Lovely pieces, the clerk said. F stoodg filthy water, wondering if he
"Mmmmmm," said Wimpler afraid to say more would ^^^ nerve > himse]f¿^
because his throat was so dry that he might not be ^ He walked ^^ doc
able to get any words out. ° > j o
tiem for interminable sec-
„.,„, „ , „, . j crate and listened.
Til have to call the manager, he said. „„ , . . . y, „ . . ,
"Why? Wimpler sputtered out. Whats ... fe
"He has to appraise them," the clerk said with a
buüd up his nerve, when suddenly he heard voices.
The clerk looked at them for interminable sec- c F Új_*juu-ji i •
i uk ^iwi v/ For some reas0I1) jje Parted behind a large packing
suspicious smile. As Wimpler watched the man's re-
23 22 Âi
say. "There's no way around it. If Romeo testifies, we're all cooked."
"Yeah, sure," the other man said with disgust. "But try to do it with all that freaking, federal security around him."
"If he testifies . . ."
"Don't tell me what I know already, Tony. Shit. I offered this hit to everyone in town. Nobody wants to touch it. I think we're gonna have to put together a squad and go up there and take the whole place out."
But he wasn't. Not any more. What he was now was the best hit man money could hire.
"Don't let appearances deceive you," he said. "I can do what you want done."
The two men looked at each other. Tony shrugged.
24
"The man won't like that, Jack. Too much bad press. A lot of blood, a lot of bodies, a lot of reporters, and a lot of feds."
"You know another way?"
Suddenly, Elmo Wimpler knew that he was not going to take his own life. Suddenly, he knew that his days as a wimp were over. Suddenly, he felt power. Power over life and death.
He took a deep breath and stepped out into the view of the two men.
"What? the . . . ?" one yelled.
"Who are you?" the other snarled.
"The answer to your problem," Wimpler said with confidence and a sureness he had never felt before. "Whoever it is you want iced, I can do it."
"Wha ... ?" said Jack.
"You?" Tony asked, unbelievingly. Elmo knew
what they were thinking: that he was a clown. He s™, , „ . , . „ „ „,.
u a u 11 a n n, i a Thank you. Tomorrow night. Two a.m.," Wim-
had been called all those names: clown, nerd, wimp. Jb '
"Whàt've we got to lose, Jack?" he finally said.
Jack sighed, then nodded. He looked at Wimpler. "How much?"
Elmo cleared his throat. He hadn't thought about money.
"Would a thousand dollars be too much?" he asked.
"You do the job, you get ten thousand dollars," Jack said.
"This person will be dead tomorrow night," Wimpler said. "Tell me who he is and where he is."
They told him. He was a big-time gangster, now a federal witness, testifying to save his own skin. He was being hidden out on a large, private estate in Westchester County, surrounded by cops, FBI agents, and who knew what else.
"Be here tomorrow night. Two a.m.," Wimpler said. "And bring the money."
"All right," said Jack.
"I need an advance," said Wimpler.
"How much?" Jack asked, reaching into his
pocket.
All Wimpler could think of was a steak dinner. He decided to think big. "Twenty dollars," he said.
Jack leafed through the hundred dollar bills in his he found a lone twenty and handed it
pier said.