I’m starting to think Sophia should deposit the check from her father’s estate and we can start over in another city. Of course, then everything my mother ever taught me would be a waste, like don’t be a quitter, or never run away from your problems. In the end, what my wife does with the money is her decision, and I know she doesn’t want to touch it. We discussed donating the whole thing to charity. That’s probably best.

I pull around the corner to meet Haverty at the Scarlett. Our back parking lot is now completely cordoned off at the street and I have to park just past our building. Fuck, I hope this gets cleaned up soon.

The body’s been removed, and there’re only two people left on the scene. I stand by the tape and scan the area... I’m not sure what I’m looking for, just something, anything that will give me a clue that a second person was back here with him, but I see nothing. It could be weeks before the cops get the autopsy results, which means I’m not going to sleep until they do.

“Cove,” Haverty hollers from across the street. He jogs over and slaps me on the back, almost knocking me off my feet. “Hey assbag, I picked up some burgers, you want one?” he asks while swinging a bag in front of my face.

“Fuck yeah. Soph made baked potatoes for dinner, something heavier would be great.”

“Potatoes? That’s it? That’s not a meal.”

“I know, but she’s pregnant.”

“No shit? You guys are having a kid?”

I can’t contain my smile as I nod in response.

“Oh fuck, man. That’s badass. Can I be one of the godparents?”

“I think you’re supposed to wait to be asked, shithead. And we’re not religious, so no.”

“I’m Catholic. Trust me, you gotta baptize the thing and have godparents.”

I shake my head and look back at the lot. “Funny, just last week I thought we shouldn’t have a kid. We’re too fucking immature. Our kid will end up raising us, you know? And just listen to me; I say the word fuck all the time. I don’t know what I’m gonna do about some of my bad habits. Try and change, I guess.”

“You think there aren’t other fuckups in this world raising kids? This country is full of them. You scared?”

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“But you’re happy too, right?”

“You have no idea. I’m counting the seconds to see my son or daughter’s face for the first time. Damn, it’s an incredible feeling.”

“Then congratulations,” he says, with a second pat on the back before pointing toward the remaining guys on the scene. “They’ve been here for hours by the way, but it looks like they’re getting ready to leave. They’ll probably be outta here in a few minutes.”

“Yeah, let’s head inside so we can talk and leave them to pack up. The faster they’re gone, the better.”

We walk to the front and Haverty unlocks the door then uses his code to turn off the alarm. The Scarlett is quiet and smells of stale alcohol and leather furniture. I’m uncertain if that’s a pleasant smell, or not.

“Here,” he tosses me a burger and heads for the bar for a drink. As my top guy and best friend, I allow him to take what he wants when he’s here, and he’s always been respectful of the business, not overdoing it like Soph and me. I’ve only seen him drunk a few times, and never while he was working.

“Have you had any today?” he asks.

“No, and I won’t.”

He laughs, but then decides to show me a little support. “I guess that’s good to hear. I had to laugh because I won’t believe it until I see it. In a couple of days, if you still haven’t had a drink, I’ll hand all the money over that your wife has given me to keep you on track.”

“Haverty, stop talking about alcohol for a moment. Tell me why you where here earlier. Did the cops call you?”

“Nope, heard it on my scanner.”

“Why the fuck didn’t you call me?”

“I called your father. I was trying to keep you away so you didn’t have to deal with the cops. You’ve had a rough week buddy. I was gonna tell you, but not until they were gone. I didn’t want you on the scene considering all the shit that went down last week.”

“It’s my fucking business,” I say, taking a bite of meat. I close my eyes as my senses explode at the taste of grease and fat in my mouth.

“You look like you’re shooting your load. You alright?”

“Oh yeah. Perfect. I just realized that I’ll probably have to sneak out over the next couple of months if I want to eat food like this.”

Haverty opens a beer and takes a swig before diving into his burger. As he does, a small amount of grease drips down his chin and he wipes it with the back of his hand. He’s in his usual gym clothes; shorts and a workout shirt, which seems to be the only thing he wears outside of work. Still, it throws me off that he’s acting so casual about the shooting.

“So you’re not drinking because of the baby?”

“Hav, I’d love to talk about the good in my life, but we need to talk about the crap outside. Did my father say where he was when you called?”

“Nah, just that he’d be over in a half hour.”

“I’m pissed that he hasn’t told me where he was this afternoon.”

“You don’t have to worry about anything. Chill your balls. I talked to one of my friends on the force; he was back there today. He said it was probably a suicide.”

I roll my eyes at the shit that keeps flying out of people’s mouths. What the fuck is wrong with this family?

“What? Why the hell is that so hard to believe?”

“A fucking sleazebag lawyer with an enormous ego, who’s the head of underground porn companies and God knows what else, is about to get twelve mil and he kills himself? Fuck that.”

“Cove,” he sets his beer on the bar and leans in closer to me. “The shot was at contact with the side of his head, at a upward angle, and it left a burn mark. It was one shot, with no cuts or scratches, meaning no sign of any struggle with another person. David committed suicide. Leave it at that.”

His eyes turn cold and dark as he speaks. I sit and stare into them and listen to his breathing. It’s plausible for those who never met the man to believe such a thing.

“I’m sure he had a lot of enemies,” I whisper.

“Fuckin’ A, give it a rest would you?” he growls.

I push my burger away and swivel on the bar stool with my hands behind my head.

“Oh come on, pussy. I didn’t mean anything by it; I forgot how sensitive you are about everything. Don’t pout,” he says.

I sigh; irritated and in need of a hard drink. The bar wasn’t the best place to meet him. The smell of alcohol is turning me into a madman, on top of everything else in my life. “You know James.” I use his real name so he knows just how offended I am that he’s sweeping David’s death under the table. “Tell me the reason he killed himself in our parking lot, and I might believe you. I thought people who kill themselves do it in private, not out in some awkward, unfamiliar spot.”

The room is silent as I stare at his greasy chin and wait. No words, no movement, no clue, just as I thought.

“I don’t know,” he finally says. “But you can’t let it eat away at you. And you’re wrong. People kill themselves in public all the time. Remember the guy years ago who shot himself on TV, or the people who jump off buildings? It doesn’t have to happen in the privacy of one’s home. Did the cops ever find out his connection to Paul Jameson?”

“No.”

“Then your family has nothing to worry about. As far as they know, he’s just your mother’s uncle, correct?”

I nod in response. Maybe Haverty’s right. I’m overly sensitive and need to ‘chill my balls,’ as he so elegantly put it. I take a deep breath and look at the ceiling, peering into the lens of one of the handful of security cameras we own. I swear it looks as if it could blink at any moment, like a giant eyeball.

“You know,” I whisper. “I have some work I need to get to in my office.”

“I thought you wanted to talk.”