Once he finally came to terms with the reality of the situation, Pinky Smiles had to figure out what he was going to do next.
“Everyone who’s ever gotten a black joker always makes the same moves,” said Captain Spotty. “They either try to escape town or try to take on Mr. Pogo once he comes for them. But there’s no escaping Mr. Pogo. He’s got some kind of sixth sense or something. He’ll find you in twenty-four hours no matter where you go or where you hide. Take a plane to a deserted island, he’ll already be there waiting for you under the sand. That’s how he is. He’s not just a killer, he’s like some kind of force of nature.”
“And there’s no way to fight him neither,” said Nicky Bowtie. “The guy’s bulletproof. Nobody’s been able to take him on and survive more than five minutes.”
His mother was behind the bar, pouring herself a glass of wine. She didn’t know how to react to the situation. Even in her son’s line of work, she had no idea who would ever want Pinky dead.
“There’s only one way to stop this,” Spotty said. “You’ve got to get the hit called off before Pogo comes for you.”
“But that’s the thing,” Pinky said. “I have no idea who would put out a hit on me. I don’t have any enemies.”
“Are you kidding?” Nick said. “You’re a half clown and next in line for a promotion. You know how many people in this family will want to stop that from happening? I put my money on Jimmy Bozo.”
“If Jimmy Bozo has anything to do with this I’ll kill him myself,” Miss Tina said, gripping her wineglass tight enough to crack it.
“I’ll talk to the boss,” Spotty said. “If anyone from the Bozo Family put out the hit, he’d likely know about it.”
“Unless somebody doesn’t want him to know about it,” said Nicky Bowtie.
“If anyone went behind the boss’s back on this there’s going to be hell to pay.”
Pinky thought about it for a minute, trying to figure out who could possibly kill him. There was only one person who came to mind.
“You don’t think…,” Pinky began, then looked up at his mother. “…that maybe Uncle Jojo is behind this, do you? Maybe because he doesn’t want me to marry his daughter?”
Spotty shook his head. “I doubt it, kid. You haven’t even proposed to Taffy yet.”
“But I’ve told quite a few people,” Pinky said. “Word might have gotten around. What if he wants to stop me before I even get the chance to ask her?”
The room was silent for a moment as Spotty tried to come up with a game plan. Pinky was his best man. He’d mentored the turk since he was fresh out of high school. He’d given the kid’s mom his word that he’d look after him.
“We’ll get to the bottom of this, Pinky,” Spotty said. “I’m going to go see the boss and get this straightened out.” Spotty looked down at his cell phone. A cockroach crawled across the screen. “I wish Vinnie would pick up.”
Pinky stood up from his seat. “Can you drop me off at Taffy’s place on the way? I want to see if she can talk to her father about this.”
“Sure, kid,” Spotty told him, then he turned to Nicky Bowtie. “You’re in charge of finishing the job here. Don’t disappoint me.”
“Are you kidding me?” Bowtie whined.
Spotty gave him a look. “What? You can’t handle a little job like this?”
Nick just groaned in response and got back to work.
Before they left, Miss Tina hugged her son and honked her nose against his sweaty pink forehead. “I’ll do everything I can to stop this. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to my baby.”
“I’ll be fine, Ma,” Pinky said. “It’s just a misunderstanding. I’m sure of it.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you…”
The clowns watched the woman cry into her son’s neck. They’d never seen the madam in such a frail state. She was a strong woman, but no mother was strong enough to handle the thought of losing her only son.