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sit outside while we still can,” I say, and then because of the force with which he rejected

my first offer, or because I’m acting like a prick for no good reason, I repeat it. “Sure I can’t get you that

beer? It’s almost five.”

Van Buren ignores me and takes out a brand-new orange notebook he must have just bought for the

occasion at the stationery store in Montauk.
    “Tom, people say you did a good job getting that kid to put down his gun the other day. What confuses me

is why you didn’t call the police.”

I can tell Van Buren doesn’t expect an answer. He’s simply letting me know that he can be a prick too.
    “Obviously, I should have, but I could tell the kid had no intention of using it.”

“That’s not what I heard.”

“I was closer. Believe me, he was more scared than Feif.”

“You know what kind of gun it was?”

“I don’t know guns, Barney.”

“Can you describe it?”

“I barely looked at it. In fact, I made it a point not to. I tried to pretend that me and Walker were just two

people having a conversation. Ignoring the gun made that a lot easier.”

“You know any reason Michael Walker or Dante Halleyville might want to kill Feifer, Walco, or Roche?”

“No. There isn’t any.”

“Why’s that, Tom?”

“They barely knew each other.”

The young detective pursed his lips and shook his head. “No one’s seen them since the murder.”

“Really.”

“Plus, we got reason to think Dante and Walker were at the scene that night.”

I start shaking my head a little at the news. “That makes no sense. There’s no way they’d go back there

after what happened that afternoon.”

“Not if they were smart,” says Van Buren. “But, Tom, these boys weren’t smart. They could be killers.”

Beach Road

Chapter 20
    Tom
    WOW! HALF AN hour after Barney Fife Van Buren leaves with his little orange notebook in hand,

Wingo sounds the alarm again.
    More company.
    When I look through the front-door window, all I see is torso, which means it’s Clarence, and that’s not

good news either.
    Clarence, who drives a cab in town and does some college scouting, has been a close friend since he

steered me to St. John’s fifteen years ago. Because there’s as much downtime for a Hampton cabbie

as for a Montauk lawyer, he comes by my office two or three times a week. The six-foot-six Clarence

is also Dante’s cousin, and I know from his worried expression that’s why he’s here.
    This cannot be good.
    “I just got a call from him,” says Clarence. “Boy is scared out of his mind. Thinks they’re going to kill

him.”

“Who? Who’s going to kill him?”

“He’s not sure.”

I pull two beers out of the fridge and Clarence takes one.
    “Where the hell is he? Van Buren just left here. He says Dante and Walker bolted. It

looks

bad.”
    “I know it does, Tom.”

With the sun on the way down, we sit at the counter in the kitchen.
    “Van Buren also implied that Dante and Walker were at the murder scene that night.”

“They got a witness?” asks Clarence.
    “I can’t tell. He was being cute about it. Why the hell would Dante and Walker be going back there after

what happened?”

“Dante says he can explain everything. But right now we got to get him to turn himself in. That’s why I’m

here. He respects you, Tom. You talk to him, he’ll listen.”

Clarence stares at me. “Tom, please? I’ve never once asked you for a favor.”

“He tell you where they are?”

Clarence shook his head and looked hurt. “Wouldn’t even give me a number.”

I spread my hands wide. “What do you want to do, Clarence? Wait here and hope he calls again?”

“He says we should talk to his grandma. Dante says if Marie says it’s cool, he’ll give us a call.”

Beach Road

Chapter 21
    Tom

I CAN FEEL right then and there that this is going real bad in a big hurry, and I should not be involved. But

I go with Clarence anyway.
    We climb into his