Part 30 (1/2)
And then, last night, when she'd finally fallen asleep... visions of the mysterious little girl she'd seen in the Kenton house drifted through her dreams. Her eyes... Gia had caught only the briefest glimpse of them as the child had glanced back over her shoulder, but their deep blue need haunted Gia, in her dreams, and even here and now in her waking hours.
Who was she? And why such longing in those eyes? It seemed a need Gia might fill if she only knew how.
No question about it, she had to go back to that house.
2.
”Got it,” Jack said, tapping his finger on a story in the newspaper.
He'd grabbed the Daily News Daily News from Abe's counter as soon as he'd walked in and thumbed through it, looking for stories about the little Asian kid and the wounded Bellitto. from Abe's counter as soon as he'd walked in and thumbed through it, looking for stories about the little Asian kid and the wounded Bellitto.
He'd found a two-inch column reporting that a Mr. Eli Bellitto of Soho had been stabbed and a companion, Adrian Minkin-so that was Gorilla Arms's name-had been bludgeoned by an unknown a.s.sailant last night. Both were admitted to St. Vincent's.
Predators playing victims, Jack thought. Smart.
But the story about the recovery of a kidnapped Vietnamese boy got big play, with a picture of little Due Ngo and another of his mother.
”Nu?” Abe said as he arranged-with surprising delicacy for his pudgy fingers-strips of lox across the inner surface of a sliced bagel. ”Got what?” Abe said as he arranged-with surprising delicacy for his pudgy fingers-strips of lox across the inner surface of a sliced bagel. ”Got what?”
”A story about the kid those pervs s.n.a.t.c.hed last night. He's okay.”
”What kid?”
Abe didn't look up. He was busily smearing the other half of the bagel with cream cheese-the lowfat kind. Although, considering the amount he was slathering on, he wasn't sparing himself any calories or fat.
”Hey, leave some for me,” Jack told him.
He'd brought breakfast, as usual, splurging on lox-not Nova, because Abe liked the saltier kind-but trying to help Abe in the calorie department with the lowfat Philly.
”What kid?” Abe repeated, ignoring him. ”What pervs?”
Jack gave him a quick rundown of last night's events, then ended by quoting from the News News story. story.
”Listen to his mother: ' ”I was so worried,” said Ms. Ngo. ”Little Due insists on going out every night to buy ice cream. He has gone a hundred times and never had trouble. It is so terrible that children are not safe in this city.” ' ” Furious, Jack slammed his hand on the paper-and winced as he felt a tug on his wound. ”Can you believe that? What a load of c.r.a.p!”
”What's not to believe?”
”He's seven years old! It was ten o'clock and pouring! Like h.e.l.l he wanted to go out. The real deal is she and her boyfriend send that little kid out every night so they can get it on while he's down on the street. But she's not going to tell that to the News News, is she!”
He hit the paper again, harder this time-resulting in another painful yank on his wound-his fist landing on the picture of the kid's mother. He hoped she felt it, wherever she was.
”You saved him from death, maybe worse.” Abe chomped into his freshly constructed bagel-and-lox sandwich and spoke around the bite. ”You performed a mitzvah mitzvah. You should be happy instead of angry.”
Jack knew Abe was right but as he stared at the grainy black-and-white photo of little Due-taken at school, most likely-all he could see was his limp body wrapped in a soggy blanket.
”She calls herself a parent? She should be protecting her kid instead of putting him in harm's way. Oughta be an exam you have to take before they let you become a parent. Guy shoots a couple million sperm and one of them hits an egg and bam bam!-a baby. But are either of the two adults capable of bringing up a child? Who knows? Children are a big responsibility. They should only be entrusted to people who can be responsible parents.”
Listen to yourself, he thought. You're ranting. Stop.
He looked up and found Abe staring at him.
”Wu? Is there some part of this story I'm missing? What's all this tumel tumel about parents?” about parents?”
Jack wondered if he should tell Abe, then instantly decided he had to. How could he not? He knew it would go no further. Abe was as tightlipped as a clam.
”I'm going to be one.”
”You? A father?” Abe grinned and wiped his right hand on his s.h.i.+rt before thrusting it across the counter. ”Mazel tovl When did you find out?” When did you find out?”
Jack gripped the hand, still slightly slick with salmon oil. ”Yesterday afternoon.”
”And Gia, she's comfortable with the prospect of saddling the world with a child who has half your genes?”
”She's fine with the child part. It's what kind of a father I can be that's causing problems for us.”
”You as a good father? There's a question about this? Look at the training you're getting already with Vicky. Like a daughter she is.”
”Yeah, but there are, you know, legal issues I'm going to have to deal with.”
He explained those while Abe finished his bagel and began preparing another.
”She makes sense, that Gia,” Abe said when Jack finished. ”I have to give her that. But what I think I'm hearing here is the end of Repairman Jack.”
Jack winced inwardly at hearing it so starkly put, but...
”I guess that pretty well sums it up.”
”Citizen Jack,” Abe said, shaking his head. ”Doesn't have quite the same ring as Repairman Jack.”
Jack shrugged. ”The name wasn't my idea anyway. You're the one who started calling me that.”
”And now I'll have to stop. So when do you become Citizen Jack?”
”First I have to figure out how how. Any ideas?”
Abe shook his head. ”A tough one, that. To make you a newborn citizen with no illegal baggage... this will take some thought.”
He cut the second lox-and-bagel combo in half and gave part to Jack.
Jack took a bite, relis.h.i.+ng the mixture of flavors and textures. He relaxed a little. Knowing that someone else was working with him on this eased some of the weight from his shoulders.
”While you're thinking,” he said, ”I'm going to call Eli Bellitto's brother and give him some h.e.l.l.”