[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
noticed Marshall. We re closed, he grunted.
It s okay. I don t want that.
They all want that.
What s your name?
Donald, he said.
Liar. Donald, Marshall came closer, you want
to make some real money?
Sure. How much we talking? And, ah& not
tonight, okay?
It has to be tonight. Let s go to my house.
I ve got to dance.
Play sick. I ll give you one thousand dollars if
you come with me.
To do what?
Just to talk.
Talk? Duncan slid off the table and picked up
his robe. You re bullshitting me. No one pays that
kind of dough for talking.
One hour and you ll be home at your usual time
if you got a boyfriend waiting.
No boyfriend, well, not really. He smiled.
Although there s this guy I really like. No chance for
us though.
Oh yeah? Marshall clenched his hands at his
side. I have to go slowly. Patience. I can t blow this.
Why is that?
Beautiful, dark-haired, his skin like honey. He s
a good man, too. I know that. But he s way out of my
league.
Does he like you?
I doubt that.
So why don t you tell your manager, we ll get out
of here. And then we can talk some more about this
guy.
I need to see the money up front and I don t do
funny stuff.
No funny stuff, just talk as I told you. Marshall
opened his wallet, showed him some bills.
Duncan checked the clock. Okay, he nodded.
What s your name? Duncan asked as he
slipped into the front seat of Marshall s car. You
never did say.
Toby, he lied.
What do you do, Toby?
I m an artist.
Oh.
Let s stop here at this hotel, okay?
Duncan shrugged.
I can drive you back after.
No, he muttered. I have to go by myself.
Marshall got out of the car. He went to the office
and rented a cabin, then steadily walked down to
the right one and opened the door.
Duncan walked in after him and Marshall shut
the door.
Sit down there on the bed, Marshall said.
Duncan perched on the bed.
When Marshall turned around, he had the pistol
in his hand.
Fuck! Duncan scrambled back on the bed. I
knew this was bogus. What cha got that for? I ll do
what you want. Don t kill me.
Now, listen carefully. I m going to ask you some
questions and you re going to tell me all the right
answers, or I m going to kill you.
AfterArsenicandRio
Chapter Twelve
Marshall must have turned off his cell phone
because Natalie couldn t get any answer. She had
tried him at around eleven thirty to see if Marshall
had had any luck. Eventually, she d given up. At one
in the morning, Jean-guy called her and told her that
Marshall had taken off his wire.
What s he up to? Jean-Guy bellowed in the
receiver. I knew we shouldn t have trusted him. He
could get himself and Farelli killed. The agreement
is off. I m putting an APB on the whole damn bunch
of them. He hung up.
Jason came over to Natalie, the baby in his
arms. Who was that?
Natalie was worried. That was Desjardin, she
told her husband. Marshall is AWOL.
* * * *
Marshall grabbed Duncan by the shirt collar and
dragged him to the edge of the bed. He held the
pistol to his temple. Now, where is Angelo? I know
that you know where he is because he s the one you
were talking about honey skin and dark hair. And I
don t care what you fucking feel about him, he s
mine. You can t have him. So you might as well tell
me where he is. Now!
I don t know, Duncan yelled, close to hysterics.
Please, don t shoot.
Listen to me, you fucking little prick, I love
Angelo. I will kill for him without a thought, so don t
push me. Where in fuck is he?
Hal& Hal has him, but he ll kill me if--
I ll kill you now so make your choice. First,
you re going to tell me what Hal sent me in the mail.
And then, you re going to take me to Angelo.
He ll kill me. Please don t.
I m going to call the police and have them pick
you up. Hal won t get to you.
I don t want to go to prison, he sobbed.
Well, you re going to go to prison. Tell me! Is he
okay? Is Angelo all right?
Yes, he nodded. He s fine. Hal won t hurt him,
and I wouldn t let him even if he tried.
If Hal wanted Angelo dead, he d be dead. There
would be nothing you could do about it.
No, I would never let him kill Angelo. I love him.
Love him? Marshall pulled him to his feet. Kid,
you don t know what love is. If you loved him, you d
have gotten him out of there already.
No, cause then I d lose him. He d never want
me.
Marshall dragged him to the door. You got that
right. Now, tell me what Hal sent me in the mail.
A tape& a film.
Of what?
Me and Angelo in the shower.
You and Angelo in the& that bastard! Doing
what? He shook him.
I sucked him off, but& he never got hard. Hal
kept pushing him, but Angelo fought him off. He
refused to get a hard-on& so he had to fake the
fucking part.
Fucking?
He didn t, okay? Happy? I would have loved it,
but& he didn t have a hard-on.
You miserable little bastard, he pushed him
through the door. Let s go. Take me there now!
Take me to Angelo.
* * * *
Angelo had worked his hand through one of the
ropes and was carefully untying the other. Hal had
been watching television in the living room and
thankfully hadn t come in to harass him.
Quickly he reached down and began to undo the
ropes around his ankles. He was wobbly when he
stepped out onto the floor, but after a few seconds,
he felt quite steady. He reached over and picked up
what was left of his pants and pulled them on. The
television was on full blast, which was a good thing.
Hal would never hear him sneak up on him. Now
where in the hell had Hal put that shotgun?
* * * *
I want to go now, Duncan whimpered as
Marshall got out of the car and pulled Duncan with
him. You re going up there and you re going to act
like nothing is wrong, you got me? Give him this
money. It will distract him.
I want the police, he sobbed.
Marshall whacked him hard against the face.
Do you really care about Angelo? Do you really love
him as you said?
He nodded.
Then help me, God damn it. Pull yourself
together and get me in there so that we can save
him. The courts will go easier on you if you help me,
Duncan. Hal is evil. He hurts you, doesn t he?
Duncan nodded. Sometimes.
Love shouldn t hurt. One day maybe you ll meet
a good man like Angelo, but you got to help me put
Hal down for good.
Duncan swallowed. He nodded. Okay.
* * * *
Angelo looked slowly around the corner. He
could see Hal sitting on the sofa. The shotgun was
propped up against the coffee table. He could do
this. He could jump him before Hal could get to the
gun. He took a deep breath, about to move when he
heard someone knocking at the front door. Shit. He
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]