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Stark

St. Martin's Press

Ernie Stark was not the nicest guy you'd ever meet. Ask his friends. If he had any. He was a two-bit hustler who dreamt that the next score would be the big one. The one that would put him on easy street. But too often, he was outsmarted. If not by the sucker, then by the law.

Look at the latest situation he was in. Because of a stupid bust while he was still on parole, he was in bed with the cops. Stark had done a lot of shady things, but being a rat, a stool pigeon for the cops, was not a role he enjoyed. It was either that or going back to the slammer. He'd rather be a rat — outside.

The cops knew that his Hawaiian pal, Momo, was adealer. Small time stuff. They didn't want him; they wanted his supplier. If they arrested Momo, the next higher up on the drug chain would disappear. They'd even arrest Momo if they knew where his goods were.

So, you hired a rat like Stark to get close to his pal and get the name of the supplier of Momo's drugs. Easier said than done, mused Stark, sitting at the bar next to Momo in their favorite nightclub. It was 1962, and the Panama was the best popular club in Oceanview.

Complicating things for Stark was that he was slowly getting hooked on heroin. Shit that his pal Momo was supplying at cut-rate prices to his buddy. He wasn't hooked yet, but he was getting there. It was what had got him in this spot with the cops. He now had a twice-a-day habit. He had a growing monkey on his back.

He also had to keep an eye on Dummy, a mute who everyone had avoided in the joint. He and Dummy had been in prison together. He for a bunko caper that went bad, Dummy for manslaughter. No con ever touched Dummy, after the one who tried to get too friendly and later wound up dead. Stark had even learned some basic phrases to sign to Dummy, but the guy read lips. You soon learned never to kid him — to his face.

Dummy hung around the club, watching things. He had some sort of a deal with Momo. Stark guessed he was a runner. Maybe he could lead him to the Man?

Stark looked at his watch. He was late. Crowley would be pissed. Fuck him. How was he going to make his meet, with Dummy watching his every move? Dummy was nofriend. He almost never smiled. And when he did, somebody died.

"I gotta see a guy," he told Momo. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Save my seat." Momo didn't reply. He just waved him off. He didn't expect a farewell pat from Dummy.

Detective Lieutenant Patrick Crowley sat in the shadowed darkness of the unmarked police car. The street was squalid, lined with third-rate rooming houses. The neighborhood was the heart of Oceanview's tenderloin. From where he sat, Crowley could see across the street the side door of the Panama Club, the doorway illuminated by a moth-haloed electric bulb. Crowley could see the action coming and going and hear faintly the sound of a jukebox repeating the same blues number over and over. The clarity of the music swelled and eddied in proportion to the other sounds carried by the night air; the burst of crude laughter, the whiskey-thickened voices rising in a gust of excitement. A yellow streetcar grumbled past, its bell ringing dully. A taxi paused to pick up a fare and disappeared into elsewhere.

Crowley glanced at his wristwatch and his heavy lips formed a silent curse. He shook his head and again watched the doorway, unable to hold back a grin as a known prostitute steered out a trick to some cheap room. Crowley wasn't interested in stopping vice. He was a narcotics cop. He was waiting for his rat.

The side door opened again and from it stepped a slender man in expensive sports clothes. A cigarette lighter flared in his hand. A moment later the headlights of the police car flashed for a second. The man finished lighting the cigarette and leisurely crossed the street. Crowley grunted in disgust and started the motor. It was Stark.

Stark's eyes flicked up and down the street, into shadows and over his shoulder, but his movements were casual. He walked with one hand draped in a jacket pocket, the other with the cigarette swung in loose exaggeration at his side. He was tall, with slightly stooped shoulders and a certain feline grace, a hip swagger halfway between poise and a pose. He knew he was good-looking in an ascetic kind of way. He'd seen Humphrey Bogart walk this way in a movie. He came around the car and slipped through the passenger door. Slamming it closed behind himself, he extended his left arm along the back of the seat and leaned back in the corner.

Crowley was already spinning the car into an illegal U-turn. Stark looked at the overweight bulk behind the wheel and mused that seventeen years on the force had made Pat Crowley more a cop than the television stereotype.

When they were beyond the city limits, Stark made a face of pain.

