The Mark

27

“Columbia Presbyterian, this is Lisa speaking,” said the cheery voice. Not that I advocated people being morose, but you’d think a hospital operator would have a greater sense of gravity.

“Luis Guzman’s room, please,” I said. She put me on hold, my breath following suit. Amanda had paid for the motel room, a reasonable $39.99, in cash. We were standing on a Chicago street corner, crammed into a dingy phone booth, the afternoon sun fading away. Columbia Presbyterian was the fourth New York hospital we’d called. The first three had no record of a Luis or Christine Guzman. The newspapers hadn’t disclosed their location, so finding them came down to trial and error. Only in most trials, you didn’t have freaky men with guns breaking into your house and cops shooting you in the leg.

“Please hold,” Lisa said. Muzak pumped through the earpiece. I held it out for Amanda to listen.

“Couldn’t they play something a little more, I don’t know, uplifting?” she said. “I mean, Yanni and John Tesh, it’s almost like they want you to hang up.”

After a minute, Lisa clicked back on. “Thank you, sir, I’ll transfer you now. Have a pleasant day.”

I tapped Amanda on the arm. She mouthed that’s it?

I nodded, put my finger to my lips.

Two rings later, a husky voice picked up. It wasn’t Luis Guzman.

“Yeah?”

“Um, hi, I’d like to speak with Luis Guzman.”

“Who is this?”

I cleared my throat.

“This is Jack O’Donnell, New York Gazette. Luis and I spoke briefly last week in regards to an article I’m writing based on his prison experience. He knows the name, it’s part of his parole package.”

There was muffled speaking, like someone was pressing their hand to the receiver. I heard the words O’Donnell and reporter. Amanda gripped my sleeve with one hand and crossed her fingers on the other.

“One second, Mr. O’Donnell.” I wiped my brow. After a few seconds a different voice came on the line. It sounded sickly, weak. Like the person on the other end had just run a marathon and couldn’t get a water break.

“Hullo?”

I recognized the voice instantly. “Luis Guzman?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Mr. Guzman, are you alone in your room?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’d like to ask you a few questions, but it’s imperative I know the police aren’t present.” I waited a moment. “If they are, I won’t speak to you. Do you remember me, Mr. Guzman?”

“Of course,” he said. “You’re the one who sent Henry Parker to my house. You said if I didn’t cooperate you’d call my parole officer. Thanks a lot.”

“That’s right, Mr. Guzman. But this isn’t about that. Right now, all I want is your story-your story-to be read by millions of New Yorkers. I want them to know the real Luis Guzman and I want them to know the truth about what happened with Henry Parker. I want you to be a celebrity, Luis, a star.”

“You still want my story?”

“Absolutely. But I’m afraid I can’t promise any of that if my security is compromised. Now, Luis, are the police present?”

“They stand outside my door, man. For protection, you know? They don’t come inside unless I buzz them in or someone calls.”

“Okay then, let me get to the point.” I was growing more confident with the charade. “As you know, Luis, I have a column that’s read by hundreds of thousands of people every day, syndicated in forty-three states and twenty foreign countries. And I can make sure that every one of those people hear, from you, what really happened two days ago.”

A few moments passed. My heart beat faster. Luis could hang up at any moment, call the police who were just outside his door. The line could be traced instantly, my search could end before I knew it.

“All right, Mr. O’Donnell. What do you need to know?” I cleared my throat. Amanda smiled, rubbed my elbow. For the first time in days I felt that rush again.

“Luis, first off, what is your relationship to Henry Parker?”

“I never met the kid until that night.”

“That a fact?”

“Yes, that’s a fact, amigo. ”

“Right, amigo. Now, the other day you went on record stating that Parker was looking for drugs, that he tried to steal them from you, and in the process beat you and your wife. Terrible, terrible thing. Just so we’re clear, how large was this stash Parker attempted to steal? And what kind of drugs were in it?”

“Hey, Mr. O’Donnell…I tell you the truth…am I going to get in trouble?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I can tell you this now, but you can promise you won’t tell anyone until the story comes out, right? Until I’m out of this stinking bed?”

“Absolutely, Luis. You have my word.” And tough shit if I don’t stick to it, you lying prick.

“There was no stash,” Luis said. “We didn’t have nothing.”

