Unleashed (32 page)

"You're crazy."

A flash of anger ran through me. "You're a loser," I shot back.

Mulberry's jaw tightened, and I turned back into the room. I plopped onto the couch, leaned my head back and let my mind drift over images of pirate booty and murderous revenge. I thought I heard Mulberry crying, but when I turned to check he was looking at me with clear eyes.

"Do you even know where the treasure is?" he asked.

I smiled. "Not yet."

"How are you going to find out?"

"With your help."

"You're nuts and I'm leaving." He walked out the door, taking his beer and bad attitude with him.

It was raining when he came back. It always is in these dramatic situations, like the sky knows that someone's life is changing—a change best symbolized by thunder, lightning, and rain. "Another beer?" I asked as Mulberry dripped on my carpet.

"I've been thinking." He pushed his hand through his hair. It stayed flattened to his scalp.

"I figured."

"I've been a cop for my entire adult life. My father was a cop. A good man." I nodded. "I think you're right that we'll never get Kurt Jessup through regular channels of justice." He paused, and a drop of water dripped off his nose. Mulberry bit his lip in concentration. Lightning crackled. "I just don't know that it works." He paused. "I guess I've felt this way for a while, maybe always." He laughed, even though it wasn't funny. "I just don't know."

The lights dimmed then brightened again.

"So you'll join me."

He flopped onto my couch, a smile across his face. "I guess I'm in. As insane as this is, I'm in."

I handed him a beer, clinked mine against it and said, "Welcome to this side of the 'in it’ line."

###

I
n the morning I went to the bank closest to the Excelsior and told the woman behind the bulletproof glass that I wanted to turn my check into cash as soon as possible. She looked down her nose at me, which was impressive, since she was sitting and I was standing, until she noticed the amount on the check. Then she turned polite.

"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer to open an account with us? We have many ways to grow your money."

"That's all right; it's plenty. I just want it to be cash."

"You're going to have to open an account, deposit it, wait for it to clear, and then withdraw it."

"How long will that take?"

"With a check this large, it could take up to five business days."

"Fine."

I called Hugh and told him I wanted to take him out to dinner. He agreed to meet me at 7:30 at the Métrazur in Grand Central.

I called Elaine and told her she could have my route; I was quitting. She asked why and then remembered that it was a stupid question. "I'll see you around," I told her.

"I hope so."

John Heart left me a message about getting my apartment cleaned that I ignored. I didn't care about those stains.

I had lunch in front of Gracie Mansion. The mayor still had the "flu" and hadn't made any public appearances since we last met. I wondered if he was thinking about me, if he wanted me the way I wanted him. I wondered what Bob had told him. What they were planning. Bob sat several benches down. I thought about asking him, then changed my mind.

I was ten minutes early to meet Hugh. The maître d' at the Métrazur seated me in the mezzanine, Grand Central spread out below. The clock in the center of the marble floor marked each minute that passed. The ceiling, an unreal green blue with the constellations painted in thin gold lines, curved above me.

I ordered a gin martini and watched people hurrying below. There was a family, clearly from somewhere else, trying to figure something out. The father was smacking a schedule with the back of his hand while his wife rolled her eyes. Their daughter leaned on her Barbie suitcase and looked up at her parents bickering, bored.

I sipped and shuddered as the cold liquid filled my mouth and burned my tongue. Hugh arrived moments later and ordered a martini for himself and a dozen oysters to split. He smiled at me. I could tell he hadn't been sleeping. "How've you been?" I asked.

"As good as can be expected."

"Same here."

"We both look like shit, huh?" Hugh smiled through chapped lips.

I smiled back. "Yeah. But we'll be OK," I said.

He shrugged. "I hope. I don't know if I can do it on my own."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been thinking about seeing someone."

"I think that's a great idea." His martini arrived, and he sipped it deeply.

"I think people always think it's a good idea for other people to see a therapist," Hugh said. I laughed. "What about you? Don't you think you could use some help dealing with this?"

"I'm all right. I've decided to leave."

