spacious skies - 26. dawes

by american joe

part 26 of 40

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joe and officer mudlark watched as officer toots knocked on the door of the gray house with red trim. the door opened immediately, quicker than it had when joe knocked earlier. the same surly individual opened the door. hello, toots said, i am with animal services, and i wonder if you know anything - about that dog? i don’t know nothing about that dog, or any other dog. i never seen it before, like i told the other guy. my name is officer toots. lou toots. what’s yours? my name is charles g dawes, not that it’s any of your goddamned business. what do you want to know my name for? i’m a citizen and i know my rights. no need to get upset, mr dawes, i just thought that maybe you might remember something and want to contact us. no way! well, in that case, i won’t trouble you further. have a nice day, sir. charles g dawes slammed the door in toots’s face. toots walked back to where joe and officer mudlark were standing. he doesn’t know anything, he told mudlark. she nodded. all right. can i go now? joe asked. mudlark raised her eyebrows. go? you want to go? don’t you want to see how this turns out? turns out? i thought someone would just come and take the poor dog away. or that you would. well, if you are in such a hurry to leave, we won’t keep you. but we might have some questions for you later. about what? joe thought. aloud, he said, do you want my address, phone number? don’t worry, mudlark said, we can find you. toots and mudlark watched joe walk away. you notice how he said, the poor dog? mudlark asked. like he’s this real sympathetic character? * charles g dawes watched toots and mudlark put the dog in their vehicle and drive away. sons of bitches, he thought, nosey interfering sons of bitches, treading on a man’s privacy. don’t tread on me! he said aloud. dawes talked to himself aloud a lot. he went back downstairs to his basement. to be continued

spacious skies - 25. public spirit

by american joe

part 25 of 40

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the vehicle pulled up. it was white, with “animal services “ in blue letters on its side. a short round woman and a a short thin man, both wearing what looked like a uniform of white shirt and navy pants, got out. they looked at the dog. is that your dog? the woman asked. no, joe said again, and i never saw it before. then you must be a pretty public spirited citizen, the woman said. i guess, joe answered. the man was bending down and looking at the dog. he took a phone out of his pocket and took some pictures of the dog with it. then he put the phone away and took out some gloves and put them on. the woman took a phone out of her pocket. she pushed a button on it. what’s your name, she asked joe. joe. joe biddle. got any i d? of course. joe took his wallet out and opened it to his i d handed the wallet to the woman. she glanced at it, photoed it , and gave it back to him. live around here, joe? not right around here. what’s not right around here? about three miles away. three miles? the woman looked around. i don’t see your car. i didn’t drive. i was just going for a walk. from three miles away? you must be a real walking man. i try to get my exercise. i guess, the woman said. the man who had been looking at the dog stood up. he looked across the road at the gray house with red trim. joe noticed that the man in the gray overcoat had disappeared. it occurred to joe that he had said he had seen “the whole thing”. including the dog getting killed? joe decided not to mention the man in the overcoat, unless he was asked about him. instead he said, i asked at that house if it was their dog, but they said it wasn’t. thank you, the woman said, but i think we will ask ourselves anyway. joe noticed for the first time that both animal rescue people were wearing name tags. the man’s said “toots” and the woman’s said “mudlark”. joe thought those were funny names, but there were a lot of people in the world, and some of them had funny names. the man started across the road in the direction of the gray house. the woman watched him cross, then turned back to joe, holding her phone toward him, obviously in order to record whatever they said. next

