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already made a deal. The look only
flashed on his face for a second, but it told me everything. If he talks Junior
gets protected.
    1
don't feel good, Joe. Why don't you get out of here.'
    I
leaned very close to him. 'Look, Manny,' I whispered into his ear, 'I kept my
mouth shut for the last seven years while I sat in jail. I could've talked and
put you away with me. Right now you'd be rotting in a prison hospital if I
hadn't kept quiet.'
    'Yeah,
so?'
    'So?
Goddam it, Manny, confessing your sins to Phil won't change anything. You're
still going to end up burning in hell.’
    ‘No
I won't,' he argued stubbornly.
    From
behind me I heard a loud voice booming, 'Hey, Pop, who's that with you?' I
turned and saw Manny Jr. with what must have been two of his sons. Junior had
grown to look a lot like his dad used to; a heavy, thick man with a complexion
like chipped glass and a hardness about him. His two boys were probably under
seven but both looked like miniature versions of him. Junior stood staring at
me for a long moment before he recognized me. Then a vicious smile crept onto
his face.
    'Hey,
look what the cat dragged in here. Joe Denton, what the hell are you doing
here?'
    'Old
business with your dad.'
    'Yeah,
well, I think your business is over. Don't let the door hit you too hard on the way out.'
    He
started towards me, his smile stretching until his lips nearly disappeared. I
got up and walked close to him. 'You and me have business,' I said. 'Star Diner
out in Chesterville. Meet me there at seven.'
    'Nah,'
he said. 'Why don't you meet me at the house. I got a new game room in the
basement. We can have some fun.'
    'I
don't think so. Star Diner at seven. You better be there, Junior.'
    I
turned back and told Manny I'd be seeing him, and then I walked out of there.
     
     
     
    Chapter 8
     
    It
was twenty past seven and I was halfway through my turkey hotplate special
before Junior showed up. He had a couple of thugs with him; hard humorless
types who used to work for his dad. Junior spotted me at my booth, leered in my
direction, and came over and sat down. The diner was mostly empty and his two
thugs sat at an empty booth nearby.
    'Hey,
what's going on, Joe?' he said. 'You invite me to dinner and you start without
me? Don't you got no etiquette?'
    He
signaled the waitress over. 'Sweetheart,' he said, 'bring me a steak, well
done, and a glass of wine, something red.'
    'We
offer Chianti, Cabernet and Merlot by the glass, sir. Which would you prefer?'
she asked.
    'Whichever's
better, your choice, sweetheart. Just make sure it's your best.'
    He
waited until she left and then turned to me. 'I try to drink more red wine
these days.' Then lower and more surly, 'I don't appreciate you trying to order
me around, Joe, but it's been a while and I figure I give you a break for old
time's sake. What business you and me got?'
    I
took my time chewing and swallowing my food before telling him that I needed to
talk to him about Manny.
    'Yeah,
what about Pop?'
    'Why are you letting Phil Coakley work on him?’
    ‘I don't know what you're talking about.’
    ‘You don't know Phil is visiting your dad every
day?’
    ‘Yeah, so?'
    'So?
Phil was bragging to me that he's going to put the fear of God in your dad and
squeeze a confession out of him.'
    Junior
gave me a slight smile. 'Let him try. Pop's no rat. He's not going to talk.'
    'I think you're wrong there.'
    'I think you better shut up.'
    His
leer had shifted into something more violent. I took a deep breath and let it
out slowly. 'Look, Junior,' I said, 'I think we've got a real problem here.'
    'I
don't think we got any problem. Pop's not going to rat anyone. You don't need
to worry about nothing.' He leaned forward, a glint in his eyes. 'And I never
liked you calling me Junior. Got it?'
    I
sighed. 'Sure. Manny. All you have to do is send your dad to a hospital out of
state, maybe to Boston or New York. Your dad will get better care and we won't
have to worry about Phil trying to trick