Read Blues in the Night for Free Online Page B

and Mace strolled through Griffith Park. It was green and tranquil, bathed in midday sunlight. ‘Nothing like your friggin’ hurricane-crazy Louisiana.’
    â€˜Nothing like.’
    As they passed a field, a softball landed at Lacotta’s oddly tiny feet. He picked it up and tossed it back into the game. Immediately, he began rubbing his shoulder. ‘What do you do with yourself back there?’
    â€˜Rebuild. Hunt. Fish. Read books. Listen to the news, mainly the weather. Every now and then I wrestle an alligator, just to keep fit.’
    â€˜No jobs?’ Lacotta asked.
    â€˜Not the way you mean it.’
    â€˜Guess you’re doing OK since you sold your old man’s cannery.’
    â€˜Cost of living’s a little lower in Bayou Royal than here.’
    â€˜Those seven years at Pel Bay – guys go bad in there,’ Lacotta said.
    â€˜Guys go bad out here in your sunshine,’ Mace said, annoyed. ‘What’s on your mind, Paulie?’
    Lacotta looked at him, squinting, maybe from the sun. ‘You’ve changed. Maybe it was Pel Bay. Maybe fighting Mother Nature in the bayou. You’re not the Mace I knew.’
    â€˜I’m older.’
    â€˜Thirties turned you curious, huh?’
    â€˜I get it. You’ve been talking to Abe. Honest Abe.’
    â€˜Since when did you get so chummy with pimps?’ Lacotta asked, continuing his stroll.
    â€˜He owns a coffeehouse now,’ Mace said. ‘Makes movies.’
    Lacotta snorted. ‘Maybe. But he’s still a pimp. And you put my friggin’ business on the street.’
    â€˜Not much I could tell him, considering I don’t know anything,’ Mace said.
    â€˜Why can’t you just do like I ask and not worry about it?’
    â€˜You know goddamn well I’ve never done business in the dark,’ Mace said. ‘Secrets make me nervous. There’s enough going on in this city to confuse me as it is. I feel like fucking Rip Van Winkle without his glasses.’
    â€˜Culture shock,’ Lacotta said. ‘I read an article about it once, in Vanity Fair .’ He gestured toward an empty park bench. ‘One of the old Bush Must Go issues.’
    When they were seated, looking out at the softball game, he said, ‘I suppose I been playin’ it a little too close. When I told you this was a personal matter between me and Angie, I wasn’t being straight up. I guess you figured that, huh?’
    â€˜It did occur to me that you might not be paying me a couple grand a day to eyeball Angela Lowell just because she dumped you.’
    â€˜I guess I never was the jealous type,’ Lacotta said. ‘Not that I’m Joe-Don’t-Care, exactly. Remember the Irish broad who worked at On the Rox? All that red hair and a body that—’
    â€˜Let’s take it one romance at a time,’ Mace said.
    Lacotta smiled at him. ‘You know what used to piss me off about you, Mace? You always knew what I was thinking before I did.’
    â€˜Not always,’ Mace said.
    â€˜Yeah, well, spilled milk. Look, the deal with me and Angie, some of it’s personal and some of it isn’t.’
    â€˜Tell me about the “isn’t,”’ Mace said.
    Lacotta shifted on the bench as if the subject matter was adding to his physical discomfort. ‘Angie and me, we were getting along just fine until right around the time the trouble started.’
    â€˜You want me to ask what trouble?’ Mace said. ‘OK. What trouble?’
    â€˜I had this deal in place. A little out of my league, but with the potential of moving me into the bigs. I swear, the payday was gonna impress even my prick uncle, Sal.’
    â€˜What happened?’
    â€˜It turned to shit and the next I know, Angie is suddenly unavailable. About the third “sorry, but I’m busy that night”, I went a little nuts, like I do. Getting her back in my bed was the only thing on