place to warn him! And the next day he sends her roses, says how much he loves her, swears it’ll never happen again, and she rushes back to him like he’s done her a big favor. Can you beat that?”
“ Nothing to keep you from getting a bat of your own and waiting in an alley or a parking lot.”
“ Don’t think I haven’t thought of it. But I’ve already threatened him – in front of witnesses. Anything happens to him, I’ll be number one suspect. And I can’t get involved in anything like that, in a felony. I mean I’ve got my own family to consider, my business. I want to leave something for my kids. I do Gus, I’ll end up in jail, Gus’ll sue me for everything I’m worth, my wife and kids will wind up in a shelter somewhere while Gus moves into my house. Some legal system!”
Jack waited through a long pause. It was a familiar Catch 22 – one that kept him in business.
Schaffer finally said, “I guess that’s where you come in.”
Jack took a sip of his coffee.
“ I don’t know how I can help you. Busting him up isn’t going to change things. It sounds like your sister’s got as big a problem as he does.”
“ She does. I’ve talked to a couple of doctors about it. It’s called co dependency or something like that. I don’t pretend to understand it. I guess the best thing that could happen to Ceil is Gus meeting with some sort of fatal accident.”
“ You’re probably right,” Jack said.
Schaffer stared at him. “You mean you’ll...?”
Jack shook his head. “No.”
“ But I thought–”
“ Look. Sometimes I make a mistake. If that happens, I like to be able to go back and fix it.”
Schaffer’s expression flickered between disappointment and relief, finally settling on relief.
“ You know,” he said with a small smile, “as much as I’d like Gus dead, I’m glad you said that. I mean, if you’d said okay, I think I’d have set you to it.” He shook his head and looked away. “Kind of scary what you can come to.”
“ She’s your sister. Someone’s hurting her. You want him stopped but you can’t do it yourself. Not hard to understand how you feel.”
“ Can you help?”
Jack drained his coffee and leaned back. Past the pots of dead brown plants hanging in the smudged front window he could see smartly dressed women wheeling their children, or white uniformed nannies wheeling other people’s children in the bright morning sunlight.
“ I don’t think so. Domestic stuff is too complicated to begin with, and this situation sounds like it’s gone way past complicated into the twilight zone. Not my thing. Not the situation my kind of services can help.”
“ I know what you’re saying. I know they need shrinks – at least Ceil does. Gus...I don’t know. I think he’s beyond therapy. I got the feeling Gus likes beating up on Ceil. Likes it too much to quit, no matter what. But I want to give it a try.”
“ Doesn’t strike me as the type who’ll go see a shrink because you or anyone else says so.”
“ Yeah. But if he was hospitalized...” Schaffer raised his eyebrows, inviting Jack to finish the thought.
Jack was thinking it was a pretty dumb thought as Julio returned with the coffee pot. He refilled Jack’s but Schaffer held a hand over his.
“ Say,” Schaffer said, pointing to all the dead vegetation around the room, “did you ever think of watering your plants?”
“ Wha’ for?” Julio said. “They’re all dead.”
The developer’s eyes widened. “Oh. Right. Of course.” As Julio left, he leaned over the table toward Jack. “Is there some significance to all these dead plants?”
“ Nothing religious. It’s just that Julio isn’t happy with the caliber of his clientele lately.”
“ Well he’s not going to raise it with these dead plants.”
“ No. You don’t understand. He wants to lower it. The yuppies have discovered this place and they’ve been swarming here. He’s been trying to get rid of them. This has
“ Nothing to keep you from getting a bat of your own and waiting in an alley or a parking lot.”
“ Don’t think I haven’t thought of it. But I’ve already threatened him – in front of witnesses. Anything happens to him, I’ll be number one suspect. And I can’t get involved in anything like that, in a felony. I mean I’ve got my own family to consider, my business. I want to leave something for my kids. I do Gus, I’ll end up in jail, Gus’ll sue me for everything I’m worth, my wife and kids will wind up in a shelter somewhere while Gus moves into my house. Some legal system!”
Jack waited through a long pause. It was a familiar Catch 22 – one that kept him in business.
Schaffer finally said, “I guess that’s where you come in.”
Jack took a sip of his coffee.
“ I don’t know how I can help you. Busting him up isn’t going to change things. It sounds like your sister’s got as big a problem as he does.”
“ She does. I’ve talked to a couple of doctors about it. It’s called co dependency or something like that. I don’t pretend to understand it. I guess the best thing that could happen to Ceil is Gus meeting with some sort of fatal accident.”
“ You’re probably right,” Jack said.
Schaffer stared at him. “You mean you’ll...?”
Jack shook his head. “No.”
“ But I thought–”
“ Look. Sometimes I make a mistake. If that happens, I like to be able to go back and fix it.”
Schaffer’s expression flickered between disappointment and relief, finally settling on relief.
“ You know,” he said with a small smile, “as much as I’d like Gus dead, I’m glad you said that. I mean, if you’d said okay, I think I’d have set you to it.” He shook his head and looked away. “Kind of scary what you can come to.”
“ She’s your sister. Someone’s hurting her. You want him stopped but you can’t do it yourself. Not hard to understand how you feel.”
“ Can you help?”
Jack drained his coffee and leaned back. Past the pots of dead brown plants hanging in the smudged front window he could see smartly dressed women wheeling their children, or white uniformed nannies wheeling other people’s children in the bright morning sunlight.
“ I don’t think so. Domestic stuff is too complicated to begin with, and this situation sounds like it’s gone way past complicated into the twilight zone. Not my thing. Not the situation my kind of services can help.”
“ I know what you’re saying. I know they need shrinks – at least Ceil does. Gus...I don’t know. I think he’s beyond therapy. I got the feeling Gus likes beating up on Ceil. Likes it too much to quit, no matter what. But I want to give it a try.”
“ Doesn’t strike me as the type who’ll go see a shrink because you or anyone else says so.”
“ Yeah. But if he was hospitalized...” Schaffer raised his eyebrows, inviting Jack to finish the thought.
Jack was thinking it was a pretty dumb thought as Julio returned with the coffee pot. He refilled Jack’s but Schaffer held a hand over his.
“ Say,” Schaffer said, pointing to all the dead vegetation around the room, “did you ever think of watering your plants?”
“ Wha’ for?” Julio said. “They’re all dead.”
The developer’s eyes widened. “Oh. Right. Of course.” As Julio left, he leaned over the table toward Jack. “Is there some significance to all these dead plants?”
“ Nothing religious. It’s just that Julio isn’t happy with the caliber of his clientele lately.”
“ Well he’s not going to raise it with these dead plants.”
“ No. You don’t understand. He wants to lower it. The yuppies have discovered this place and they’ve been swarming here. He’s been trying to get rid of them. This has
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