Hawk hung up the rope. I wrapped my hands and fitted on a pair of sixteen-ounce gloves.
He hung the heavy bag on loose chains. Hawk told me to take it slow.
“Promised Susan,” he said.
“She call you?”
“Five times.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Means take it easy,” he said. “Until that shoulder heals.”
“And you?”
“I heal by magic.”
“Must be nice,” I said.
“I often marvel at myself,” Hawk said, getting a good grip of the heavy bag. I started with some short jabs with my left and then worked in a few light crosses with the right. The bullet had torn through muscle and cartilage, and the best I could get was a solid tap. I tapped a few crosses and jabbed hard again with the left.
“Hmm,” Hawk said.
“It will come.”
Hawk nodded.
I did some speed-bag work. The work from the right was pathetic at best.
Hawk thought it was funny.
The rain was gone, and the sun had started to set with all that bold color that comes after a long rain. The gym was filled with a brilliant gold light coming through the window and reflecting across the mirrors. I turned away from it and faced the waterfront. Sailboats zipped through the Atlantic. Tourist boats crisscrossed their wakes.
“You don’t deserve it,” Hawk said. “But after you done, I’ll buy you a drink.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Might be good to keep you around,” Hawk said. “That right hook good enough to knock some old lady flat.”
“I greatly appreciate your support.”
Henry Cimoli stepped out of his office in a red satin sweatsuit. Gray-haired, skinny, and five-five on his tiptoes, Henry had a distinct banty rooster quality. He held out a cordless phone in his hand and called to me.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“How the hell should I know?” Henry asked. “That right is pathetic, by the way.”
“I heard.”
“Whatta I tell ’im?”
“Ask who it is.”
Henry asked. He put his hand over the mouthpiece. “Some lawyer,” Henry said. “Wants to hire you. You gonna take it or what?”
NOVELS BY ROBERT B. PARKER
THE SPENSER NOVELS
Sixkill
Painted Ladies
The Professional
Rough Weather
Now & Then
Hundred-Dollar Baby
School Days
Cold Service
Bad Business
Back Story
Widow’s Walk
Potshot
Hugger Mugger
Hush Money
Sudden Mischief
Small Vices
Chance
Thin Air
Walking Shadow
Paper Doll
Double Deuce
Pastime
Stardust
Playmates
Crimson Joy
Pale Kings and Princes
Taming a Sea-Horse
A Catskill Eagle
Valediction
The Widening Gyre
Ceremony
A Savage Place
Early Autumn
Looking for Rachel Wallace
The Judas Goat
Promised Land
Mortal Stakes
God Save the Child
The Godwulf Manuscript
THE JESSE STONE NOVELS
Robert B. Parker’s Killing the Blues
(by Michael Brandman)
Split Image
Night and Day
Stranger in Paradise
High Profile
Sea Change
Stone Cold
Death in Paradise
Trouble in Paradise
Night Passage
THE SUNNY RANDALL NOVELS
Spare Change
Blue Screen
Melancholy Baby
Shrink Rap
Perish Twice
Family Honor
ALSO BY ROBERT B. PARKER
Blue-Eyed Devil
Brimstone
Resolution
Appaloosa
Double Play
Gunman’s Rhapsody
All Our Yesterdays
A Year at the Races
(with Joan H. Parker)
Perchance to Dream
Poodle Springs
(with Raymond Chandler)
Love and Glory
Wilderness
Three Weeks in Spring
(with Joan H. Parker)
Training with Weights
(with John R. Marsh)
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63