spacious skies - 24 - the dog

by american joe

part 24 of 40

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there was a guy named joe. he was just a guy. he tried to be a nice guy and to get along with everybody, but in today’s angry and resentment filled world, this often was not as easy as it might be. one afternoon joe was walking down the road and he saw a dead dog lying in the road. the poor dog, joe thought. and then he thought, i wonder who it belonged to. there was a house on the other side of the road, an ordinary looking house painted gray, with red trim, and it was the only house in sight. joe thought maybe the dog belonged to the people in the gray house, so he went over and knocked on the door. a man answered the door. he was an ordinary looking man but he looked mean and angry. yeah? there is a dead dog lying in the street, joe started to explain. i thought maybe - what the flip do i care, the man asked. i thought maybe it belonged to you… i don’t have a dog, i have never had a dog, i am never going to have a dog, get the flip out of my life, absalom, and if you come back here bothering me again i will kill you. and with that the angry man slammed the door in joe’s face. joe went back to the dead dog. he shook his head. he was not entirely unused to the level of anger the man had shown, but he was still always a little surprised by it, being such a nice guy himself. he proceeded to do what he realized he should have done to begin with - call the local emergency number. emergency, can i help you, a female voice answered. yes, i found a dead dog in the street, joe said. does the dog’s body provide a threat to anybody, or is it impeding traffic? um - i suppose it could, but there is no traffic that i can see. would you mind moving the dog out of the street so that is not impeding traffic? is it your dog, by the way? i suppose i could do that. joe said. and it is not my dog and i do not know whose it is. thank you, sir. the voice took a slightly friendlier tone, perhaps realizing from joe’s attitude that he was not going to argue about anything. please hold, sir, i will connect you to someone who can assist you. joe waited. the sight of the dog continued to fill him with sadness. another female voice interrupted his reverie. animal rescue, can i help you? yes, i found a dead dog in the street. is it your dog? no, and i never saw it before. is it lying in the middle of the street? yes, but i am going to move it on to the sidewalk like i told the other lady. very good. we will be there n a few minutes. i’m not sure what street this is - we know where you are,sir. just hang tight. the line went dead. joe looked around. i might as well move the dog he thought. the dog was heavier than he thought. it was not bloodied, but joe wished he had something to wash his hands off with. he was wiping his hands with a handkerchief when he heard a voice. it was the hoarse voice of an old man. joe looked up and saw a stoop shouldered man in a gray overcoat that looked too heavy for the weather. the man wore an old fashioned cloth cap but the man himself had an unlined face and looked more ageless than old. that was a fine thing you did, young fellow, the ageless man said. i saw and heard the whole thing. a fine thing, in the old-fashioned way. we need more people like you, people who will stand up and be counted and do the right thing, like the men who fought at valley forge and iwo jima. saw and heard the whole thing? joe thought. he had not noticed the man until he heard his voice. out loud he said, all i did was call about a dead dog. and i never fought at valley forge or iwo jima or anywhere else. be that as it may, the man said - but look here , here are the authorities. that was fast, joe thought, and he turned and saw what looked like a small ambulance coming up the road. next

spacious skies - 23. omar

by american joe

part 23 of 40

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omar khayyam never knew what hit him. one day he was on top of the world, with life spread out before him like a day at the beach in honolulu hawaii. everything was so great. i liked my friends, and they liked me. i had a great girl friend, and she liked me and i liked her - a lot. i really liked her a lot. really a lot. really a lot. omar paused in his recitation and stared into space. mr ingersoll waited for him to continue. as the richest and most powerful man in the world, he was used to telling people to “speak up” or to “get on with it” if they wasted his time by not getting to the point of whatever it was they were trying to communicate. mr ingersoll and omar khayyam were seated at a table in a pete and jenny’s in a shiny metropolis notorious for its large homeless population. omar was one of the homeless. mr ingersoll had offered to buy him a cup of coffee and either a donut or a sandwich, and omar had eagerly accepted the coffee and ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. mr ingersoll had been introducing himself in this manner to people, mostly homeless people, for a couple of weeks. so far he had not found the results enlightening or interesting, but he had decided to persevere, at least until his next scheduled appointment with dr dee. like all the other persons who had accepted mr ingersoll’s offer, omar had not asked why he was making the offer, but had seemed to accept it as he might have accepted rain falling from the sky. so far mr ingersoll had followed dr dee’s advice about not “cross-examining” people, or trying to “draw them out”, but just to let them talk at their own pace. but now he decided to do things as he always had - his own way. tell me, he asked omar, with his best smile, why do you think i bought you the coffee and the sandwich? what? why do you think i bought you the coffee and the sandwich? why? do you want to buy me another one? i haven’t finished this one yet. no. i was just wondering. wondering what? why you thought i bought you the coffee and the sandwich. because you are a nice guy, i guess. why else would you buy me a sandwich? you are right, i am a nice guy. see, i told you. what did i tell you? i knew right away, you were a great guy. thank you. it’s kind of you to say so. you know, i have had some bad luck lately. maybe you could help me out. maybe. just how bad has your luck been? thus encouraged, omar told his tale.. next

