He looked over at her. "And you know what I pay you for. So why don"t you shut the f.u.c.k up?"
"You don"t pay me."
"It"s the same thing."
She was starting to annoy him. Not too much yet, but she was starting. He had dumped a wife who had bored the s.h.i.t out of him, talking all the time, buying clothes and showing them to him, and now he had a girl who was a college graduate drama major, very bright, who read dirty books. Books she thought were dirty. He said to himself, Where are you? What the f.u.c.k are you doing?
Five years ago it had been better, simpler. Get a name, do a study on the guy, learn his habits, walk up to him at the right time, and pull the trigger. It was done. Take a vacation, wait for a call, and come back. L.A., Vegas, wherever they wanted him. Now it was business all the time. The boring meetings, discussions, planning, all the f.u.c.king papers to sign and talking on the phone. Phones all over the place. He used to have one phone. It would ring, he"d say h.e.l.lo, and a voice would give him the name. That was it. He didn"t even have to say good-bye. Now he had six phones in his house, four in the apartment. He took Librium and Demerol and Maalox and even smoked reefer sometimes, which he had never done before in his life or trusted anybody who did. A hundred and fifty grand plus a year to talk on the phone and sign the papers. He used to take a contract for five grand and had got as much as ten when it was tricky or the guy had a name.
That"s what he missed. The planning and then pulling the trigger, being very steady, with no wasted motions. Then lying around after, drinking all the scotch he wanted for a while and thinking about how he"d pulled the trigger. He was good then. During the last few days he had caught himself wondering if he was still good and would be good enough to hit the melon grower clean. He hadn"t hit the guy coming out of the bar very clean and that was probably why it was on his mind. He hadn"t hit anybody in a while and had taken the job because he missed the action and had talked them into letting him hit the guy, who wasn"t anybody at all to speak of. But he had been too up up, too anxious to pull the trigger and experience the feeling again, and he hadn"t blueprinted the job the way he should have. Christ, an off-duty cop sitting there watching. Empty the gun like a f.u.c.king cowboy and not have any left for the cop. Or not looking around enough beforehand. Not noticing the cop. Like it was his first time or like his f.u.c.king brains were in his socks. They could be wondering about him right now. What"s the matter with him? Can"t he pull a simple hit anymore?
No, they wouldn"t be thinking that. They didn"t know enough about it, how you made it work. They"d think it was dumb luck the cop was there and dumb luck the cop was killed and couldn"t finger him. So the two canceled each other out and he was okay.
Except somebody had talked to the lawyer and that"s why the lawyer had talked to him. It wasn"t the lawyer"s idea to call-he realized that now without any doubt. The lawyer wouldn"t do anything unless he was getting paid to do it or somebody had told him to. Their lawyer, they they, were telling him not to go after the melon grower. Because they thought he was wasting time or because it might involve them in some way or because they didn"t have anything against the guy. The guy had not done anything to the organization. If he had, sure, hit him. They could pay him to do it and he wouldn"t think any more about it. That was the difference. He was was thinking about it and this time they couldn"t pay him to hit the guy. He wouldn"t take it. That was the thing. He couldn"t get the melon grower out of his head he wanted to hit him so bad, and he wasn"t sure why. Not because the guy had belted him a couple of times; though that could be reason enough. No, it was the way the guy had looked at him. The way he talked. The way he pulled that cheap cool s.h.i.t and acted like he couldn"t be bought. thinking about it and this time they couldn"t pay him to hit the guy. He wouldn"t take it. That was the thing. He couldn"t get the melon grower out of his head he wanted to hit him so bad, and he wasn"t sure why. Not because the guy had belted him a couple of times; though that could be reason enough. No, it was the way the guy had looked at him. The way he talked. The way he pulled that cheap cool s.h.i.t and acted like he couldn"t be bought.
How do you explain that to them?
Look, I want want to hit the guy. I got to. I want him-listen, I never gave a s.h.i.t about anybody before in my life, anybody I hit. It was never a personal thing before like this one. to hit the guy. I got to. I want him-listen, I never gave a s.h.i.t about anybody before in my life, anybody I hit. It was never a personal thing before like this one.
Or try this.
Listen, if n.o.body gives a bunch of s.h.i.t about this, if you let me hit him, then I"ll give you the next one, anybody you want, free.
He said to himself, For Christ sake, you going to ask permission? You want the guy, do it.
And he yelled, "Gene."
Wiley looked up from her book.
Lundy came in from wherever he had been with a can of Coors in his hand.
Renda said to him, "How many we got?"