I waited a moment, let Luis think I was considering this. “So, Luis, why did Henry Parker come to you for drugs if you didn’t have any?”

Luis paused. “When I was younger, you know, a stupid kid, I dealt a bit. I’m not proud of that shit, but it’s all public knowledge. My PO says it helps to come clean. Anyway this Parker kid was probably a junkie, figured I was still into the stuff and just went nuts. You had my record, you saw my priors.”

“So you think Parker was a junkie?” I asked, my blood starting to boil.

“In my opinion, yeah.”

“So are you still dealing?”

“Hell, no,” Luis said irritably. “I haven’t touched that shit since I was a teenager. Parker was high, that’s all. Guy was looking for a rush. That’s what I told the papers and that’s what I’m telling you now.”

Wonderful, I thought. I’d spent most of college trying to avoid becoming a pothead and now the entire world thought I was a dope fiend.

“So, Luis, you’re saying an unarmed twenty-four-year old newspaper reporter, who was high on drugs, was able to subdue an ex-convict and his wife single-handedly?”

Luis hesitated. Amanda pinched my arm. I needed to step back. I was on the offensive. Any more pushing and I could scare him away. Backtracking, I posed a new line of questioning.

“Sounds like this Parker was one messed-up kid.”

“Got that right, man.”

“All right, Luis, answer me this. Officer Fredrickson. How did he find you?” Fifteen seconds passed while I waited for a response. “Mr. Guzman, are you there?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just thinking, picturing it in my head. How it happened exactly, you know? Still a little woozy.”

“Take your time,” I said, trying hard to disguise the disgust in my voice.

“See, what happened was,” Luis said, “Parker hurt my wife, Christine, and that’s when Officer Fredrickson found us. He must have heard the commotion, you know. He wanted to protect us.”

“I was under the impression your superintendent, Grady Larkin, first reported hearing these noises.”

“Yeah, that sounds right. Everything just happened so fast, you know? Hard to remember the details.”

“Sure,” I said, gritting my teeth. “So how much time would you say elapsed between the beginning of the struggle and Officer Fredrickson’s arrival?”

“Elapsed? I don’t know. A minute. Two minutes.”

“You’re pretty lucky Officer Fredrickson was in the neighborhood.”

“Yeah, guess so.”

“How long have you lived at 2937 Broadway, Luis?”

“Seven years.”

“And when did you get out of prison?”

“Seven years.”

“So you moved in right after you got out of jail?”

“That’s right.”

“Lucky that apartment was available, real estate in New York is a bitch.”

“Don’t have to tell me, man.”

“So what’s your monthly rent?”

“’Scuse me?”

“Rent, Luis. What do you pay per month?”

“Rent? I, uh, we pay I think sixteen hundred a month.”

“You think sixteen hundred or you know sixteen hundred?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s sixteen hundred.”

“Would Christine know for sure?”

Luis laughed. “Christine? No, man, she never looks at the bills. She don’t work, either, just takes care of the preparations for our baby. Me, I pay the bills. I work hard. I don’t need drugs to do that.”

Amanda mouthed the word what? She saw the anger in my face, but knew we were getting somewhere. I held up one finger, mouthed wait.

“Would Grady Larkin know how much you pay in rent, Luis?” He seemed taken aback.

“Grady? No, I don’t think so. He don’t know much.” The door was left tantalizingly open, but I could tell from his voice I couldn’t press further.

“Now just to clarify, you believe Henry Parker’s motivation for assaulting your family was stealing a stash of drugs that you never had.”

“That’s right.”

I paused. “Mr. Guzman, I’m through for now. If I have any more questions, I might call back.”

“What, that’s it? You got nothing else?”

“For now, no. However I urge you not to divulge details of our conversation to anyone, including the police. If anything we’ve discussed should leak, say to another newspaper, or if I get one phone call from the NYPD, your story doesn’t get printed.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Glad to hear that, Luis. Glad to hear that.”

“One thing, Mr. McDonnell.”

“O’Donnell.”

“O’Donnell. Mr. O’Donnell, that Parker kid, he…” Luis’s voice trailed off.

“Yes, Luis?”

“Henry seemed like a good kid. He didn’t know what he was doing. In your story, when you write it, can you make sure to print that? That I don’t hate the kid or nothing?”

