Free The Weight by Andrew Vachss Page A

have a clue what Big Matt did for a living. His real living, I mean.”
    “What did she think he—?”
    “He buys houses. Real wrecks. Somewhere way out west, where you can buy them for next to nothing. Then he fixes them up and sells them. Lives in the house while he’s doing the repairs.”
    “Pretty smart.”
    “It is,” Solly said. “Big Matt, he’s a thinker.”
    Meaning, I’m not
, I thought, but I kept that to myself. Just sat and waited.
    “Prices have gone through the fucking roof since you’ve been away, Sugar. Actually, more of a spike. So the co-ops are down from what they were asking a few years ago, but rentals, they
never
go back. You’d be lucky to find a decent apartment for under two grand. And that wouldn’t even be the city—probably have to go out to Brooklyn or something.”
    “I’m not broke,” I reminded him.
    “No, you’re not. But you’re going to have to go back to work sooner or later.”
    “Sure.”
    “Aah!” he said, like he was throwing the word out of the room. “If Albie said this Jessop was stand-up, that should be good enough for me, right?”
    “I didn’t know him.”
    “It’s … it’s a respect thing, Sugar. I can’t just go out and cut my losses. I got no feeling from this guy. Nothing. Probably solid as a stone. But …”
    I kept quiet. Still couldn’t figure out what all this blah-blah wasabout. Solly was a talker, I knew. I mean, he
liked
talking. I guess there weren’t too many people he could talk to anymore.
    “How about if you nose around a little? Find the guy, talk to him, see if he’s righteous?”
    “What do I care? You said it yourself—I’m in the clear. Even if he walked into a police station somewhere and started running his mouth, how’s that my problem?”
    “I got a responsibility.”
    “To who? Everyone who sits in takes their chances; that’s the way it is.”
    “I got a responsibility to
Albie
, okay?” The old man was really getting worked up; I never heard him sound angry, like that. “I can’t just … you know. It’d be like one of those preemptive strikes. Tap the guy, and we can all rest easy. But that wouldn’t be fair to Albie. It’d be like I didn’t trust his judgment.
    “That happens, you know. Man gets old, he should get respect. Not for being old, but for the
wisdom
he has. Albie wasn’t soft in the head. Not fucking
senile
, okay? He still had it up here,” Solly said, tapping his temple.
    “That’s good enough for me.”
    “For you, sure. For me, it can’t be. A man gets old, he wants to leave a will, make sure he takes care of everyone who he should be taking care of. But you know what nobody should ever leave, Sugar? Loose threads, that’s what.”
    “I’m not going around playing private eye, Solly.”
    “I wasn’t asking for a favor.”
    “What? You want to
pay
me, to do this thing?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “Solly, I’m not exactly broke. I don’t live big. It could be a real long time before I have to make another move. Anyway, you know I’m not a contract man.”
    “You got a car?”
    “Where would I get a car?”
    “You could’ve rented one, maybe.”
    “With what? My credit card?”
    “Never mind. I got you a car. You’ll love it. Papered to the max, full-cover insurance and all. Let’s go and get your money.”
    “Solly …”
    “What?”
    “I got to get a place. Some clothes. Set up right, before I do anything. I can’t walk around with a duffel bag stuffed with cash. What’s your damn problem? I held up my end, didn’t I?”
    “Sure. Sure, you did, Sugar. You went first; now it’s my turn. And that’s—what?—finding you a place to stay, fixing you up with ID, all that?”
    “It always
has
been,” I said, letting him hear I didn’t like what he was talking about.
    “And, like I told you before, things have changed since you been away.”
    “I did five fucking years alone. Like I’m supposed to.
That
didn’t change.”
    He nodded his head slowly,