BooksBarbecue
Back The Devils You Know Save as PDF
Chapters (46)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. PRAISE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  45. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  46. SNEAK PEEK: EXIT .45

She seemed to think about that. She said, ‘Leo, his father is sick. He’s dying of the … his lung is unwell. I called his house and said is Leo there and he said that he is. His father say that he is. I say to him, I say: Is Leo there, and he say he not there right now. So I know he staying there. I just … I don’t know why is secret.’

‘Okay. Where does his father live?’

‘Up in San Luis.’

‘San Luis Obispo?’

‘Yes. Yes, that’s right.’

‘Do you have an address for him there?’

‘The road, I try remember … it’s written.’

‘Could you perhaps find it for me? That would be wonderful if you could. We’re all very worried about him.’

‘Yes, I find it for you. You tell him, will you tell him I need him to come back? I’m tired of keep worrying.’

‘Yes, I’ll tell him that. Of course I will.’

THIRTY-FIVE

THIRTY-FIVE

They drove back down the hill into Santa Barbara and had breakfast at Deacon’s, opposite the wharf. Scrambled eggs for Vincent, pancakes for Erin, coffee for both of them. An older guy whom Vincent recognised as the proprietor poured their drinks. His voice was somewhere between wary and bored as he said to Vincent, ‘Are we going to have any trouble this time?’

Vincent said, ‘I don’t know. Depends who comes in.’

Their food arrived and they ate for a while, sitting back in their chairs, looking at each other. It was nice. He liked how she ate: every bite considered and manageable and composed of different elements on the plate. A bit of pancake, a piece of fruit, a bit of whatever that other stuff was—crème fraîche, probably. Maybe that was normal eating, but he hadn’t really thought about it in detail until now, seeing Erin do it.

She said, ‘So what do you think the story is?’

Vincent shrugged. ‘Misery in part, I guess. The lady I talked to just now sounded like Deborah Forsyth. In terms of what she said, I mean. But the timing’s obviously significant. Wayne and the gardener—whatshisname, Leo—went AWOL on the same day. I imagine they were both in on the job, bringing the truck up from Mexico or whatever happened, and they cut their own side deal and disappeared. Thirty million bucks, fifteen each—I’d say that’s enough to hit the restart button on your life.’

‘And not worry about the damage you’ve left behind.’

‘Yeah. I guess so.’

He had some coffee. ‘Funny to think about, isn’t it? Some people, you can give them a number, and that’s enough for them to cut ties.’

‘You couldn’t do it, then? You don’t have a number?’