Fall Guy

the bath mat, the towels, dumped them in a garbage bag, puke and all. Then he started in with the Fantastic. Sprayed so much, his partner was coughing in the living room. As soon as he's finished in the bathroom, he tries to light up, the poor bastard. His hand's shaking so much, it takes two matches. He's trying to keep it all together, you know what I mean. But he can't. He's just standing there while his partner starts going through Tim's desk.“
    „Were they wearing gloves?“
    „Gloves? Oh, I get it.“ Parker laughed. „No, no gloves.“
    „I see. What next?“
    „The paramedics. They wore gloves. Knew a guy once, he was a paramedic. He was always afraid of catching something. He wore double gloves. I go, 'Why don't you pick another line of work, asshole, one where you're not dealing with all those dangerous fluids?' You know what he says? He says, 'You tell me what's not dangerous and I'll do it.' That's what he says.“ He shook his s head. „So I go, 'How about being a clerk at a 7-1 Eleven?' And he goes, 'Right, like that's not going ; to get me shot.' And I go ...“
    „The paramedics?“
    „Yeah, yeah. They go into the bathroom, they stay—what, two seconds?—and they come back out. They go hang out in the garden, smoking waiting to be told what to do. I mean, you talk to them, it's like they're doctors. It's like they're better than doctors. But then you see them in the flesh, it's more like slapstick. They don't know their ass from a hole in someone's head. If not for me, O'Fallon would have still been lying underwater.“
    Parker tossed his cigarette across the park. I thought about the Crime Scene Unit showing up, finding the integrity of the scene destroyed, everything trampled, touched, contaminated. But did it really matter when someone took a gun to his own head?
    „The cop who was going through the desk,“ Parker said, „he began to ask me a lot of questions—who I was, what was I doing there, like that. Then the other one looked through my bag and said I couldn't take it. That's when the detectives showed. Man, it was standing room only in there. One of them took me outside, to the garden. He's like, 'You can't stay in the apartment, it's got to be sealed pending investigation of the accident.' Some accident. The man wanted to be dead. He got tired of waiting, took things into his own hands. I don't have any argument with that. He's better off now, far as I can tell.“
    It was hard not to react to that. But if I did, Parker didn't notice. He was on a roll and he just kept talking. „I'm telling you the God's honest truth,“ he said, looking toward Hudson Street. „It's what he wanted.“
    He stood and reached for my hand. I shook my head. „I don't need any help getting up,“ I told him.
    Parker sat down again.
    „And I don't need company.“
    „No, it's not that. It's something else. It's about the town house.“
    „What town house?“
    „The one on Tenth Street. The one you take care of.“
    „What about it?“ Wondering which neighbor he'd wheedled that out of. Why not? Endearing himself to strangers was his single talent. In that, it seemed, he was the quintessential con artist.
    „If you need any help, you know—painting, repairs, like a live-in super—I could be of use to you, just until the Siegals come back, of course. When are they due back, by the way?“
    „What the hell are you talking about?“
    „You don't have to worry. I'd work for my keep. I could cook for you, clean the house, do the wash. I'd do whatever you needed, Rachel, whatever you asked.“ He leaned a little closer. „You might feel safer having a man nearby, for protection.“
    Had his aunt given him a time limit? Or was he always looking ahead, knowing nothing lasts forever? This time I got up. And so did Dashiell. Parker started to get up, too, but I put my hand out to stop him. „Don't move,“ I said. „Don't even think of moving. Because I already have someone who does whatever I ask him to and I'm thinking of asking for a little favor right now.“
    His forehead pleated, Parker looked confused. That's when he seemed to notice Dashiell, as if it hadn't registered before that he was standing there, his eyes locked on Parker's, his tail straight out behind him, barely stirring the air.
    „Just sit here for a while, Parker. Don't get up. And for God's sake, don't speak.“
    I was out of the park and doubling back toward home when I heard him, the weasel.
    „You won't forget your