Widow’s Walk

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Hawk was standing at the window of my office looking down at the green Chevy idling in front of Houghton Mifflin.

“Ain’t it about time you and me pulled the plug on the followers?” Hawk said.

“Nope.”

“How ‘bout we go out to the Soldiers Field Development Corporation and shake up their boss?”

“Whom you believe to be Felton Shawcross,” I said.

“Whom else?” Hawk said.

“CEO doesn’t always know what his employees are doing,” I said.

“True,” Hawk said. “You and me for instance.”

“My point exactly,” I said.

“We could yank one of the followers out of his car and hit him until he tell us why he’s following you.”

“He may not know,” I said.

“‘Cause he a employee,” Hawk said.

“Yes.”

“We could ask whom employs him.”

“We can always do that. Just like we can always call on Felton Shawcross,” I said. “Right now I figure if they wanted to make a run at me they would have by now.”

“Probably.”

“So they’re just trying to keep tabs on me.”

“Probably why they following you around,” Hawk said.

“Because they want to know if I’m getting closer.”

“Which they’ll decide based on who you see.”

“Whom,” I said.

Hawk turned around and looked at me and smiled.

“So when you see somebody that’s important, maybe they’ll do something.”

“Yep.”

“And then ya’ll gonna know whom is important.”

“You’re doing that whost.whom thing on purpose, aren’t you?” I said.

“Ah is a product of the ghetto,” Hawk said. “Ah’s trying to learn.”

“And failing,” I said.

“So it is your professed intention,” Hawk said, “to continue visiting with principals in the case until you get a discernible reaction from those monitoring your movements?”

“That be my professed intention, bro,” I said. “You be down with that?”

“Jesus Christ,” Hawk said.

“I don’t sound like an authentic ghetto-bred Negro?” I said.

“You sound like an asshole,” Hawk said.

“Well,” I said. “There’s that.”