closet until you told me.”
Sherman made a sucking sound through the gap in his front teeth.
“ Was it you, Noah?”
“ No. It wasn’t me.”
He put the photo back in his pocket and rose to leave. He hung up the phone and Sherman said something through the glass but he couldn’t make it out.
Stanton stepped into the hallway, the door slamming shut behind him. He leaned against it and saw the sweat rings under his arms and wished he’d brought a shirt to change into. He could hear the madness contained just a few feet away. Men that had become ghosts to their families and friends, and animals to each other. He wanted to put his hands to his ears but instead he began walking toward the exit.
On his way out the guard at the front entrance said, “Them two boys that cornholed him, they ended up dyin’ some months later.”
“ How?”
“ One was burned in his cell. The other had his junk bitten off or somethin’ and bled out in the showers. We know the muthafucker did it but there ain’t no good proof.”
Stanton nodded to the guard and stepped outside. He had specifically asked for a room that wasn’t being monitored. If Noah knew their conversation was being listened to, he would’ve lied. Stanton would have to speak to him again. But he decided it could wait.
He looked around and realized the cab had left.
15
It was dark by the time Stanton landed back in Southern California. The air was different here, salty and warm like it had been exhaled from someone’s body. He found his car in short-term parking and drove to his apartment.
A neighbor was out on their patio when Stanton got home. It was an older gal, smoking a cigarette in the dark. He saw her silhouette and the bright pinpoint of red that would get brighter at her mouth and then darken when she lowered it.
“ How are you, Suzie?”
“ Doin’ fine, handsome. How are you?” she said. Her voice was grainy from the tobacco and alcohol she coated it in day-after-day.
“ Not bad,” he said, taking a seat on the first step leading up to his apartment.
“ Heard you workin’ with the cops again.”
“ Who’d you hear that from?”
“ Melissa stopped by tonight to see you. She told me.”
“ Oh.”
“ You miss her?”
“ Yeah, I guess I do.”
“ I like her. She went outta her way to say hello to me.” She finished one cigarette and put it out in an ashtray sitting on a table next to her before lighting another one. “When you gonna have your boys over again?”
“ Next weekend. We’re going to Disneyland. They say they’re sick of it but I know they always have a good time.”
She blew out a puff of smoke and took a sip out of a can of beer. “I ever tell you I got kids?”
“ No.”
“ I got three. One of ‘em, Cindy, my youngest, still lives round here. My two boys moved though. I think to Vegas but I don’t know. I ain’t talked to ‘em since Clinton was president. I remember that cause Clinton was on the tv last time I talked to ‘em lyin’ through his teeth about blow jobs or somethin’.”
“ You know what the president of France said when he heard Clinton got a blow job in the White House?”
“ What?”
“ Why else would anyone want to be president?”
She laughed and then sat quietly, staring out into the parking lot as someone rode past, slowed, and then sped away.
“ What happened with you two anyway?”
“ I don’t know. It was so gradual I don’t think either of us noticed until it was too late. I know she didn’t like living on a community college professor’s salary. But there was more to it. At some point we stopped talking to each other. After that, we didn’t care if we talked or not. ” He rose and began walking up to his apartment. “I better hit the sack. Have a good one.”
“ You too, hon.”
The apartment seemed cold though he checked the thermostat and it read 71 degrees. He placed his badge and wallet and keys on the kitchen table and saw his gun hanging
Sherman made a sucking sound through the gap in his front teeth.
“ Was it you, Noah?”
“ No. It wasn’t me.”
He put the photo back in his pocket and rose to leave. He hung up the phone and Sherman said something through the glass but he couldn’t make it out.
Stanton stepped into the hallway, the door slamming shut behind him. He leaned against it and saw the sweat rings under his arms and wished he’d brought a shirt to change into. He could hear the madness contained just a few feet away. Men that had become ghosts to their families and friends, and animals to each other. He wanted to put his hands to his ears but instead he began walking toward the exit.
On his way out the guard at the front entrance said, “Them two boys that cornholed him, they ended up dyin’ some months later.”
“ How?”
“ One was burned in his cell. The other had his junk bitten off or somethin’ and bled out in the showers. We know the muthafucker did it but there ain’t no good proof.”
Stanton nodded to the guard and stepped outside. He had specifically asked for a room that wasn’t being monitored. If Noah knew their conversation was being listened to, he would’ve lied. Stanton would have to speak to him again. But he decided it could wait.
He looked around and realized the cab had left.
15
It was dark by the time Stanton landed back in Southern California. The air was different here, salty and warm like it had been exhaled from someone’s body. He found his car in short-term parking and drove to his apartment.
A neighbor was out on their patio when Stanton got home. It was an older gal, smoking a cigarette in the dark. He saw her silhouette and the bright pinpoint of red that would get brighter at her mouth and then darken when she lowered it.
“ How are you, Suzie?”
“ Doin’ fine, handsome. How are you?” she said. Her voice was grainy from the tobacco and alcohol she coated it in day-after-day.
“ Not bad,” he said, taking a seat on the first step leading up to his apartment.
“ Heard you workin’ with the cops again.”
“ Who’d you hear that from?”
“ Melissa stopped by tonight to see you. She told me.”
“ Oh.”
“ You miss her?”
“ Yeah, I guess I do.”
“ I like her. She went outta her way to say hello to me.” She finished one cigarette and put it out in an ashtray sitting on a table next to her before lighting another one. “When you gonna have your boys over again?”
“ Next weekend. We’re going to Disneyland. They say they’re sick of it but I know they always have a good time.”
She blew out a puff of smoke and took a sip out of a can of beer. “I ever tell you I got kids?”
“ No.”
“ I got three. One of ‘em, Cindy, my youngest, still lives round here. My two boys moved though. I think to Vegas but I don’t know. I ain’t talked to ‘em since Clinton was president. I remember that cause Clinton was on the tv last time I talked to ‘em lyin’ through his teeth about blow jobs or somethin’.”
“ You know what the president of France said when he heard Clinton got a blow job in the White House?”
“ What?”
“ Why else would anyone want to be president?”
She laughed and then sat quietly, staring out into the parking lot as someone rode past, slowed, and then sped away.
“ What happened with you two anyway?”
“ I don’t know. It was so gradual I don’t think either of us noticed until it was too late. I know she didn’t like living on a community college professor’s salary. But there was more to it. At some point we stopped talking to each other. After that, we didn’t care if we talked or not. ” He rose and began walking up to his apartment. “I better hit the sack. Have a good one.”
“ You too, hon.”
The apartment seemed cold though he checked the thermostat and it read 71 degrees. He placed his badge and wallet and keys on the kitchen table and saw his gun hanging
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