In a corner booth, Charlie Parker was speaking softly with a young woman, most likely a client, who was obviously in difficulty if Parker was meeting with her on a Sunday. Parker often received clients, prospective or otherwise, at the Bear. He didn’t have an office of his own and his home was out of bounds. Dave knew that Parker occasionally used the premises of his lawyer, Moxie Castin, if circumstances required it, but preferred more informal settings. Moxie ate at the Bear a couple of times a month, usually with Parker. He seemed to be the unhealthiest man Dave had ever met, because his diet would have frightened Ronald McDonald, but he continued somehow to walk the earth. Dave had even started to use his services because Moxie’s legal connections were second to none, and being a bar owner in this town meant dealing with the cops and the courts on a regular basis, whether one liked it or not.

The young woman with Parker had begun to cry. Parker caught Dave’s eye, and Dave told one of the staff to take her a glass of water and see if she wanted a coffee or a soda, too. Parker’s face was alive with feeling for the woman opposite him: not pity, or not solely that, but more a profound empathy. It was why Parker did what he did, why he was good at it, why Dave would never wish for Parker’s absence from his life, and why Dave would never judge him harshly for any of his actions. As long as the Bear existed and was under Dave’s control, Parker would always be welcome; Angel and Louis, too. And okay, fine, even the Fulcis, although Dave expected time off in purgatory for what he’d endured on earth as a consequence of their presence.

Speaking of which, Dave wondered what Tony was up to. Tony and his brother were usually inseparable, but Tony had headed out two hours earlier and not been seen since. This was potentially bad news for civilization, depending on what he was doing. Dave glanced over again at Parker and the young woman. Cupcake Cathy had arrived with a glass of water, as well as two empty mugs and the coffeepot. Dave trusted that the young woman would be okay. She was with Parker now. He would do his best for her.

Dave returned to his accounts, but Tony Fulci’s absence continued to nag at him. He hoped Tony wasn’t in any trouble, because if Tony was in trouble, it would certainly be as a result of causing trouble for someone else. Dave wasn’t sure how he had ended up feeling some responsibility for the Fulcis’ actions, but that had come to be the case. In his weaker moments, he even worried about them. He hoped he wasn’t becoming fond of them.

Dear God, he thought, not that.

Chapter LXVII

Tony Fulci was not stupid.