Lundy wasn"t sure at first what he was talking about, if he meant beers or what. But as he looked at Renda, he understood and said, "You and me for openers. I don"t know when we"re going, so I don"t have anybody here. I thought after we talk about it, you know, see what you got in mind, I make a call and we get whatever we need."
"I think we need a truck," Renda said. "Good-size one. I"m not sure, but just in case we got to haul some people."
Lundy nodded. "Bobby Kopas"s got one. Stake truck, open in back."
"All right," Renda said, then immediately shook his head. "No. s.h.i.t, I don"t want him around. Get the truck tell him you"re going to borrow it you"ll bring it back, and get ... four, five guys who know what they"re doing."
"For when?"
"Tonight," Renda said. "Let"s get it done before the f.u.c.king phone starts ringing again."
There was enough light in the packing shed to work by, but it was a dreary, bleak kind of light, like a light in a garage that didn"t reach into the corners. A string of 100-watt bulbs, hanging beneath tin shades, extended the length of the conveyor that was bringing the melons in from the dock outside. The sound in the packing shed was the steady hum of the motor that drove the conveyor.
Most of the crew were outside, unloading the trailer. Nancy Chavez and Larry Mendoza"s wife, Helen, did the sorting and were good at it, their hands deftly feeling, rolling the melons on the canvas belt, pulling out the ones that were badly bruised or overripe. Majestyk and Larry Mendoza were at the end of the line, packing the melons in cardboard cartons that bore the majestyk brand label. Two other men in the crew were stacking the cartons, building a wall of them as high as they could reach.
By the time the trailer was unloaded it was almost ten o"clock. There were still melons on the conveyor, but Majestyk shut it down and said that was enough for one night, more than he"d expected they"d get done.
Mendoza came along the line to where his wife was standing and said, "I don"t know, Vincent, but I think we"re going to do it."
Nancy said, "If we can keep the grower working instead of goofing off, laying around in jail."
Majestyk was tired, but he felt good. He felt like talking to her and getting to know her. He said, "I remember-it seems to me somebody mentioned having a beer after work."
Nancy looked across the conveyor at him. "You still buying?"
"Sure, I"m going to be rich in about a week." He said to Mendoza, "Larry? How about you and Helen?"
"No, me and mama got more important things to do," Mendoza said, and slapped his wife on the can, making her jump a little and grin at them. "We"re going to bed."
Nancy was still looking at Majestyk. "Maybe you"d rather do that." As she saw him begin to smile, she added quickly, "I mean if you"re tired."
Majestyk said, "Come on, let"s go get a couple of cold ones." He was still smiling at her.
Harold Ritchie watched the headlights of the pickup approaching the highway and said to the deputy over by the tool shed, "Now where in the h.e.l.l"s he going?"
"If it"s him," the deputy said.
"I guess I"m going to have to find out, aren"t I?"
Ritchie walked over to the State Highway Department truck, grabbed the door handle and looked around again. " "Less you want to this time. You been sittin" all day."
"You can talk plainer than that," the deputy said. "I"m about to go sit again. I think I got me some bad enchiladas or something."
He waited until Ritchie drove off before he went into the tool shed and radioed the Edna Post to let them know what was going on-which would be relayed to Lieutenant McAllen probably sitting home reading the paper or watching TV, a nice, clean, lighted bathroom down the hall from him, empty, n.o.body even using it.
Walking over to the portable toilet he was thinking, h.e.l.l, he should"ve tailed the pickup this time, probably could"ve stopped at a gas station somewhere, or a bar. Unbuckling his belt, the deputy stepped inside the toilet and closed the door.
Less than a hundred yards east of the construction site three pair of headlights popped on.
The stake truck came first, followed by the two sedans, picking up speed, the truck reaching forty miles an hour by the time it got to the barricades, swerved in and sideswiped the portable toilet, the right front fender glancing off, sc.r.a.ping metal against metal, but the corner of the stake body catching it squarely, mashing into the light metal as it tore the structure from its base, carried it with forward momentum almost to the tool shed before it bounced end over end into the ditch. The stake truck kept going and turned into the road that led to Majestyk"s place.
The two sedans, Lundy"s Olds 98 and a dark-colored Dodge, came to a stop by the barricades, the Olds bathing the battered toilet in its headlight beams.
Renda and Lundy, and a third man with a machine gun under his arm, got out of the cars and walked into the beam of light. When Lundy got the twisted door of the toilet open, straining to pull it free, the third man aimed his machine gun into the opening. Lundy pushed him aside, reached in with one arm and when he straightened again looked at Renda.
"Dead."
"Must"ve got hit by a truck," Renda said.
