Jim Shepard - Kiss of the Wolf

“Why don’t you bury the car in the backyard?” Todd said. “Just take it out back and bury it so no one ever knows.”

He was sweeping in the kitchen. Every so often he cleaned, to let her know how little she was doing.

She ignored him.

“Or we could like roll it off a bridge into a river,” he said.

She held the receiver out to him. “You wanna call the police?” He looked down. “You wanna call the police?”

He set the broom against the wall and left. She thought this was some kind of new low: humiliating her son because he wasn’t brave enough to do the right thing.

She sat around the kitchen thinking she shouldn’t have told them they should call her back; now she’d have to just sit around and wait. She couldn’t go out; she didn’t want Todd taking the return calls. She should’ve told them she’d call them back.

There was a little pile of dog hair and dust in the middle of the linoleum where Todd left it.

“Hello?” Nancy said. She had the back door open. One of her things was coming into the house without knocking. Upstairs, Audrey barked. Joanie heard her jump down from the bed.

“Hey,” she called, getting up. “C’mon in.” She shook her head bitterly at Nancy’s timing, and grabbed the broom and dustpan and swept up Todd’s pile.

“Long time no see,” Nancy said. “How’re you?”

“Okay,” Joanie said. “I didn’t see you at the Monteleones’.”

“You were out on the porch,” Nancy said. “I saw you.”

Joanie emptied the dustpan into the garbage and banged it to shake the dust free.

“I figured you didn’t wanna be disturbed,” Nancy said.

Joanie opened the linen closet and hung the broom and dustpan on hooks. “You want a cup of coffee?” she asked.

Sure, Nancy said. She opened the refrigerator and took out the coffee. Joanie took it out of her hand and pulled the coffee maker closer to where she was standing at the counter. Nancy sat down at the kitchen table.

“I had to get out of there,” Joanie said. “I couldn’t take it.”

Nancy nodded.

Audrey padded into the kitchen, head down. She sniffed Nancy and then left the room.

“Great watchdog, huh?” Nancy said.

“You see Bruno out there?” Joanie said. “On the porch with me?”

Nancy nodded again.

“You shoulda come out and said hello,” Joanie said. She slopped some ground coffee over the lip of the filter. When she wiped it up with a sponge, it liquefied and produced an unexpected brown smear.

“I didn’t wanna intrude,” Nancy said.

Joanie made a scoffing noise with her lips. She closed the machine up and turned it on. “You see the cop?” she asked.

Nancy looked genuinely surprised.

“Cop came and wanted to talk to me about Tommy,” she said. “’Cause I drove home on One-ten that night.”

“How’d they know that?” Nancy asked. “How’d they find you there?”

“Guy’s a friend a Bruno’s,” Joanie said. “You believe that?”

“Who?” Nancy asked.

Joanie put her head down to think of the name. “Distefano,” she said.

“Joey Distefano,” Nancy said. “He’s nuts about this. He’s like Bruno. He’s on a mission.”

Joanie felt a rising in her chest, like something surfacing. “What does he care?” she asked.

“He was a good friend of Tommy’s,” Nancy said.

Joanie put her fingertips and thumb to her forehead.

“You all right?” Nancy said.

“Headache,” Joanie said. “I’ve had it since last night.”

“Jeez. That’s tough,” Nancy said. Joanie opened her eyes and looked at her. She had sounded a little sarcastic. Her expression looked sympathetic.

“You know anything about Bruno and Tommy?” Joanie asked. She turned back to the counter and got out mugs. “You want Danish or something? We got a little Danish in there.”

“What do you mean?” Nancy asked.

“Were they good friends? Did they, like, work together? I didn’t know they were so close.”

“They both worked for that guy outta Bridgeport,” Nancy said. “Joey D, too. He was moonlighting.

“What guy?”

“That guy, you know,” Nancy said. “Ran the scrap-metal place. What’s-his-name.”

Joanie turned to face her. “I don’t know. What’s his name?”

Nancy shrugged.

“What’re you tellin’ me?” Joanie said, exasperated. “They all sold scrap metal?”

Nancy made a “don’t be a wiseass” face.

They heard a car door. Nancy stood and leaned over the table to look out the kitchen window. Her expression changed completely, and she flopped back into her chair. “Your boyfriend’s here,” she said.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Joanie said.

“ Ho, ” Bruno called from the back door. Audrey barked. “ Shut up,” he said.

The dog ran up to him, sniffing and swinging her rear end back and forth. “Get away from me, you sack of shit,” he said mildly, rubbing her head. He pushed past her into the kitchen, his thigh sweeping her aside. He noticed the new washer — dryer she’d just put in and he ran his hand over it.

“Thought I’d stop by on the way to the dealership, see how you’re doin’,” he said. He looked over at Nancy. “Well, isn’t this nice,” he said. “The girls’re havin’ coffee.”

“Hi, Bruno,” Nancy said.

“Joanie? Hello?” Bruno said. He lowered his head to peer up at her.

“Bruno, how are you,” she said.

“I’m not gonna take up your time, here,” he said. “You got things to talk about, girl things. Feminine hygiene. I just wanted to remind you about what you said.”

Joanie looked at him. “What’d I say?”

“You wanted to know why I wasn’t asking you out. And I never did. So now I am.”

Nancy looked down at the floor. Joanie looked away.

“’Less you changed your mind,” Bruno said. “Came to your senses.”

Joanie didn’t answer. Bruno stood there with his hands out, like he was waiting for something he was due. The coffeepot finished bubbling and spitting.

“Bruno, your timing is something,” Joanie said quietly.

“No, it’s all right,” Nancy said.

Joanie brought the coffeepot over and poured Nancy coffee.

“I got a boss waitin’ on me, here,” he said.

“Bruno,” Joanie said.

He put his hands wider apart. “I’m a slave for love. I admit it. I humiliate myself in front of other people — I admit it.”

“You want cream?” Joanie asked. Nancy shook her head.

“You think about it,” Bruno said. “You get back to me.”

Joanie put the coffeepot back into the maker. The phone rang. Bruno picked it up and handed it to her without saying hello.

“Hello?” Joanie said.

“This is J and L Gulf,” a voice said. “We can get the parts two a clock, two-thirty this afternoon.”

Joanie cupped a hand around the mouthpiece. Bruno dropped his mouth and raised his eyebrows in a comic way. “Look at Secret Spy over here,” he said.

“So it’s okay?” Joanie asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, you bring it in, we’ll get it done,” the guy said.

“I don’t think I want any coffee,” Bruno said. “I gotta get going, anyway.”

“Nobody offered you any,” Nancy said.

“No kidding,” Bruno said.

“Though you take it away today, you’re gonna take it away wet,” the guy on the other end said. “Long as you know that.”

Joanie pursed her lips, thinking.

“Hello?” the guy said. “You comin’ in or not?”

“Yes,” she said. “That’s all right.” She hung up.

“Ask Bruno about that guy,” Nancy said.

“Nancy,” Joanie said.

“What guy?” Bruno asked. He opened the pastry box on the counter near the refrigerator and looked inside.