“Sure thing, Luis. Consider it done.”

“Thank you, Mr. O’Donnell.”

“Call me Jack. Goodbye, Luis. Give Christine my best for a speedy recovery.”

I hung up. Amanda clasped her hands together and comically batted her eyes. “My smart reporter, so professional,” she cooed.

I bit my lip, thoughts running through my head like a slot machine gone haywire. “It doesn’t make sense,” I said.

“What doesn’t?”

“The money. When I asked Luis what his rent payments are, he couldn’t give a straight answer. And he got real apprehensive when I mentioned the super, Grady Larkin.”

“So?”

“Luis said he was paying sixteen hundred in rent per month for that apartment. That’s a little pricey for a security guard.”

“You think he’s lying?”

“Sixteen hundred a month over twelve months is-” I did the math in my head “-nineteen thousand, two hundred a year. Luis pulls in twenty-three grand, his wife doesn’t work and they’re trying for a child. It doesn’t make sense.” I paused. “Unless…”

“Unless what?” Amanda asked.

“Unless he really doesn’t know what they’re paying.”

Amanda looked confused. “How could he not know?”

“Maybe they’re being subsidized, somebody else paying a portion of the rent.”

“You think that’s possible?” she asked.

“Maybe,” I said. “Maybe not.” I picked the phone back up and dialed the operator.

“City and state?”

“New York, New York. Manhattan.”

“What listing?”

“I need the number for a Grady Larkin at 2937 Broadway.”

“Is this a residence or business?”

“Residence.”

“One moment, please.” Ten seconds passed. Twenty. Amanda bit her nails, then smiled shyly and tucked her hand back into her pocket. Finally the operator returned. “Sir, I have no listing for a Grady Larkin at that address.”

“Can you run just the name then? Leave the address blank. And extend the search to businesses.”

“One moment.” More time passed. I started biting my nails, my pulse quickening. Amanda smacked my arm and I tucked my hand into my pocket.

“Sir? I still have no such listing in Manhattan. Shall I try a different borough?”

“Are you positive?” I asked. “How did you spell the name?” She relayed it back to me, her spelling correct. Impossible. Grady Larkin lived in that building. I’d seen his name on the directory. He’d been quoted in the newspaper. Hanging up the phone, I turned to Amanda.

“What? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“The superintendent. There’s no record of him at that address.” I knew what had to be done. I said, “We need to find Grady Larkin.”

Amanda looked skeptical. “You think this rent thing has something to do with John Fredrickson?”

“Not directly, but I think it’s a thread that might tie into a larger spool. Something’s not right. Between the Guzmans lying about the drugs and this, Grady Larkin has to know something. He’d have records of payments, security deposits.”

“So tell me, Mr. Bernstein,” Amanda said. “How do we find Grady Larkin?”

There was only one thing we could do. One way to find out what was going on. One way to try and clear my name before the shadows caught up with us.

“New York,” I said solemnly. “I need to get back to New York.”

Amanda waited for the punch line, then realized there was none.

“Henry, that’s insane. You know how many cops are looking for you? All the train stations and bus terminals with your picture plastered everywhere, it’d be like dipping yourself in cow’s blood and hiding in the middle of a shark tank.”

“I don’t have a choice. It’s either that, jail or a grave.”

“You mean we don’t have a choice.”

“I don’t want you coming with me. You saved my life. I can’t ask anything else.”

“You don’t have to ask,” she said. “And I’m not even going to let you. I’m coming with you.”

Amanda said it with the kind of finality that let me know there was no changing her mind.

“Right now we have a slim advantage. Nobody knows where we are. The sharks are swimming in a completely different tank than us. But that won’t last long.” I took out the map. “Union Station. It’s a cab ride from here. If we can get on a train, we’ll be on our way back to New York before they even know we’re not in St. Louis. But the question is, once we get to New York, how do we keep from walking right into a phalanx of New York’s finest?”

Amanda put her arm around me and winked. “Henry, you clearly haven’t lived in the Big Apple very long. The whole trick to going unnoticed is by being even more noticeable.”

“I don’t follow.”

She took my arm, led me away from the pay phone. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go for a walk. I have seventy dollars, it should be enough for two one-way train tickets, with just a little left over for something special.”