Pushing open the screen a little, Mendoza could see the stake truck in front of the migrant quarters and hear the low rumble of its engine. Just sitting there. n.o.body had got out of the truck. n.o.body had come out of the migrant quarters. They were all inside or around someplace close by because their cars were there, the three old junk heaps. When the two pair of headlights came down the road from the highway and pa.s.sed the migrant quarters, Mendoza moved away from the doorway. He was wearing only his jockey shorts-maybe he should hurry up and put some clothes on. But the cars weren"t coming to his place. They kept going.
Behind him his wife whispered, "Who are they? Do you know them?"
He knew. He was pretty sure he knew. But he said to her, "Stay with the children."
When she stepped into the doorway to look out he pulled her back because of the slip she wore as a nightgown. It showed dull white in the moonlight and he was afraid they would see her, even though he knew they were all the way to Vincent"s house by now.
She said again, "Who are they?"
"I don"t know," Mendoza answered. "But they don"t have any business with us and they"re not friends I know of. Go to bed."
She lingered, but finally moved away from him. When he heard the springs and knew she was in bed again, he pushed open the screen door carefully and went outside, holding the door to close it, so it wouldn"t make noise. On the steps of the porch, looking down the road, he could see the headlights of the two cars in front of Vincent"s house. He didn"t know if they were waiting or if they had gone inside. He said, G.o.d, why don"t they leave? He"s not there, they can see that, so go on, get out of here. Vincent was with a girl, talking, drinking beer. He could be gone for hours, having a good time; stay out late he could still get up early and work. They didn"t know him.
He saw them in the headlights for a moment and faintly heard the car doors slam, then went into the house again as the cars came back this way. He was sure they were going to pa.s.s his house, leave, and when the cars turned in-coming straight at his house before stopping close to the porch-he couldn"t believe it and began backing away from the screen door, but not soon enough. The headlights were blinding and he knew they could see him. He could hear the engines idling. Some men, three of them, dark shapes were coming up on the porch. When they came into the house he still couldn"t see them because of the headlights.
One of them walked past him. He heard his wife"s voice. "What do you want?" Frightened. He didn"t hear the children.
Renda said, "Where is he?"
Mendoza thought of his wife and three children in the bedrooms, behind him. What was he? A guy standing in his underwear who just got waked up out of a sound sleep. How was he supposed to know what was going on?
He said, "I don"t know. You mean Vincent Majestyk? Isn"t he at home?"
He had never seen Eugene Lundy before and didn"t see his features now, only a big shape that stepped up close to him. The next thing he knew he was. .h.i.t in the mouth with a fist and felt the wall slam against his back. The man reached for him then and held him against the wall so he wouldn"t fall down.
"Where is he?" Renda said again.
"I don"t know," Mendoza said. "Believe me, I knew I"d tell you."
"He go into town?"
"I don"t know," Mendoza said. "Honest to G.o.d, I thought he was home in bed."
Renda waited, knowing he was wasting time. The guy was probably telling the truth. He said, "Bring him along. And his wife."
They brought everybody out of the migrant quarters, pushing them to hurry up, making them stand in front of the place, in underwear or just pants, barefoot, squinting in the glare of the truck"s headlights. Mendoza and his wife were pushed into the group by the men with guns in their hands who stood out of the light. The migrants waited, everyone too afraid to speak or ask what was going on.
Finally Lundy, who stood with Renda next to the truck, said to them, "We"re looking for the boss. Who wants to tell me where he"s at?" Lundy waited, giving them time. In the silence they could hear the crickets in the melon field. "n.o.body knows, huh?" Lundy said then. "n.o.body heard where he was going or saw him leave?"
Quietly, to Lundy, Renda said, "We got a dead cop and we"re running out of time. Get rid of them."
Renda walked off into the darkness, toward the packing shed. He heard Lundy tell them, "You all"ve got two minutes to get in your cars and drive away from here and never come back." He heard one of the migrants say, a weak little voice with an accent, "We been working, but we haven"t been paid yet. How we suppose to get paid?" And he heard Lundy say, "Keep talking, I"m going to start busting some heads. Now you people get the h.e.l.l out of here. Now."
The doors of the packing shed were open. Renda went up the steps to the loading dock and looked inside. He could make out the conveyor and the melons on the canvas belt. He was curious about the place-as if the place might be able to tell him something about the man who owned it. Feeling along the wall inside the door, he found the light switch. Outside there was a sound of engines trying to start and finally turning over.
Lundy and the one with the machine gun came in. Renda was staring at the wall of cartons, the melons that had been sorted and packed that evening.
"Man"s been busy," Lundy said.
"I said to him what do you want?" Renda continued to stare at the wall of melon cartons and Lundy and the one with the machine gun looked over at him. "He said I want to get my melons in," Renda went on. "That"s all he wanted. Get his melons in."
