Please dont.
Why? Isnt that what theyre for? They may not prevent crime or catch criminals, but afterwards you call them and they come in and take care of stuff. Why dont you want me to
She broke off the words on her own, and she looked at him, and he saw her take in the visual information, saw it all register. She put her hand to her mouth and stared at him.
Hell.
23
I am?
Yes.
But
Look, he said, I didnt save your life so that I could kill you myself. You dont have to be afraid of me.
She looked at him, thought it over, nodded. She was older than hed thought at first, well up in her thirties. A pretty woman, with dark hair that fell to her shoulders.
Im not afraid, she said. But youre
Yes.
And youre here in New Orleans.
Just for today.
And then
Then Ill go somewhere else. In the distance he heard the wail of a siren, but where it was headed and whether it was an ambulance or a police car was impossible to say. We cant just hang around here, he said.
No, of course not.
Ill walk you to your car, he said, and then Ill get out of your life, and out of your city. I cant tell you what to do, but if you could just forget you ever saw me
That might be difficult. But I wont say anything, if thats what you mean.
That was what he meant.
They left the park, walked along Camp Street. The siren ambulance, police, whatever it was had faded out somewhere in the distance. At length she broke the silence to ask where he would go next, and before he could think how to respond she said, No, dont tell me. I dont even know why I asked.
I couldnt tell you if I wanted to.
Why not? Oh, because you dont know. I guess you have to wait until they tell you where to go next. Youre smiling, did I say something ridiculous?
He shook his head. Im out here all by myself, he said. Theres nobody to tell me what to do next.
I thought you were part of a conspiracy.
The way a pawns part of a chess tournament.
I dont understand.
No, how could you? Im not sure theres anything to follow. Wheres your car parked?
In my garage, she said. I got restless, I went out for
a walk. I live a few blocks over that way.
Oh.
And you dont have to walk me home, really. Ill be all right. She laughed sharply, broke it off. I was just about to say this is a safe neighborhood, and it is, really. Youre probably in a hurry to get well, wherever it is youre going.
I ought to be.
But youre not?
No, he said. It was true, he wasnt in a hurry, and he wondered why. They fell silent, walked past another large two-story frame house with porches on both floors. A rocking chair, he thought, and a glass of iced tea, and someone to talk with.
Without planning to, he said, Not that youd have any reason to believe me, and not that it matters, but I didnt kill that man in Iowa.
She let his words hang there, and he wondered why hed felt the need to say them. Then, softly, she said, I believe you.
Why would you believe me?
I dont know. Why did you just now fight that man and kill him and save my life? The police are looking for you everywhere. Why would you run such a risk?
Ive been wondering that myself. From the standpoint of self-preservation, it was a pretty stupid thing to do. And I knew that, too, but that didnt help. I just reacted.
Im glad you did.
So am I.
Are you?
What he said, instead of answering her question, was, Ever since the assassination in Des Moines, ever since I saw a picture of myself on CNN, Ive been running. Driving around, sleeping in my car, sleeping in cheap motels, sleeping in movie theaters. The only person I ever really cared about is dead and the only possession I treasured is gone. All my life Ive always figured things would work out and Id get by, and for years they did, and I did, and it feels as though the strings pretty much played out. Sooner or later Ill slip up, or sooner or later theyll get lucky, and theyll catch up with me. And the only good thing about that is Ill get to stop running.
He drew a breath. I didnt mean to say all that, he said. I dont know where it came from.
What difference does it make? She stopped walking, turned to face him. I said I believed you. That you didnt do it.
And I think I said it didnt matter. Not that you believe me, that does matter, though I dont know why it should. But whether I did it or not, that doesnt matter.
Of course it does! If they framed an innocent man
They framed me, all right. But its a hell of a stretch to call me innocent.
That man in the park just now. He wasnt the first man you ever killed, was he?
No.
She nodded. You were awfully proficient at it, she said. It looked like something you might have done before.
I left New Orleans years ago. Thats unusual, most people who start out here never leave. The city gets a hold on a person.
I can understand that.
But I had to get out, she said, and I left. And then after Katrina, when half the city left, thats when I came back. Trust me to get everything backwards.
What brought you back?
My father. Hes dying.