Dead Man’s List. Mike Lawson

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       Prologue

      “Carl, goddamnit, don’t bruise his neck!”

      “I’m trying not to, but he’s a strong little bastard.”

      “Shit, you’re twice his size. Grab him by the hair, not the neck.”

      “That did it,” Carl said after a minute. “I just saw a buncha bubbles come out.”

      “Yeah, well, hold him there a while. I don’t want what happened in that movie.”

      “Movie?”

      “You know, the one with what’s-her-name, where she boils the rabbit.”

      “Oh, yeah. But what’s that—”

      “At the end there, don’t you remember? When Douglas gets her in the tub? Bubbles comin’ outta her mouth, eyes wide open, then like five minutes later the bitch pops up and tries to stab him.”

      “I don’t remember that part,” Carl said. “I remember the rabbit but…”

      “Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Jimmy said. “Just hold him there.”

      “You got his keys?” Carl said.

      “Yeah, I got the keys,” Jimmy said. “What do you think I’m jigglin’ here?”

      Jimmy opened the door which led into the kitchen of the house. “Now where’s his office, den, whatever?” He started through the kitchen but stopped when he heard the refrigerator door open. “What the hell are you doing?”

      “Gettin’ a Coke,” Carl said. “I’m thirsty.”

      “Are you nuts?”

      “I’m wearin’ gloves. What’s the big deal?”

      Jimmy just shook his head. Carl, sometimes he just didn’t know.

      Two minutes later, they were standing in front of the safe. It had been behind a picture, a sailing scene.

      “Why do they always put it behind a picture?” Carl said. “I mean, you know where it’s gonna be.”

      “They put it behind a picture because it’d look pretty fuckin’ ugly, just sittin’ there in the middle of the wall,” Jimmy said.

      “Oh.”

      Jimmy spun the lock on the safe.

      “How the hell did Eddie get the combination, anyway?” Carl said.

      “He said something about a locksmith the guy used.”

      Jimmy swung open the door to the safe. Inside it were a bunch of little notebooks, the covers doodled on, the pages all ragged. Jimmy took out the notebooks, several at a time, and tossed them into his shoulder bag. Carl had said that the shoulder bag looked like a faggy purse, which it sort of did, but it was better than carrying around a shopping bag.

      At the back of the safe was a wad of cash bound with a rubber band. Jimmy flipped through it. Maybe five grand. The guy’s disaster money. He handed the cash to Carl and looked back into the safe. The only thing remaining, lying flat on the bottom, was a clear plastic sheet with little pockets containing coins. Jimmy didn’t know anything about old coins but he figured these must be worth something or the guy wouldn’t have put them in his safe—but he didn’t touch the coin holder.

      “That’s it,” he said, but then he noticed something under the coin holder. He lifted up the plastic and saw a flash drive for a computer. “Damn,” he muttered, “almost missed that.” He put the flash drive into his bag.

      “Gimme the money.” Carl handed him the cash and Jimmy tossed it back into the safe and closed and locked the door. Eddie had said not to take any money, or anything else but the stuff he’d told them. And if that’s what Eddie said…

      “Now let’s find his laptop,” Jimmy said. “And any more of these flash thingamajigs.”

      Carl finished the Coke he was drinking, made a small burp, and put the soda can in Jimmy’s man-purse.

      “Okey-dokey,” Carl said.