spacious skies - 22. ingersoll

by american joe

part 22 of 40

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i am the saddest, most unhappy man in the world, doctor. doctor dee smiled. but you are the richest, most famous person in the world, mr ingersoll, he said. is that what i am paying you for, doctor? if i told any person passing by in the street that i was sad and unhappy they would give me the same answer. but you do not pass people by in the street, mr ingersoll. you are surrounded by bodyguards and beset by paparazzi wherever you go. yes, of course. it was just a manner of speaking. i understand. but you have given me an idea. why not go out in the street, anonymously, and mingle a little bit with so-called ordinary people? i am not saying it would be a magical cure-all, but it might give you a different perspective on your troubles, at the very least. but i would be recognized. bah. a man of your wealth can surely hire an expert on disguise to provide you with something not only effective but comfortable. and if you choose to dispense with bodyguards or security, who is to deny you? no government , no doctor, no insurance company can tell you what to do. mr ingersoll considered this. i suppose i could give it a try. i could have security, but at a discreet distance, the biggest problem would be a leak from someone in my security service, who are a worthless bunch of slackers always looking for a quick buck from the unprincipled and intrusive media. well, that is all up to you, but why not give it a try? tell me, if i do try it, do you think i could i just walk up to ordinary people in the street, and start conversations with them? just yesterday, my political analysis team presented me with a detailed report on what they termed the atomization and alienation of the mob - of the public. you have a point. i would not just walk up to people and try to talk to them. it just isn’t done, and has not been for a long time. not in the so-called developed world, anyway. a bazaar in turlkestan or mongolia maybe. but you might try riding buses or trains, or hanging around bars or cafes. that is still a possibility. or fast food places. or donut shops, you can often find people to talk to in them. homeless people, the doctor added, but only to himself. he picked a small notebook up off his desk. aloud, he said - about those dreams you recounted on your last visit… * a few days later. mr robert ingersoll, the richest and most famous, and most powerful man in the world, was seated by himself in a pete and jenny’s in a large midwestern united states city. pete and jenny’s was a new fast food franchise specializing in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but also offering a “large selection” of “nutritionally balanced and healthful” foodstuffs. mr ingersoll owned a controlling interest in it. following doctor dee’s advice, mr ingersoll had been made up by the world’s greatest and most expensive disguise expert and was hopefully unrecognizable. two members of his private security force were lurking outside, and two more would enter the restaurant at discreet intervals. at this point mr ingersoll’s story becomes problematic. a number of different strands of the narrative later developed. none of them went unchallenged. but perhaps all or most of them might receive some consideration. next

