The Witch's Key Read Online Free PDF Page A

older hobo for
protection.”
    “The wolf and lamb,” Lilith uttered, almost under her
breath. Spinelli concurred.
    I pushed the map back to Spinelli and finished my
coffee in a single gulp. There were things I wanted to say,
suggestions I wanted to make, but I knew those days were gone. How
could I pretend to play the role of Detective Marcella, a
sixty-four-year-old cop in the body of a twenty-four-year-old man?
I reached across the table to shake the men’s hands and wish them
well with their case.
    “In another world, another age, Gentleman,” I said,
“I would love to help you with this one. And I’m sorry we had to
meet this way by chance, but—”
    “Oh, it wasn’t chance,” Carlos interrupted.
    “Excuse me?”
    “Us coming here this morning, it wasn’t chance.”
    I looked to Lilith. She seemed as perplexed as I.
“How do you mean?”
    He reached into the lining pocket of his jacket and
removed a picture. “Here. Spinelli snapped this last week.”
    I took it and stared at it with blinking eyes.
“That’s Lilith,” I said.
    Lilith leaned over my shoulder to steal a peek. “Ah,
no, you caught me on a bad hair day. And look. I’m wearing sweats.
I never wear sweats outdoors. Not unless I’m—”
    “Coming here?” Spinelli finished.
    “Yes, you little perv. Have you been stalking
me?”
    “He wasn’t stalking you,” said Carlos. “He was
surveilling you. There’s a difference. He told me how he thought he
saw you come here one morning, and so I asked him to get me some
proof. I figured if you were still alive, then maybe….”
    “Maybe I was, too?” I said.
    Carlos nodded, and the shame of it is that I almost
think he considered me dead, anyway. I gave the picture back to him
and apologized again for the way he found out about me. “But it
doesn’t change anything,” I told him. “I still can’t help you. In a
way, the old Tony Marcella is dead, and I’d appreciate it if
you let him stay that way. Now, if you’ll excuse us?”
    I got up and offered Lilith a hand. She stood and
slung her tote bag over her shoulder. As she did, Carlos reached up
and grabbed my arm.
    “Tony. There’s one more thing you need to know.”
    I thought he was going to tell me that he forgave me,
or maybe that he loved me. Only I’m sure he would have said the
word man after it. I love you, man . It is the only
acceptable way for two guys to express such feelings, especially
brothers, which, as far as I was concerned, Carlos and I truly
were. Instead, he totally flipped the coin on me and dropped a bomb
that I shall never forget. I set my hand upon his shoulder and
said, “Yeah, man.” Notice the lead in. It is sort of a cue.
    “Tony, about that old hobo I mentioned earlier, the
one they call Pops? I think you should do the interview.”
    “Me? Why? Is he some tough guy? Does he hate
Cubans?”
    “No! It’s nothing like that. Fact is, he’s lying in a
hospice care bed across town.”
    “He’s dying?”
    “Yes.”
    “I see. And you don’t want to talk to some old guy
that’s wasting away before your eyes. Is that it? A little too
close to home?”
    He shook his head. “It’s not that, either.”
    “Then what?”
    “Well…”
    “Come on, Carlos. Spit it out.”
    “Fine. The old guy at the hospice center, his name is
Anthony Marcella.”
     
     
     
     
Three
     
    I accepted a list from Carlos containing the names of
all the transients that had committed suicide in the past week and
a half. I then turned to Lilith and offered her an invitation to
join me.
    “Uh-ah, no way,” she said, shaking her head
emphatically.
    I came back a bit surprised. “Why not? Don’t you want
to meet the man responsible for my existence?”
    “No.”
    “How come?”
    “Cause I said so! Now drop it.”
    I gave Carlos and Spinelli a look like I had just
pissed off a rattlesnake and lived to tell about it. “All right.
It’s okay,” I said, though softening that look considerably for
Lilith. “You