Lundy couldn"t believe it when he saw Frank pull out his .45 automatic-Christ almighty-and start firing it at the stacked-up melon cases, firing away, making an awful racket in the place, until his gun was empty.
Renda looked at them then. He seemed calm. His voice was, and said, "What"re you waiting for?"
Lundy always did what he was told. It didn"t have to make sense. He took out his big magnum and opened up at the cartons. Then the other one with the machine gun let go and the din was louder than before. They tore up the cartons, lacing them with bullet holes. Renda took the machine gun from the guy, turned to the conveyor, and shot up all the melons left on the canvas belt, blew them apart, scattering pieces all over the shed.
Christ, Lundy thought. He hoped Frank felt better now.
Kopas had been told they"d probably drop his truck off later that night, somewhere near the county road intersection west of Edna, where there was that Enco station on the corner and the cafe. Kopas asked what time. Lundy said, when they got back. But if they had to take some people somewhere-and Kopas had a hunch he meant the migrants-then he wouldn"t get his truck back until morning.
But the migrants had cars. They could run them off in their own cars and not have to take them anywhere. So Kopas was pretty sure the truck would be back tonight.
He hung around the cafe-bar that evening, going outside and looking up the highway every once in a while. Being sure they had gone to Majestyk"s place, he was anxious to know if they had killed him. If they hadn"t been able to for some reason-and if Renda was with them-he was anxious for Renda to see him again. Renda might decide he was a handy man to have around after all: he was alert, waited, did what he was told.
When Majestyk and the girl arrived, he was in the Men"s Room of the cafe-bar. He came back into the room that was about half full of Chicanos and spotted Majestyk and the girl right away, sitting in a booth along the wall. He didn"t see the two deputies at the bar-Ritchie and a deputy who had met him here-didn"t notice them because they were in work clothes, and all Kopas was thinking about was getting out of there before Majestyk looked over. He glanced at the booth again as he went out the door-leaving the light and the smoke and the loud country steel-guitar beat inside-and saw Majestyk listening to something the girl was saying, giving her his full attention. Good.
He was more excited now than earlier in the day when he was out in the desert, the plane was taking off, and he was waiting to meet the famous Frank Renda. He saw Majestyk"s pickup, parked a short way down from the cafe. He had a thought and began looking at the other cars, on both sides of the highway, and there it was, the State Highway Department truck. It was parked at the Enco station by the pumps; the station closed for the night.
Kopas started putting things together in his mind. They hadn"t gotten Majestyk because Majestyk was inside. Also a cop was in there, or around someplace. He was more anxious now than ever. He went across the highway and across the county road to wait there at the intersection, moving around, wanting them to hurry up and come before the guy left. About fifteen minutes pa.s.sed. He was so anxious for them to come that, when he saw the three pair of headlights approaching, he knew it was them and couldn"t be anyone else. The thing now was he had to act cool and hold down his excitement.
Lundy, slowing down for the intersection, saw the figure on the corner. He recognized the shirt, bright in the headlights, and the sungla.s.ses and the curled-brim Texas hat. He said to Renda, next to him, "There"s Bobby. He looks like he"s got to take a leak or something."
Kopas was there as the car came to a stop, hunched down to look in the side window. He said, as calmly as he could, "Mr. Renda ... man you want"s inside that place over there, having a beer."
Renda said, "Alone?"
"With a girl. One works for him."
"Where"s the cop sitting?" Renda said.
The good feeling was there and it was gone as he felt his confidence begin to drain out of him. Kopas straightened and, with a squinting, serious expression, looked over toward the State Highway Department truck parked at the gas station.
He said, "I"m not exactly sure yet, Mr. Renda. But you want me to, I"ll find out."
He was not aware of the country music or the two deputies at the bar or the other people in the place. Not right now. His hand was on the bottle of beer, but he was not drinking it. He was looking at the girl"s eyes, at the pearl earrings and the way her dark hair was parted on the side, without the bandana, and had a silver clip holding it back, away from her face.
Nancy said, "Do you mind my asking about her?"
"No, it"s all right." Majestyk paused. "I don"t know, I guess people change. Or else it turns out they"re somebody else all the time and you didn"t realize it. Do you think it"s hard to know people?"
"Not always," Nancy said. "Was she blond, with blue eyes?"
"Most of the time blond. You put your hair up in rollers? You have very pretty hair."
"Once in a while I have. Why?"
"I picture my wife, I see her with rollers. She was always fooling with her hair, or washing it."
"You have any kids?"
"Little girl, seven."
"And you miss her."