spacious skies - 21. the millingtons

by american joe

part 21 of 40

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judge roy brown and georgia were well pleased with georgia’s preliminary conquest of roger millington iv at the prom. georgia had arranged with roger to visit him at his home the following afternoon at three o’clock. she arrived at exactly five minutes past three, in the new ford truck the judge had given her for graduation. she could have had any vehicle she wanted, but she liked manly things. there was one person even more thrilled by the turn of events than georgia and judge roy, and that was roger’s mother. the afternoon passed pleasantly. georgia charmed roger’s mother, who was named dawn. after fifteen minutes they were “georgia” and “dawn”, and not “miss brown” or “mrs millington”. what about roger himself? he kept quiet as the two females conversed so happily, and a strange feeling of foreboding crept over him as the sun descended slowly in the blue sky. roger found his mind wandering to the two creatures he had felt closest to in his brief life. the first was his toy soldier sergeant burdock, whom he had received as a present for his sixth birthday, and who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances when roger was fifteen years old, but who continued to visit roger in his dreams. the second was his dog randolph, whom he had received as a present for his seventh birthday, and who had been hit by a truck and killed when roger was twelve years old, breaking his heart beyond repair. randloph also continued to visit roger in his dreams. randolph had been known as “buck" when he was alive, the name being insisted upon by roger’s father, roger iii, who did not think “randolph" a properly doggy name for a young boy’s dog, especially a young boy such as roger, whose natural manliness seemed a weak sprout that needed nourishment. next

spacious skies - 20. the three friends

by american joe

part 20 of 40

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red jones, blackie smith, and whitey green were the best of friends. they went everywhere together, and had big plans. they all wanted to fight for freedom after they graduated from middlewood high school. red planned to join the army, blackie the space corps, and whitey the elite commando group epsilon force. but they planned to keep in touch. they were all in love with sweet georgia brown, the prettiest girl in town. georgia was not only the prettiest girl in town, but the richest. her father was judge roy brown. the browns had pretty much owned the town since anyone could remember. judge roy brown was disappointed that he did not have a son to succeed him in owning the town of middlewood, but he was determined that georgia should marry the richest and most powerful and most ambitious man that she, or he, could find. the judge was fond of red, blackie, and whitey, thought they were fine young fellows and wished them the best of luck in their careers fighting for freedom, but did not want any of them marrying his daughter. he need not have worried. the apple did not fall far from the tree, and georgia, even without being coached or instructed, had very much the same views on marriage as her daddy. on the night of the high school senior prom, georgia danced first not with red, blackie, or whitey, but with roger millington iv, the richest boy in town though rather a retiring and scholarly type. georgia had never paid roger much mind through the twelve years of their school days, but when the dance was over, she had him well and truly hooked. next

spacious skies - 19. in the woods

by american joe

part 19 of 40

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pete rollins lived in a house in the woods. sally harris lived in another house in the woods. fark lived in the woods. pete rollins worked for the unlimited universal corporation. on three days a week he worked at home and on another three days he rode his bicycle to the train station four miles away and took the train to the uuc headquarters in the city. on the seventh day he usually either went for a long ride on his bicycle, or for a walk in the woods. sally harris was a freelance designer of logos for startup corporations. she almost never left her house - which she described as a “cabin” to her friends and associates online, but was quite spacious and comfortable by most humans’ standards. sally’s house was closer to the highway than pete’s and was visited by delivery vehicles of various sizes almost every day, sometimes two or three times a day. sally kept a small electric car in a shed behind her “cabin” but rarely used it. pete and sally had no interest in each other and barely registered on each other’s consciousnesses. fark was the last of his tribe, which had lived in the woods since the beginning of time, keeping out of sight of so-called civilization, and he took a great interest in both phil and sally, especially sally, and spied on them constantly. next