"New York?"

"Yeah, I don't want to be here anymore." I looked out at the crowd below us. The family was gone. Bob read a magazine near the information booth.

"Where will you go?" Hugh asked.

"I don't know. Just not here."

"I didn't think you would ever leave New York."

"Neither did I."

"When did you decide this?" Our oysters arrived. Twelve mollusks from the Atlantic Ocean, split open, laid on a bed of crushed iced and served to us. I picked up a shell, squeezed lemon onto the grey, slimy creature inside and then tipped it toward my mouth. The shucker had separated the oyster from his shell for me, so it slid easily. I chewed, feeling the life, the insides, burst against my cheeks.

"Very recently. That's why I called you. I wanted to tell you I was leaving," I said. "I hope you'll visit me wherever I go."

"Of course Joy." He looked at me for a moment and then continued. "Please don't make yourself invisible."

"What do you mean?"

"Joy," he massaged his temples. "We both know how easy it is to disappear. Just don't, please."

"Hugh, I—"

"You're all I have left of him, okay. You're the only thing left of him alive, don't you dare fucking disappear." His eyes were suddenly hot with anger.

"I promise, Hugh. I won't disappear on you."

I paid the bill with the last of the money from the envelope my mother dropped on me.

M
ulberry's knock woke me up the next morning. "I think I know where the treasure is," he said, pushing his way into my room.

"Good morning," I said, my eyes only half open.

"When we did a search of the basement of Eighty-Eight East End, we found a lot of really strange stuff," Mulberry started. I looked in the mini fridge for a beer, but they were all gone. "I've been going over it in my mind, and I think that some of it is stuff used for underwater excavation." I was trying to wrap my mind around my lack of beer. "It wasn't all in one room, mind you. It was spread out so that no one would think ‘hey, here's a room full of underwater excavation equipment’. I mean you wouldn't have even noticed it unless you knew you were looking for underwater excavation equipment."

I held up a hand to stop him. "Stop saying underwater excavation equipment or I'm going to throw up." I walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying?" Mulberry called through the door. I turned on the tap and started brushing my teeth, ignoring him. I washed my face and looked at myself as the water dripped off my chin. I looked like I hadn't slept, that I had drunk instead. My head was large, fuzzy, and in need of a beer.

When I came out of the bathroom, Mulberry was waiting for me. "The point is that if they left the equipment down there, then they might have been launching it from there." I walked right past him into the bedroom and closed the door. "I bet there is a passage to the river. They could launch the equipment from the old marina and then bring the treasure back to the basement. They could have false rooms, or they could be bringing it out slowly. I don't know." He was breathing hard when I came back out, dressed and ready for a drink. I picked up my keys, clipped Blue to a leash and walked out the door. Mulberry followed me into the hall.

"See, what I'm thinking is we should explore that basement. You said we could get in through the drainage. I think we should wait till it's dark. There's no reason to risk anyone seeing us." The elevator opened, and we stepped in. "Once inside we can search the rooms. I mean, we're not in a rush, right? We can take our time. Find all the treasure. We might even be able to remove it without killing anyone." The doors opened on the ground floor. I pushed the door-close button. Mulberry turned to look at me. "What are you doing?"

"Mulberry."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." I pushed the door-open button and walked out, waving at the guy behind the desk. He didn't wave back. Mulberry followed me silently. I walked to the bodega, directly to the cooler holding the beer and picked up a six-pack.

"What are you doing?" Mulberry asked.

"Breakfast." He blocked my path.

"No way." Blue growled at Mulberry. "This is bullshit."

"Excuse me?"

"What you need is coffee and eggs and sausage. Not beer."

"I'll take beer, thank you very much." I tried to push past him but the aisle was too narrow. "Come on."

"You don't even want that."

"Yes, I do."

"No. You're faking it."

"What?"

"Cut the crap." Mulberry leaned toward my face. "You're not an alcoholic. You don't need that, you don't want it, and I'm not gonna let you drink it." I pushed up against him. He was made of stone.

