Chapter 99 second quarter

When he woke up again, the room was completely dark.He still feels dizzy and aches all over.But he has to move—he has to go to the bathroom.He wasn't familiar with the motel room, and before he could get his bearings, he bumped his shoulder against the wall.He went into the bathroom, closed the door, and then turned on the light.He didn't want to wake Beth.In the mirror, his image was startling, not just the scrapes and scratches, but the dark blue eye circles and haggard cheeks covered with stubble. After convenience, he thought that the sound of flushing didn't wake Beth up.But when he turned off the light and opened the door, he found that the light in the room was on.Beth sat up on the bed.She was lying next to him just now.Esperanza leaned against the pillows on the other bed.

"I'm sorry," Decker said. "You didn't wake us up," Esperanza said. "We've been waiting for you to get up," said Beth. "How do you feel?" "Just like it looks to me." Decker staggered towards Beth. "What about you? What do you think?" Beth shifted her position and flinched. "My leg was swollen and I was twitching a lot, but the wound didn't look infected." "At least that's in our favor." Decker collapsed on the bed, wrapping himself in a blanket.He rubbed his temples. "what time is it?"

"Two o'clock in the morning." Esperanza pulled on his pants and got out of bed. "Are you feeling sober enough? Can we talk?" "My throat is dry as hell." Decker held up his hands, as if in self-defense. "But I don't want to drink that damn hot water at all." "I bought some Gatorade. How about? Some electrolytes in your blood?" "great." The Gatorade was orange, and Decker drank a quarter of the bottle in one gulp. "How about something to eat?" Esperanza asked. "My stomach isn't working, but I'd better eat a little."

Esperanza opened a small refrigerator. "I bought packaged sandwiches - tuna, chicken and pepperoni." "I want chicken." "then." Decker actually caught it, and he was taken aback.He peeled off the plastic wrapping from the sandwich and took a bite out of the tasteless bread and cardboard-like chicken. "It tastes good." "It doesn't taste very good, but it's good for you." "We have to decide what to do." Beth's serious tone contrasted sharply with Esperanza's humor. Decker looked at her and took her hand tenderly. "Right. The Justice Department won't be happy if you didn't testify. They'll come after you."

"I've dealt with it," Beth said. "Treated—" Decker was puzzled. "I do not understand." "Esperanza drove me to a payphone booth. I called my contact at the Department of Justice and found out I didn't have to testify. The grand jury was meeting to discuss the case against Nick Giordano. Prosecute, but since he's dead, the Justice Department says there's no need to go ahead." Beth hesitated. "Did you kill Nick Giordano too?" Decker said nothing. "for me?" "You always have to remind yourself that there's a police officer with you," Decker said.

Esperanza looked at his hands. "Perhaps now is the time for me to go for a walk." "I didn't think—" "I'm not mad. You two have a lot to talk about, and you can be alone for a while." Esperanza put on his boots, grabbed a shirt, nodded, and walked out. Beth waited until the door closed before speaking. "Esperanza told me about your experience last night." She reached out to touch his hand. "I can't thank you enough." "All you have to do is love me." Beth straightened her neck in surprise. "You say that as if I had to convince myself to love you. I do."

She had never told him that before.This long-awaited sentence made him excited, and a warm current surged through his body.He stared at her passionately.The charming woman he had known in Santa Fe bore little resemblance to the pale, thin-cheeked, sunken-eyed, disheveled woman before him.This is the woman he wanted to get after risking his life several times.In order to save her, he is willing to go and do whatever he wants. He felt a tightness in his throat. "you are pretty." There was blood on her face again. "I can't live without you," Decker said. Beth drew in a sharp breath that was audible.She looked at him like she'd never really seen him before, and she hugged him.Hugging made their wounds hurt, but they hugged each other warmly and powerfully. "I don't deserve you."

She had told Decker to him at the doctor's apartment when he helped her up the fire escape. "It's not worth it," another way of expressing affection?Or was that what she meant, that she felt unworthy—because she had used him before and now felt ashamed? "What's wrong?" Beth asked. "nothing." "but--" "We've got a lot of details to work through," Decker said quickly. "Did your contact at the Justice Department ask you about McKittrick?" "He did ask." As soon as the topic changed, the intimate atmosphere was replaced by a matter-of-fact tone.Beth looked a little confused. "I told him that I thought it was McKittrick who told Giordano that I was hiding in Santa Fe. I said I suspected McKittrick from the beginning and I ran away from him when I got to New York. .I told him I had no idea where he was."

