what you want."
"Thanks, Hoke. It's what I want."
"Call me."
"I will."
Hoke racked the phone, and the bartender put it beneath the bar again. "Another beer, sir?"
"Yeah. And a double shot of Early Times. I don't want any more of the stuff on this plate either. Can you dump it for me?"
Hoke took his shot of whiskey and fresh bottle of beer over to a table by the window. He really hated to see Red Farris leave the department. He was one of the few bachelor friends Hoke bad left. Red was almost always available to go out for a few drinks, or a little bottle pool, or to bowl a few lines. And Red Farris had saved his life, too. They had gone to pick up a wife-beater who was out on bail. The man's wife had died, and that upgraded the charge from assault to second degree murder. It was a simple pickup; the man didn't put up any fight or argument. He had been too shocked by the news of his wife's death. And then, just as Hoke had started to put the handcuffs on him, the man's twelve-year-old son had come out of the bedroom and shot Hoke in the chest with a .22 rifle. Farris got the rifle out of the kid's hands before he could get off another shot, and Hoke spent six weeks in the hospital with a nicked left lung. It still hurt if he took a very deep breath. But if Red Farris hadn't twisted that rifle out of the kid's hands-- Well, the kid was in a foster home somewhere, the kid's father was up in Raiford, and the boy's mother was dead. In Miami, a family could break up in a hurry
It used to be a lot different when Hoke was still married. Four or five couples would get together for a barbecue and
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