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said.
    He nodded. “They say he never knew what hit him, probably. I’ll miss him. He said he wasn’t planning to come back this way again, once he got back out west. Funny,when I was a kid the phrase ‘went west’ meant died. Jim went west, all right. Too damned bad. He was a good guy. I cared about him.”
    â€œYou’ve still got your son. And your daughter. And your health.”
    â€œI know. I have everything, really, and I still feel bad. I’ll be out of here before long.” He tapped his chest. “The old clock skipped a few ticks, but it’s good for several more years. Lucky, though. Damned nitro pills didn’t help. I’m gonna get some fresh ones. Good thing Zee was there, or I might not be able to feel anything. Still, I’m damned if I intend to lie down for the rest of my life just to avoid dying. I plan to be on the beach again as soon as they let me out of here.”
    The nurse walked in, smiled at him, and waved me out.
    Down the hall I found Billy’s room. Billy had bandages wrapped around one arm and more on his head. The hair that I could see was singed short. He’d had a longish beach-boy kind of haircut, but it would take a while to grow another one. He was about twenty, a kid with his father’s features. Right now the features were covered with some sort of salve. His lips were split and he had singed eyelashes and brows.
    â€œHow you doing?” I sat down.
    â€œI’m okay. What are you doing here?” He had reason to be surprised. We’d never been close. When I’d first met him he’d been strung out and snide, one of those users who think that their habit makes them superior to straight folk. I hadn’t seen much of him since he’d taken the cure.
    â€œI came to see your old man. He told me you were here. I want to ask you something I couldn’t ask him.”
    â€œSure. What? If it’s about the accident, I’m afraid I can’t tell you much. I don’t know what happened.”
    â€œTell me about that morning, before the explosion happened. Was there anything odd about the boat when you got aboard?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” He winced when he frowned.
    â€œYour sister thinks somebody fixed it so the explosion would happen.”
    He paled beneath his burn, and his eyes widened like a deer’s before a gun. “What? What do you mean? What are you . . .” His voice rose and thinned.
    â€œYour sister thinks that somebody tried to blow you up and that it was to keep you from talking about your old drug buddies. She asked me to check it out.”
    â€œShe’s crazy. She’s just crazy with worry. And shook up because of poor Jim.” He paused. “She’s wrong. I’ve been away from the drug scene for over a year. Since last summer. I don’t see that crowd anymore.”
    â€œSomebody saw you last week in front of the Fireside. They say you and your friend Danny Sylvia got in an argument and that he said he’d get you.”
    â€œWho told you that?” He leaned up off the pillows, then eased back. “Of course. Susie told you. She got there about the time Danny said that. But believe me, it didn’t mean anything. That’s just Danny’s way. Besides, Danny’s not on dope anymore, either. He’s straight, like me. Anyway, he left for California to go to summer school, so it couldn’t have been him.”
    â€œWhat was the argument about, then?”
    â€œA girl. It was about a girl we both know. You know what I mean?” He gave a small grin, then stopped it. It hurt for him to grin just like it hurt for him to frown.
    â€œWas there anything odd or unusual about the boat that morning. Any sign of tampering, maybe?”
    He thought. “No, nothing at all. The boat was lockedup, the tanks were full, everything was fine. Jim and I started her up and took her right out. No