"Tell them the same in the future," Decker said. "When McKittrick's body is found at the fire scene, it will be difficult for the authorities to identify it, because they don't know what to take with the body." Whose gum records to compare. They may never be able to identify. His disappearance will be a mystery. On the surface, it seems that he is afraid of going to prison, and fled. It is important not to show the slightest hesitation, just Say you had no idea what happened to him. Don't change that." "I have to explain where I went after I left Santa Fe Saturday afternoon," said Beth.

"I'll make a phone call. An old acquaintance of mine who lives in Manhattan owes me a favor. If the DOJ wants a witness, he'll give you one. They'll ask you about your relationship with him, and you Just tell them I mentioned him to you in Santa Fe, he's an old friend of mine and I want you to visit him when you come to New York. So you run to him after you run away from McKittrick It's only natural to go." "One more question...you." "I do not understand." "Esperanza and I don't have to worry about our fingerprints being recognized. Oldsmobile has been destroyed by fire. So has the motel room in Kloster and the doctor's apartment in Manhattan. But what about your fingerprints? While you were asleep, we turned on the TV to see what the official response was to what happened last night. The FBI has stepped in to investigate the deaths of Giordano et al. They are reportedly in the Nickelodeon There were fingerprints on one of the murder weapons left in Giordano's house. It was a wooden pick." Beth seemed uncomfortable at the mention of this brutal murder weapon.

"anything else?" "Officially it was a mob homicide, a war between two rival gangs. But when they found your fingerprints—" "They will find out that the fingerprints belong to someone who died 15 years ago for the record." Beth's eyes widened. "Where do you want to live?" Decker asked. "Live?" The topic suddenly changed again, and Beth looked confused again. "Back to Santa Fe, of course." "Be with me?" "yes." "I don't think it's a good idea," Decker said. "But the gangsters stopped looking for me." "Renata is looking for you." Decker paused, allowing the silence to emphasize his words. "As long as I'm alive, Renata may use you against me. You'll be dangerous." Beth, who was already pale, was paler now. "Nothing has changed," Decker said, "so I'm going to ask you again, where do you want to live?" Something seemed to disappear from Beth's eyes. "If we break up," Decker said. "Break up?" Beth looked puzzled. "But why on earth would-" "If we go back to Santa Fe and have a public fight at noon at Escalera or some other popular restaurant, if there are rumors that we are no longer lovers, Renata may think it is unnecessary to treat you What did I do, because I wouldn't feel bad if she killed someone I didn't love anymore." Beth looked even more bewildered. "Actually," Decker said, trying to find out the truth, leaving her a way out, "the more I think about it, the more I believe that if we break up, Renata won't bother you." "But—" Beth choked up, and made no sound. "Our breakup had to be convincing," Decker said. "I could accuse you of knowing who I was from the beginning of our relationship. I could throw a tantrum and say you were just pretending to love me, that you used sex Seduce me, say all you want is a bouncer who lives next door to you, sometimes in your house, even on your bed." Beth began to sob. "I could tell everyone I was a fool for risking my life for nothing. If Renata had been watching me, she would have heard about the altercation. She would have believed it, especially if I left Santa Fe and you As long as you stay there." Beth cried harder. "Who killed your husband?" Decker asked. Beth didn't answer. "I think we can make up a story," Decker said, "that someone in the organization, maybe one of his men shot him, took the money, and planted it on you. And there's another Let’s just say that Nick Giordano’s son Frank was so jealous of his father’s respect for your husband that he decided to settle the matter and put the blame on you.” Decker paused. "Which way do you like it?" Beth wiped her eyes. "I don't like any of them." "So--" "I did it," said Beth. Decker sat up straight. "I shot my husband," Beth said, "so that son of a bitch can never hit me again." "You took the money?" "yes." "So you can afford that house in Santa Fe?" "Yes. The money is in crypto in a bank in the Bahamas. The DOJ can't get the money, so they let me use it to support myself — especially since they want me to testify." "Did you know who I was before you met me?" "yes." "Then you did use me." "For about 48 hours. I didn't expect you to be so attractive to me. Of course I didn't expect to fall in love with you." Blood oozed from an open gash on Decker's face. "I wish I could trust you." "I've always wanted to live in the South of France," said Beth unexpectedly. This time it was Decker's turn to be unprepared. "What did you say?" "Not the Riviera, but inland," said Beth, "in the south-west of France, in the Pyrenees. I saw an article about it in a travel magazine before." .The pictures have valleys, pastures, forests, and streams running down the hills, and it's unimaginably beautiful. I think I can paint some good pictures there... as long as you're with me." "Did you realize that you would put yourself in danger and that Renata would use you against me?" "yes." "Did you know that for the rest of your life you have to keep an eye out for danger behind you?" "Without you—" Beth wiped the blood oozing from the cut on his face. "I have nothing to hope for." "In that case," Decker said, "we're going back to Santa Fe."