"Fine," I exhaled loudly, too tired to argue. Hell, maybe he was right.

"Coffee?" he said. "I'm buying."

"Fine." We walked to a diner nearby that had outdoor seating. Blue climbed under the table, his nose and tail sticking out from either end.

"Coffee for two and two hungry-man breakfasts."

"That's gross," I said once the waitress had left.

"You need it. You look like all you've been doing is drinking."

"And plotting my revenge." I smiled at him.

"This isn't a joke."

"Hey, you're the one who showed up at my doorstep acting like a kid at Christmas, talking all loud about treasure and," I lowered my voice, "killing people." Mulberry waved his hand at me to shut up. "That's all I'm saying."

"What do you think about my idea?"

"I think you're right. I saw wet suits down there and a really powerful flashlight. The Expedition something." Our coffee arrived and I slurped at mine.

"Exactly," Mulberry said. Our hungry-men arrived: sausage, bacon, ham, pancakes, French toast, and two eggs. After the first bite I realized how hungry I was. Neither of us spoke again until the plates were cleared away. "Mulberry, I want us to be clear on one thing before we go any further with this." He nodded. "I'm going to kill him." Mulberry nodded again. "For me, the treasure is secondary. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. But don't you think that taking the treasure is punishment enough? I mean, don't you think leaving him alive to realize that his treasure is gone is better than killing him? Also, then we don't face any legal repercussions. He's not going to call the police and report it missing."

"Mulberry I'm going to kill him. That's it. There's nothing else to talk about here."

"Fine." Mulberry frowned and looked away.

"You don't have to be there," I said gently. "We'll get the treasure out, and then I'll go and take care of him myself. You'll be long gone by the time he's dead." He nodded, frowning. "So, back to this theory of yours," I said. "If Tate and Kurt were accessing the river via the basement, then so could we." Mulberry nodded again. "Theoretically we could carry it out the same way they carried it in."

"Right."

"The question is, how do we turn the treasure into money?"

"I think I know a guy who can help with that."

"Yeah?"

"I've got a meeting with him tonight."

"Can I come?"

The waitress came over and refilled our coffees. After she left Mulberry said, "No."

"Why not?"

"He's a very private man."

"It's a man, then."

"Shut up."

"Fine, talk to your man." I stood up. Blue hurried out from under the table and stood next to me.

Mulberry stood up, too. "Where you going?" he asked.

"I'll call you." I started to walk away from the table. Mulberry tried to follow but a manager—a big, hairy man—asked him how he would like to pay for his check. Blue and I kept walking while Mulberry struggled to pull his wallet out.

I led Blue around the corner and out of Mulberry's sight. I turned into a building. The lobby was empty except for a security guard standing next to a bank of elevators. He watched as Blue and I stood up against the wall.

"Can I help you?" the guard asked.

"No. I'm fine," I said as I watched Mulberry come rushing around the corner. He looked up and down the street. I watched the frustration set into the lines on his face.

"Ma'am, is everything OK?" the security guard asked, eyeing the lingering bruising on my face. The bandages were gone, but the scars looked fresh, pink, and scary.

"Yes. Thank you. I'll leave in just a second."

"Are you hiding from someone?"

I smiled at him. "Of course not." Mulberry turned back toward the restaurant. I waited a few more minutes, watching people walk by.

"Is that the guy you're hiding from?" the security officer asked, pointing across the street at the bus stop. Bob stood large and conspicuous, surrounded by tired women holding plastic bags. "I think he knows you're in here."

"Yeah." Bob was looking right at us. "Looks that way," I said.

Stepping outside, I waved to Bob. He nodded. Then I headed over to Jackie Saperstein's house. I wanted to talk to her. I had a feeling she knew something she hadn't told anyone that she was just dying to tell me.

###

C
ecelia opened the door. "Joy, this is a surprise. Elaine told us you were no longer walking dogs."

"That's true, but I want to talk to Jackie."

"Come in." She closed the door behind me. "I heard about what happened to your brother, and I wanted to tell you how sorry I am."