Free The Last Whisper in the Dark: A Novel by Tom Piccirilli

across rooftops when he had more than enough cash set aside?”
    “He was born into the life, same as me. You weren’t.”
    “You have no idea how ridiculous you sound, do you?”
    Maybe I did but I ignored the question. “No matter how careful you are you’re going to fuck up. Kimmy—”
    He leaped up in a blur of Intimate Clinical Strength Antiperspirant and Deodorant Advanced Lady Solid Speed Stick, Light and Fresh pH-Balanced. h M motion. He was this close to taking a poke at me but held himself back at the last instant. “Don’t. Don’t mention her name.”
    “All right.”
    “Keep away from her.”
    “I have.”
    “I don’t believe you.”
    “Good, you’re wising up. You shouldn’t believe me, even if I am telling you the truth. I’m a thief and a liar. So is that crew. No pro outfit needs that much hardware on a job. Even the driver was carrying. A driver never carries.”
    “You scared for me or for yourself?”
    “Mostly for your wife and daughter.”
    He pulled a disgusted face. “Oh, don’t give me that shit again. We’ve already been through this.”
    I nodded. I tried to find the right words. They weren’t there. I licked my lips and almost spoke my brother’s name. I didn’t know why. He wasn’t talking in my head at the moment. “Look,” I said, “I’m a jealous, bitter prick, and for the past couple of months I’ve had a heart full of vipers I wouldn’t wish on anybody. What matters right now is that you wise up about these guys. They’re righteously bad news.”
    “Why? Because they beat the shit out of you? You deserved it.”
    “Probably,” I admitted.
    “You got what you were after.”
    “Not quite.”
    “If they were as wrong as you make them out to be they would’ve put six in your face instead of letting you walk away. I trust them more than I trust you, Terrier. So back off. I’m not telling you again.Stay away from me and my family.” He glanced aside. He couldn’t keep his eyes on me anymore. “Just stay away from us.”
    There was nothing else to argue about.
    Maybe I didn’t know Chub that well anymore but I did recognize a man who was full of fear. For all his bluster Chub was worried. The crew had spooked him. Part of it was my fault. They had probably pushed him hard when they found out I’d followed them. I had meant to protect him and I’d put him in danger. They might think he was leaking info. They might think we were planning a rip-off. Only our reputations had saved us so far. But you could never be sure who might overreact, overindulge, overreach.
    “Go on, get out of here,” he said.
    I waited. I had a reason. Chub had a screen saver on his computer showing a recent photo of him, Kimmy, and their daughter, whom I called Scooter. It bounced around and grew larger and smaller. When he’d jumped out of his seat the screen saver had cleared. I waited for it to return.
    It toomy agony. I&#x

My father stood on the porch with a man who looked so much like my dead brother that all I could do was sit in my car and stare. I was still a little buzzed on the Percs but I didn’t think I was so far gone that I’d be hallucinating. Maybe I had a concussion. Maybe I was lying in a coma in an ICU while my parents agonized over pulling the plug. JFK trundled down the steps and crossed the lawn. He rose onto his hind legs, put his front paws on the hood, and stood looking at me expectantly through the windshield.
    The guy who looked like Collie was talking animatedly with my old man. He used his hands a lot, waved his arms all around. He bent over violently and guffawed. He flashed teeth. My father showed no emotion and sipped from his beer. He shouldn’t be drinking at all. I imagined the arguments my mother had already had with him trying to get him to stop.
    He leaned back against the railing like he was relaxed, but I could read tension in his body language. I swung the car door open and climbed out. I stepped up the walk filled with the same dread