Chapter 7, Part Two

No Honor / Ch. 7 Pt. 2: Spark

It"d been a while, since I had a proper shave. So, the next mornin', I went on over and called on Percy Lambert. One thing I like about Percy, is that he's clean. I mean, he's combed, gelled, well dressed and pressed, and the same attention goes to his place. All the wood is buffed, and shinin', and all the windas is clear as crystal.
 
I tol' him my order and I took a look around, admiring the place, while he gathered 'is tools. Behind his 'doctor's chair', and on top o' the sink there, I saw an empty glass and one o' those small, brown envelopes...

It was torn at one end.

My heart sunk. I never, at no time, forget where I'm livin'. Everyone here has a hist'ry and everyone here has some reason, for avoidin' a civil life elsewhere, but Percy never looked like he had no hang up like that.

No more than I looked like a gambler, I suppose.

"Wayne? You ready?"

I snapped out of it. "Yessir."

I sat down in the chair, but it wasn't the same. If my uneasiness showed, Mr. Lambert never let it be known. The towel went around me, like every time, and he mixed up that foam, like regular. My heart was nothin' like regular though, and I was lucky he decided to start talkin'.

"Have you heard about Tom Goodman?"

Goodman was the grocer, on 3rd. He had a few young guys, runnin' his place for him, so I hadn't seen 'im in some time.

"No", I said. "I'm almost afraid to ask."

"Yeah", he said. "I'm sorry to tell you, but he died."

"What happened?"

"Well, your friend Moon happened. It was his offer that killed him."

"What? How so?"

"Tom was up late last night. There was some letters, from his sister they found, so I guess he must of been reading them. In any case, there's a window by his bed, that looks out on the street, and, unfortunately, that's where he set his candle."

"...It was Marco, then."

"It was his friends, yes."

"What they do? Shoot him?"

Percy said, "No no. He was beaten...

"Wayne, I'm real sorry about that. Were you close to him?"

"Naw, I wasn't, it's just... Him, me and Sheldon were the elders. Y'know? We're the oldest, and the ones have been at The Station the longest... it's... it's just a su'prise, that's all."

"I just wanted to tell you, before we got started."

"No, I understand."

He lathered me up, and then he started sharpenin' that blade.

I said, "He didn't know nothin' about that deal. He hadn't been down to the bar in years."

"I just found out about it myself. No, it's a tragedy. A terrible tragedy."

He got to work on me. We were quiet for a while, and then he said, "Shine those boots up for you too, if you want, sir."

"You never sold me on that, Percy. I don't know why you keep askin'."

"Well, we all have to make our money, don't we?"

He finished up, I paid him, an' we shook hands. I had some time to kill, before work, but I wasn't in the mood for much. I had told Dave I'd be out after the weekend, so I figured I'd go to his place, and prepare.


When I got there, I found Carter waitin' outside.
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