A recording broke in, then,“If you wish to continue, please deposit an additional thirty-five cents.”
I dug the change from my pocket and dropped it into the slot.
“Where are you, Jack?” Matteo said as the coins clicked through.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“You need to come in.”
“Release my funds.”
Matteo sighed. “Article 5923.216 of the Pennsylvania Trust statute allows me to suspend payments on the trust if I have reason to believe you are deceased, and I’m invoking that right.”
“You’re talking to me. I may not be at my best, but I can guarantee I’m not deceased.”
“I need to see you in person before I can reinstate your monthly payments.”
“You can’t do that.”
“You’re not giving me a choice, Jack.”
“Who are the people in white coats, Dewitt?”
“Who?”
Even as I spoke, I watched patrons coming and going from the library, the people in the park. Nobody seemed to notice me, though, and that was good. Just another homeless guy on the phone.
“I’ll be there in three days.”
I hung up before he could respond.
Because of the cost of parking in New York City, I had left my Jeep in the lot of a Walmart Superstore in Trenton, New Jersey. It took me the better part of a day and a half to thumb my way back, but there wasn’t much choice in the matter. The Jeep started right up, and with three-quarters of a tank, I’d have just enough gas to get me back to Pittsburgh.
Although the drive from New York City to Pittsburgh was only about six hours, I didn’t want Matteo to know where I had been, because I planned to return by the end of the week to continue my hunt for the next name on my list, Jeffery Dalton. Three days was enough time to travel from just about anywhere in the country, and I figured it was best he was kept guessing.
I spent that night in a shelter in Allentown—a cot and a warm meal in exchange for privacy. I took a cot in the corner, where I could watch the others.
I killed the next day at the movies. I saw a lot of movies in those days—one entrance, one exit, and white coats stuck out in the dim light. I snuck in through the employee entrance with a bottle of Jack under my coat and found a seat in the back of the theater. The movie was calledThe Truman Show,starring Jim Carrey. It was about a guy whose every move was filmed and televised, watched by everyone. I didn’t much like the movie and fell asleep about halfway through. Back at the shelter that night, they knew I’d been drinking and wouldn’t let me in, so I slept in the back of the Jeep behind a Discount Auto.
I arrived at Matteo’s office at a little after nine on Monday morning. I parked in the small lot next to his building on Brownsville. I had a fifth of Jack in the glove box. I took a quick sip, enough to take the edge off, then hid the bottle away under my bogus registration and insurance papers. I sat in the Jeep for nearly twenty more minutes before I found the courage to go inside.
Tess looked up as I pushed through the door, the lines of her face drawing tight at the sight of me. “Jack?”
“Hi, Tess.”
She stood, took me all in, and I wanted to run back out the door. I had hoped to shower and shave at the shelter, but I had been unable to do either of those things.
Tess hugged me anyway, although I felt her pull away when her nose pressed into my sweatshirt. “You have no idea how worried we’ve been.”
The coat on the back of her chair was black leather.
“Tess, when he arrives, send him to the conference—” Matteo’s voice dropped off as he came out of the hallway and caught sight of me. “Holy hell, Jack.”
“Nice to see you, too.”
Tess stepped back and smoothed the front of my sweatshirt with her palms. “Do you want something to drink?”
Oh, did I.
