The Edge of Sleep by David Wiltse Page B

the work in the sense of being afraid of it, John. Give people a little credit; they’re not going to believe that.”
    “I don’t want to be a monster in my own home town. Tee. Jesus.”
    They were quiet for a moment, both men studying a teenaged boy who was mowing a lawn as if he held real interest for them. The boy glanced at them curiously.
    “Do you suppose that youth with the mower is viewing me right this minute as a model and guide to his future?” Tee asked after a time.
    “I don’t want anybody to be afraid of me, Tee. Honest to God, that’s terrible.”
    “I’ll do what I can, all right?... It’ll pass.”
    Becker shook his head sadly. It always surprised Tee that his friend, whose career was a thing of courageous awe to every law enforcement officer who knew about it, was so vulnerable to the opinions of others. Particularly the opinions of people he did not know. The man would flail through a case, stepping on the toes of everyone who got in his way in the pursuit of his prey, but in civilian life he would worry about offending the sensibilities of the local grocer. Tee didn’t pretend to understand him—he just liked him.
    “I told the FBI woman you were proving your virility by jerking off on the side of a mountain,” Tee said finally. “Did I do right?”
    “You are a police officer, sworn to tell the truth.”
    “You didn’t tell me not to tell anyone. You just said you wanted to be alone to jerk off for a while.”
    “It’s okay, Tee.”
    “I noticed in the course of my sleuthing that this FBI woman did not wear a wedding ring, by the way. Unlike myself. But very much like your good self.”
    “A second ago you were pushing Cindi on me. Now you want me to mate with an agent?”
    “Somebody ought to. And masturbation is an ugly thing to see in a man your age.”
    “You might stop watching.”
    “Hey, I’m the chief.”
    “And rank has its privileges,” Becker said.
    “I know something else you don’t know,” Tee offered. “I suspect I’m about to. What?”
    “The same lady is at your house now, waiting for you.”
    “You just happened to notice her?”
    “In the pursuance of my duties I did notice a car in your driveway and, knowing that you were hanging by a thong around your dong from Mt. Kilimanjaro, I stopped to investigate further.”
    “Ever vigilant.”
    “She might have been a burglar come to heist your valuables.”
    “I have no valuables worth heisting.”
    “This I know, but a burglar might not, burglars being what they are. She was sitting on your porch, waiting, pretty as a ... as a ... what? What’s particularly pretty?”
    “A pretty woman?”
    “There you go! She was sitting there, pretty as a pretty woman. Clever devil, you are, not having a car phone so she could reach you ... Do you often have gorgeous women paying you house calls?”
    “We have a little business together. Just business. She wants to pick my brain.”
    “Have her do it through your pecker.”
    Becker returned to his car, shaking his head in mock disgust. Tee closed the door and leaned against it.
    “You’re a great role model, but one hell of a bad influence.”
    “I thought you were out of the business,” Tee said.
    “I am. This is special.”
    “Because of her? Because of the babe waiting on your porch?”
    Becker studied Tee for a moment as if seeking the answer in his friend’s face.
    “You know. Tee, you’ve got all the natural instincts of a busybody and a matchmaker. You may have missed your calling.”
    “Salaries for busybodies are so low, though. And besides, think what law enforcement would be missing without me.”
    “A chief?”
    “Fucking A. So, is it because of her? And if not, why not?”
    Becker started the engine, then paused.
    “I wish it were that simple,” he said.
    “Yeah, it’s complicated, sure, that’s how you like to make things. I respect that. But you’re really doing it for her, right?”
    Becker sighed. “Right, Tee. Right.”
    He