spacious skies - 18. uncle joe

by american joe

part 18 of 40

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uncle joe, where are you going? just out for a walk. be careful out there, and don’t get into trouble. the world has changed since you have been away. i have tried to tell you. we all had cell phones, and we did not do much except look at them all day. so i probably know more about the modern world than somebody like you who had to work. if you say so. but i still say - be careful and keep out of mischief. * good afternoon, madam. may i ask you a question? no. good afternoon, sir. may i ask you a question? i don’t think so. you do not think so? why do you not think so? what could i say to make you change your mind and perhaps be receptive to listening to my question? it was just a manner of speaking. i do not want any part of your question, or any part of you. get lost. certainly, sir, i had no intention of offending. i wish you well, and hope in the future you become more open to experience in your passage through this curious universe. good-bye. good afternoon, sir. sir? do i look like a sir to you? apologize, or i will summon a policeperson and have you arrested for misgendering me. i am sorry, madam. i meant no harm, i have read of such things in my sincere attempt to keep up with the rapid changes in modern civilization, but i have been away. away where? there is no away any more. i have been a missionary in darkest africa. there is no more darkest africa. i see that you are a racist and a colonialist and a fantasist or a confidence man as well as a transphobe. wow, man, i mean madam, that’s harsh. and did you get that dead fish complexion in darkest africa? i will tell you where you got it - in prison. you got me. i know a scam artist like you - from a thousand miles away. i congratulate you on your perspicacity. perhaps we could do business together. allow me to introduce myself. * so how did your walk go? could have been better,, could have been worse. next

spacious skies - 17. the confident man

by american joe

part 17 of 40

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how are you today? confident. confident! that is great news. confident enough to look for a job? i did not say that. but you did not not say it either. i am going to take it that you are. let’s not go overboard here. you said you felt confident. remember that job i lined up for you with general grant two weeks ago? but you did not feel up to? but now you do! i am going to call ————— right now. wait! u s? barbara f here.. remember that job you had for babe last week or the week before. well, that’s great. (the person he hired just quit.) well,babe is up for it now. yes, he is so excited to take it he can’t talk. i will send him right over. i need some time to pull myself together. you are together. and full of confidence, remember? and full of sass and vinegar and beans and all that. i need to brush my teeth. what is that going to take, three days? why not? it took noah three days to build the ark. that was just a story somebody made up. no, it was on television. just brush your teeth if you must. the general is waiting for you. in case you forgot the address, here it is. the general has been waiting for me all my life. then what is the problem? he wants to kill me - to get me killed. so does the rest of the human race. stop being a big baby. you don’t understand - you don’t know what they are capable of. the general is a man of peace. that is why they call him the general. next

spacious skies - 16. peacefully

by american joe

part 16 of 40

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some kind of contraption that looked like a cross between a sherman tank and a county courthouse pulled up beside turtle as he was heading to baxter’s creek in the rain and mud. someone or something covered in a yellow oilskin got out and stood in turtle’s way. good afternoon, mister pelwood. what is good about it? and how do you know it is afternoon? could be any dang time way that sky is. now, mister pelwood, there is no point in your putting on your cantankerous old curmudgeon act. you did not answer the last questionnaire the department sent you so we had no choice but to come out here in this inclement weather and bring you in to answer your - our - questions. you expect me to believe that? you just don’t want me to catch old reilly, that is what you want. all you dang bureaucrats want is to protect old reilly and keep a poor man from fulfilling his destiny. i know you. we don’t want to stand here in the rain all day, mister pelwood. what looked like a small pistol appeared in the gloved hand of the oilskin covered creature. go on, you ain’t going to shoot me. it does not contain bullets. it will just knock you out so that we can bring you in. so you might as well come peacefully. that is what they all say for a thousand years. you all need some new lines. * coffee, mister pelwood? why not? make sure it’s nice and hot. 785-6, get mister pelwood a cup of coffee, please. and make sure it is hot enough for his liking. now mister pelwood, i have your file coming up and we just have a few questions. how many questions is a few? oh… two or three hundred, maybe. why, are you in a hurry to go somewhere? i was until you came along. i can hear old reilly laughing now. next

