"You know," he said, "Jack and I might be able... 233
"You
know," he said, "Jack and I might be able to snap
one or both of those hooks right offThey've seen
better days
"Better years," Jack said
"Maybe," I said, "but the doors themselves are
almost certainly locked, and if you go rattling
chains and snapping hooks, you're going to disturb
the neighbors
"Neighbors?" Wireman asked
I pointed straight upWireman and Jack followed
my finger and saw what I already had: a large
colony of brown bats sleeping in what looked like
a vast hanging cloud of cobwebI glanced down and
saw the porch was not just coated but plated with
guanoIt made me very glad I was wearing a hat
When I gucci ladies watch looked up again, Jack Cantori was at the
foot of the steps"No way, baby," he said"Call
me a chicken, call me a candy-ass, call me any
name in the book, I'm not going thereWith
Wireman it's snakesOnce-" He
looked like he had more to say, maybe a lot, but
959
didn't know how to say itHe took another step
back, insteadI had a moment to contemplate the
eccentricity of fear: what the weird jockey hadn't
been able to accomplish (close, but that only
counts in horseshoes), a colony of sleeping brown
bats had
Wireman said, "They can carry rabies, muchacho -
did you know that?"
I nodded"I think we should look for the
tradesman's dior rasta entrance
xiv
We made our way slowly along the side of the house,
Jack in the lead and carrying the red picnic
basketHis shirt was dark with sweat, but he no
longer showed the slightest sign of nauseaHe
should have; probably we all should haveThe
stench from the pool was nearly overpowering
Thigh-high grass whickered against our pants;
stiff fiddlewood stems poked at our anklesThere
were windows, but unless Jack wanted to try
standing on Wireman's shoulders, they were all too
high
960
"What time is it?" Jack puffed
"Time for you to move a little faster, mi amigo,"
Wireman said"You want me to spell you on gucci paolo watch that
basket?"
"Sure," Jack said, sounding really out of temper
for the first time since I'd met him"Then you
can have a heart attack and me and the boss can
try out our CPR technique
"Are you suggesting I'm not in shape?"
"In shape, but I still put you fifty pounds into
the cardiac danger zone
"Put it down, son," Wireman said"Put that cesto
de puta madre down and I'll carry it the rest of
the way
Something black moved in the corner of my eyeI
almost didn't lookI thought it was the lawn
jockey again, this time darting alongside the pool
Or skimming its buggy, smelly surfaceThank God I
decided to make sure
Wireman, meanwhile, was louis vuitton mahina glowering at JackHis
manhood had been impugned
961
A piece of the pool's turgid nastiness had come
aliveIt detached itself from the blackness and
flopped onto the cracked, weed-sprouting concrete
lip, splattering muck about itself in a dirty
starburst
"No, Wireman, I got it
A piece of nastiness with eyes
"Jack, I'm telling you for the last time
Then I saw the tail, and realized what I was
looking at
"And I'm telling you-"
"Wireman," I said, and grabbed his shoulder
"No, Edgar, I can do thisHow those words clanged in my head
I forced myself to speak slowly, loudly, and
emphaticallyThere's an alligatorIt just
came out of the replica miu miu p
