Anatomy of Fear

25

Perry Denton smoothed his hair back the way men who are aware of their appearance always do and headed into the Bronx tenement. The first-floor stairwell was lit by a dim red bulb, the one on the second floor burned out. He gripped the railing with a gloved hand as he made his way up to three, thinking this was the last time he’d be visiting Joe Vallie in this hellhole.

Vallie was sitting at the table in his kitchenette, an alcove off the living room with a stove, a half-size fridge, and a naked light-bulb that made the pockmarks on his face look like craters.

Denton didn’t feel one bit sorry for him. He’d brought this upon himself, no matter what he thought. It wasn’t his fault that Vallie had lost his job and pension, even if Vallie thought it was.

“You’re late.”

“You’re lucky I got here.”

“No, you’re lucky you got here,” said Vallie. “Such a busy man.”

Denton ignored the sarcasm. “This is the last of it, Joe.” He placed the stack of bills onto the table. “I can’t keep doing this.”

“Sure you can, Perry. Way I see it, you’re sitting on top of the world.” He slurped some coffee out of a cracked mug. There was a pot on the stove, but he didn’t offer any to Denton.

Pitiful mess, thought Denton. But he was way past feeling sorry for Joe Vallie. It made him sick to think that his ex-partner would do this to him. And enough was enough. “This is the last time, Joe, I mean it.”

“I heard you the first time.” He fingered the wad. “But I got expenses, you know that.”

“Yeah, I heard you were sick. How come you didn’t tell me?”

“Guess I didn’t think you cared.”

Oh, I care. When he’d heard Vallie had cancer, all he could think was, Maybe he’ll die.

“Guess you’re hoping I’ll die.”

“Something like that.” Denton laughed. “Just kidding.”

“No you’re not. But don’t get your hopes up, I’m in remission.”

“Yeah, I heard that too. Good for you.” It really was too bad about that clean bill of health. It would have made it so much easier, Vallie just dying. But now it was like he was doing the man a favor, wasn’t he? Eliminating years of decline, of possible pain and suffering. Really, it was for the best. “I bet you’ll beat this thing.”

“I intend to.”

“That’s the spirit, Joe.” It was absurd, all this bullshit friendly-enemy banter when Vallie was sticking a shiv into him, holding him up when the bastard was as guilty as he was. A part of him doubted Vallie would blow the whistle because it would send him to jail too, but what did Vallie have to lose? Nothing. Still, he couldn’t take any chances, a man in his position. “Honest, Joe, if you weren’t putting a gun to my head, I’d be crying.”

“That’s something I’d like to see.” Vallie laughed. “You know I got to get out of this dump, and I got that condo ready and waiting. I just have to make the payment.”

“You mean I have to, which I just did.”

“Maybe,” said Vallie.

Not maybe, thought Denton. “Sounds real good, Joe, condo in Honolulu, some Hawaiian cutie to bring you a piña colada and suck your dick. Oh, sorry, I guess that part of you isn’t quite up to it anymore.”

“You’re such a fuck, Perry, but you always were.”

“Oh, come on, Joe, I was only teasing. We had our good ol’ narc times, didn’t we?”

“Plenty,” said Vallie. “Which is why I think so many other folks would enjoy hearing about them.”

Denton’s face hardened. He thought about killing his ex-partner right on the spot, save himself some money.

“See you soon,” said Vallie. “Real soon.”

Denton laughed and cocked his finger at Vallie as if it were a gun. “Not if I see you first, big kahuna.”