spacious skies - 15. a cold wind

by american joe

part 15 of 40

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it was cold. the wind was coming off the river from one direction and off the lake from another. it is cold as hell, said baby bear. it is not cold in hell, goldilocks corrected baby bear, it is hot in hell. it is cold as something then. try the south pole. or the endless void of the universe. all right, it is that cold then. you know, goldilocks, mama bear interposed, we are getting a little tired of you always correcting us, just because you are supposedly human and say you had a certificate from the university attesting that you were educated. i am sorry, goldilocks replied contritely, i meant no harm, i was only making idle conversation. everything you do and say is idle. maybe if you put that so called human brain to use, you could come up with something to feed this fire, which could use some serious feeding, mama bear retorted tartly. and something to eat too, papa bear added gruffly. i did have one idea last week, goldilocks said. as you recall, nothing came of it, but at least i was trying. and you are implying we are not trying? mama bear shot back. actually i do not recall what the good idea was, said papa bear. my brain is not what it used to be. why don’t you refresh my memory? she stole some books from the library, baby bear said, and took them to methuselah’s book store but he wouldn’t give her anything for them, remember? not even a lousy dime, goldilocks added bitterly. hmm, said papa bear, was that because he knew you stole them from the library? no, he just said they were trash, and would take up space and nobody would give him a penny for them. just the kind of nonsense you would expect from somebody a thousand years old, mama bear added. i got an idea, said baby bear, it just came to me like a flash of lightning. let’s hear it. baby bear turned to goldilocks. could you steal some more books? sure, all you want. you can just walk out of the library with them? no, these aren’t books on the shelves. these are down in the basement, where they are going to throw them away. but the basement door is loose, and it is child’s play to get in and help yourself. then, baby bear asked triumphantly, why can’t we just get some and feed the fire with them? mama bear and papa bear and goldilocks were struck dumb. baby bear, you are a genius! thank you. now we just have to figure out how to find some food to cook over the fire. next

spacious skies - 14. mother's back

by american joe

part 14 of 40

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really, mother, you are being quite unreasonable - even by your not very lofty standards of reasonableness. what is the point of arguing with me, barrington? you know i never give in to arguments, they only serve to get my back up. i thought you might make an exception for something as trivial as my wedding. trivial indeed. you may well turn out a typical browning man, and marry five or six times, each time to a younger and more ill bred wife. what an awful thing to say. i am an awful person. in any case, i can not stop your wedding or make any attempt to, i am only declining to attend it. and who is going to notice my absence, decrepit and demented as i am? my feelings will be hurt. and it is bad luck. you are a browning man, you do not have any feelings, and you have the browning luck, which is written in the stars and also foretold by the gypsy. which gypsy was that? the one who wrote it in the stars. belinda, help me out here. it is no use, barrington. and besides, mother has a valid point. i think it is perfectly dreadful that you are marrying a girl whose grandfather was drummed out of the state senate for - that is enough, belinda, do not talk about such things in my presence. i am sorry, mother, i do not know what i was thinking. and besides, she is a snippy little thing. she weighs one hundred and seventy pounds and is an olympic decathlon champion, barrington protested. that hardly qualifies her as a snippy little thing. barrington had closed his eyes when he made this pronouncement, and when he opened them, mother had left the room and he was left alone with belinda. come, barrington, belinda entreated him gently. let is go look at the reflection of the stars in the pond. you know that always soothes you. that is a good idea, barrington admitted, especially as it promises to rain in about an hour, and it will be difficult to see the reflection of the stars in the pond. next

