Sacrifice (27 page)

190

I
rested up in the junkyard. Hadn't lost much blood with the pressure bandage they'd slapped on. Got lost in the painkillers for a few days.

I was okay about it, the dead time. Talked to Terry, watched some TV. Max fed Pansy every day, finally went back and brought her over to me. She was in heat. It took me fifteen minutes of one–handed sign language to convince him I wanted him to take the dog to Elroy's for a while.

Clarence came by, sat next to my cot in the bunker.

"I saw him take off The Silent One. Like a skate, a devilfish flying. Right after you blew the front door. Seemed like he was up there so long, floating."

"You stand there gawking at him?"

"Oh, that is what the Prof said, mahn, I finally get around to the back door with him. I didn't even see the first one come out. It was the Prof who took her—a young girl. She was almost on me with that long knife, screaming like a mad witch, when I hear the shotgun speak. Cut her right down. I would not have thought the little man could do like that."

"Yeah. He's a fucking wonder."

"He's a man. Like I never knew. Quiet, after that. Then we hear shots from inside. And the explosion. I ask him, how long we gonna wait? He says, until you come out. I ask him, what if you
don't
come out? You know what he says to me, mahn? He says, then the cops find us when they come. And we die right there. Die like men. I wish my mother knew a man like that."

"Me too."

The bullet never touched bone. The bandage was a few inches from the Queen's amulet, still around my neck. I was healing, waiting my time. Staying inside, icing up.

When they brought Luke to see me, I started crying.

He was gone by the time I stopped.

191

I
n Wolfe's backyard, dark out.

"They identified the bodies," she said. "No tapes. They must have just gotten started when it happened."

"I guess.

"Storm had her baby. A girl. They named her Sunny."

"That's nice."

"And we arrested Emerson. Took him down yesterday. Hanging around outside the Welfare Center. He's on the Rock. And this is one indictment that'll stick."

"Yeah."

She threw away her cigarette. "Burke…"

"Yeah?"

She stood close to me, held my hand. Her kiss was soft. "You and me, it's not going to be."

"I know."

192

I
stood alone on my rooftop, looking down into the zero. I never knew the name of the last sacrifice—didn't know who I was crying for anymore.

Thought about what I didn't have until the list got too long.

Clarence's voice, from long ago. "What would be justice, mahn? So the baby may sleep in peace?"

He was older now.

I can't make babies. Can't fake love. I finished with my tears. Back to what I had left.

193

A
t Mama's, in the back booth, drinking my soup, making my plans.

"You had call," Mama said. "Yesterday."

"He leave a name?"

"Not a man. Woman. Said to tell you Belinda called. She say you have her number."

194

T
hey brought Silver to the attorney's conference room at Rikers. We shook hands. I felt the power of his grip all the way through my wounded shoulder.

He leaned forward, jailhouse whisper. "Helene told me. I owe you, brother."

I reached in my attaché case. Showed him the picture of Emerson, ran my thumb along the razor–sliced edge. Said the baby–killer's name softly. He'd be in the same joint as Silver, awaiting trial—Rikers holds city–wide.

Silver stared at the photo for a long minute, nodded, handed it back.

195

I
'm here now. Waiting for my spirit to walk.

Andrew Vachss

Andrew Vachss has been a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social caseworker, a labor organizer, and has directed a maximum-security prison for youthful offenders. Now a lawyer in private practice, he represents children and youths exclusively. He is the author of numerous novels, including the Burke series, two collections of short stories, and a wide variety of other material including song lyrics, poetry, graphic novels, and a "children's book for adults." His books have been translated into twenty different languages and his work has appeared in Parade, Antaeus, Esquire, The New York Times, and numerous other forums. He lives and works in New York City and the Pacific Northwest.

The dedicated Web site for Vachss and his work is
www.vachss.com

BOOKS BY ANDREW VACHSS

Flood
Strega
Blue Belle
Hard Candy
Blossom
Sacrifice
Shella
Down in the Zero
Born Bad
Footsteps of the Hawk
False Allegations
Safe House
Choice of Evil
Everybody Pays
Dead and Gone
Pain Management

Copyright ©1991 by Andrew Vachss

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Originally published in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, in 1991, and in trade paperback by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, in 1996.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the Knopf edition as follows:

LC 90-53582

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Random House Web address:
http://www.randomhouse.com/

eISBN: 978-0-375-71906-6

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