WHY HADN’T I tossed the gun barrel over the side at the pier like I had intended to do? What a perfect place to dispose of it. What a dumbass. I’d been distracted with my newly discovered nephew and then with the extortionist. No excuse, not under the circumstances. Now the cops would find it if they searched me. What were the odds that they wouldn’t search?
Zero.
A DrugFire test would determine if the gun had been used in any crimes where a slug had been recovered. The DrugFire database, though not near as large as fingerprints or DNA, still contained hundreds of thousands of guns, logged by their shell casings, slugs, and their extraction bars and firing pins.
My nephew had bought the gun off the streets of LA, which greatly increased the likelihood of the gun’s involvement in a drive-by or an individual killing.
We exited the bookstore out onto the promenade. Marie pasted on a fake smile and tried to step aside, to draw their attention away from me. She couldn’t possibly think I’d make a break for it. Could she? I wouldn’t leave her. No way.
Didn’t matter. The cops corralled her right away and put us both in close to the window, the book display behind us.
Before he asked, I took out my passport and handed it to the shorter cop with the sweat-pasted sandy-brown hair, the one who took the lead.
“Don’t you have a driver’s license?”
“I lost it,” I said.
He nodded. “Why didn’t you leave when you were asked?”
Marie handed him her passport and forged driver’s license. “Sorry, Officer, we just didn’t think it was a big deal, that’s all. We were only sitting on the floor reading these books. We weren’t causing any kind of problem, really we weren’t.”
Without warning, the shorter cop handed the license and passport back and put on his helmet. They both ran to their bikes and took off.
Marie walked over to the closest bench and sat down. “That was a close one. Why’d they leave like that without any reason?”
“They were wearing ear jacks so we couldn’t hear their radio. They got a hot call. And you’re right, that was a close one.” I pulled the pistol barrel from my pocket and showed her.
“Ah, Bruno, I’m sorry, but you’re a dumbass.”
“I know, I know.”
I went to the closest trash can and tossed it in. I came back. I wanted to sit there and read the whole book all the way though, cover to cover, without stopping. Not only to find out how the book sparked all the controversy and put this whole mess into play, but also to get a better handle on my brother Noble. This new brother I’d never met before. Sure, some of the prose would be fabricated lies to serve his greater purpose, whatever that purpose might be, but I’d already been given a glimpse of a part of him I didn’t know and craved more of. I craved all of it, a desire difficult to resist.
Marie must’ve had the same urgent need. She opened the book, started reading, and immediately forgot her surroundings.
“Come on, kid,” I said, “We gotta roll.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She closed the book and stood, taking my hand as we jumped into the stream of shoppers. “You know,” she said, “we really need to read this whole thing before we make any kind of move.”
“I know, but they only gave us forty-eight hours.”
She tried to stop midstream. “Really? Two days to bust your brother out?”
I tugged her hand, got her going again. “That’s right.”
It hurt to think she didn’t balk at all over the idea of breaking the law, committing multiple felonies by busting Noble out of the jail ward in the hospital. Our lives had veered out of control three years ago and never returned to a familiar reality, one that was comfortable and safe. I loved her for it.
The stream of people slowed and turned into a clot. I held onto Marie’s hand and moved around the lookie-loos. I stood tall enough to see over the crowd. Marie went up on tiptoes to try and see but couldn’t. “What’s going on?”
“Those two bike cops, they came down here for a window smash. The one cop is holding up a medium-sized ball bearing. The window’s made of that safety glass that shattered into a million pieces, that’s why we didn’t hear anything.” I leaned over, lowered my tone. “Lucky for us, huh?”
“Yeah, we should go buy a lotto ticket.”
“You know,” I said, “sometimes I can’t get a good read on your sarcasm.”
“Good, keep you on your toes.”
We got another ten yards away from the throng before she said, “This—” she held up the book “—is only about a four- or five-hour read.”
“For you, maybe. You forget you’re married to a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal.”
“If you’re lookin’ for an argument there, pal, you’re gonna be waitin’ a long time.”
“Thanks for that. Have you ever stopped to think that if I’m a caveman, what’s that make you?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell ya? I’m really a psychology major working on my thesis and you’ve been my subject, my special project for the last three years. All of this here”—she waved her hand around—“has really just been a ruse.” She held up her same hand, pretending to hold a digital recorder close to her mouth, and assumed a professional tone. “After a simple pagan ceremony, a mock wedding, subject has displayed an abnormal and insatiable sex drive that, in my opinion, and based on previous observations, has been triggered by some sort of misplaced proprietary interest in my female sex parts.”
I laughed as I pulled us out of the dwindling stream of people and headed for the public parking. “If that’s the case,” I said, “then when this caveman gets his cavewoman back to the cave, he’s gonna spank some of those proprietary female sex parts.”
She giggled and did a little hop. “Ooh la la.”
We rounded the corner to a row of cars. Bruno, my nephew, waited for us at the rental. He leaned against the car, his arms crossed, sporting a scowl visible from a hundred feet away. His somber demeanor reminded us of the dire situation, shut us both up, and wiped away our smiles.
When we got close, I hit the key fob and unlocked the doors. He didn’t turn and get in. He continued to watch us as we closed on him. “I don’t see anything funny in this situation. Not in the least,” he said.
I stopped in front of him. “I’m not gonna start off our relationship by apologizing to you all the time. So here’s all you’re gonna get. I’m sorry I missed out on your life. And I’m sorry that your two young children have been taken and kept from you. That’s it, that’s all you’re gonna get from me until this thing’s over. Now, tell me why you didn’t tell us about this book.” I held up my copy.
He stared at me for a long moment, turned, got into the back seat of the car, and slammed the door.
I got in on the driver’s side, Marie on the front passenger side. I turned in the seat. “I’m waiting for an answer.”
He shook his head, “What? Have you been livin’ in a cave or something?”