spacious skies - 13. the red circle

by american joe

part 13 of 40

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the road seemed to go on forever, with no mountain in sight. there has to be a mountain eventually, harry the horse thought. or a town or a gas station or a general store. and then he remembered- automobiles were obsolete, which was one reason he was not driving one himself, so there was no reason to expect to find a gas station. but how about a general store? not that he had ever seen one, except in a movie. he also tried to think of something to say if he encountered another creature on the road, but so far he had not. he trudged on. the sun began to set over the low horizon. finally, a figure appeared in the distance - walking, like harry, not running or riding in or on any kind of vehicle. it was a man wearing a white suit. he wore a blue hat and carried a black bag. the black bag did not fit harmoniously with the blue hat. he must have murdered somebody and stolen the black bag, harry thought, because the blue hat fits perfectly on his head. and how does he keep the white suit so spotlessly clean, trudging down this dusty road? where does this road go? was the only thing harry could think to say when he came face to face with the man. it doesn’t go anywhere, it stays right where it is. i deserved that, harry thought. he turned and watched the man continue down the road, toward the turn in the road harry had taken so many hours ago. maybe i should turn back too, harry mused. then he saw the red circle on the back of the man’s white suit. it looked like a bullet hole. after due consideration, harry decided to keep going the way he had been going. toward the mountain, which had to be there somewhere. and the general store, which would have an ice cold bottle of coca-cola, which he could purchase with his last dollar. and a wooden nickel for the farmer’s daughter. next

spacious skies - 12. no perkins

by american joe

part 12 of 40

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henry morgan, the philosopher, who had been a pirate in a previous life, stood looking out the window of his cigar store on a cloudy afternoon. he saw a figure striding in a purposeful manner toward the store from across the street. the person looked familiar to henry but he could not quite place him. the little bell above the door rang, and the person entered, displaying a grim face beneath the brim of his gray hat. are you perkins? perkins? no sir, my name is morgan, henry morgan. no perkins here. do you own this establishment? as a matter of fact i do, sir, and have for the past six years, selling the finest cigars on the block, if i may say so myself. perhaps i could interest you in one, or even in a box of some. do you have some way of proving to me that you are not perkins? well, if my sainted mother were here, and not in heaven, she could probably vouch for me - but look here, one of my good customers is coming through the door - none other than old joe mcduff. the bell rang and the door opened behind the ill-mannered customer, and he immediately turned to the newcomer and demanded - look here, do you know this fellow? you mean henry? of course i know henry - henry morgan, who has been selling the finest cigars in chicago in this very spot since i was young enough to walk without a cane. hmmm. very strange - very strange. i am sorry to have bothered you, sir. the stranger turned and brushed against old joe mcduff and went out the door, but as he did he turned back to henry and said - we may meet again, sir. and in that moment henry remembered where he had seen the man before. he had been pointed out to him on clark street as the legendary trope - the world’s deadliest assassin! next

spacious skies - 11. trope

by american joe

part 11 of 40

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my sources tell me, mister trope, that you are the world’s deadliest assassin. some people have been kind enough to describe me as such. i just try to do my job and give good service. i see. and how much do you charge for your services? nothing. nothing? no, i feel that my services are either needed or not, and no one should be deprived of them simply because they lack funds. interesting. so, how do you decide to whom to provide your services? i provide services to all victims. all right. and how do people prove they are victims? they just tell me that they are. i believe all victims. that is my first law - to believe all victims. so if i give you the name of a party that has victimized me, you will take care of them - no questions asked? absolutely. and we need never see each other again. that sounds good to me. here is a piece of paper with a name and address on it. the person described on it did me wrong. shall i just give it to you? yes. trope took the piece of paper from capone, glanced at it, put it in his pocket and stood up. thank you , mr capone, for giving me the opportunity to continue to fulfill my destiny. you are very welcome, sir. trope left. frank stood in the doorway and watched him walk down the corridor and out the front door and into the street. what do you think? capone asked frank. what do you think? capone shrugged. who was on the piece of paper? perkins. who? a little schmuck over on 223rd street, came over on the mayflower, and runs a combination flower shop and cigar store. don’t the cigars stink up the flowers? i don’t know, maybe the flowers stink up the cigars. i am not an expert on these matters. so what did this perkins ever do to you? i just don’t like him. outwardly, he shows proper respect, but he has this look in his eyes like he does not really respect me at all. be that as it may, i presume you just want to see if this trope fellow can deliver the way he says. i mean, one of the boys could have taken care of this perkins. capone did not bother to answer. next