"Man, couldn't you have been cooler?" he asked. "Maybe parked down the street or something? If anybody saw me with you, my ass is grass. I live down here, and I don't dig the idea of getting my throat cut. There's suckers that do things like that."

"You've been stalling," Crowley said. "I get tired of waiting for your games. You were supposed to call me today. You didn't, so I came for you. What've you got for me?"

"It ain't as easy as you think, Pat."

The detective turned his eyes from the highway to glare at Stark. "We're not on a first name basis, punk."

"Just trying to be friendly."

"We're not friends. This is business. We made a deal that you begged for ... I wouldn't press charges for the junk I found in your pocket, and you'd set up the big connection. You promised — I went for it. I'll even take Mr. Momo Mendoza. He's just one step over you. He might give up his supplier, if I could nail him with enough shit to put him away for twenty years."

"I'll get him, but I can't if you crowd me. Just leave me to handle it."

"You made the deal, but I make the rules. When I want you, you come. Otherwise you'll talk to me from a cell. You won't like going cold turkey. I've seen what it does to punks like you."

"Okay, man." Stark looked to the whirring scenery, the moon-silvered ocean rushing up the beach to break in foamy blue froth, mist filling the night with the smell of the sea. He cursed himself for his recklessness in taking a shot of the Beast from the East in the toilet of a gas station. The attendant had become suspicious and called the police, and when Stark came out, Lieutenant Pat Crowley was waiting. He hadn't known that the toilet had become a favorite shooting gallery.

That had been a week ago. Now the pressure was on. He had tried to ignore his agreement with Crowley. In fact, he didn't know how he was going to deliver. Momo was very secretive about his connection. Deadly secretive. He was also his pal and his connection. How the fuck did he ever get trapped into this deal? Momo never had his goods on him. He always went somewhere to get the customer's order.

"Man," Stark said, "this ain't the supermarket. Momo's not a fool. I can't just ask him who his connection is. If I get too nosy, he'll freeze me out. You've been in the game long enough to know the junkie world is paranoid. Nobody trusts anybody."

"They shouldn't. You're all finks. I might as well lock you up, pinch Momo, and let him set up the big man. Find out where Momo hides his shit. We've already been through his place once."

Stark kept silent. He knew that Momo was no fink. He'd go to prison first. It wouldn't bother him. It was the price you paid for his kind of business.

"I want some results," Crowley said. "If it was up to me, I'd lock you up. You think you're slick, Stark, too goddamn slick for the world."

"Well, you're not slick," he replied petulantly, "calling the Panama Club and making me meet you outside."

"Keep your appointments."

"I couldn't."

"Some whore ..."

Stark didn't answer. His jaw was set tight with futile resentment. "What do you want me to do now?"

"The same. Get next to Momo's boss. Tell Momo you want to make some big money or some other story. You're good at stories. Get to work on it. You have two days to come through. If something doesn't happen by then, I'll pick you up and turn the key."

"Okay, okay. I got it. I'm working on an angle. I think the key guy may be Dummy, the mute. The guy's a killer. Did you ever see his eyes? He scares me."

"Bullshit. You got two days. Now fuck off."

Stark exited the police car two blocks from the Panama Club. He stood in the thickening fog and watched the red taillights turn out of sight. His eyes gleamed with anger; his lean face twisted. He spat with fury, as if cleansing his mouth of filth.

"Big, tough cop," he snarled. Suddenly the ugliness became laughter. Using two fingers of his left hand scissor-like, he fished a shriveled marijuana cigarette from a shirt pocket. "Yeah, copper, I had a felony in my pocket. You think you've got me, but I've got the whole world. All you hoosiers, suckers, coppers. Screw you. Screw Momo. And screw Mr. Big, whoever the fool is."

A clock in the window of a cut-rate jewelry store gave the time as a few minutes past midnight. There was no hurry; the club stayed open until two.

Stark pinched free the twisted end of the cigarette, ran it over his tongue to dampen the paper, lit it, sucking deeply, and began to walk down the deserted street.

He wondered if pot could still give him the ride. The stick of grass had been a gift from the bartender. Stark hadn't wanted it at the time, but didn't want to offend the guy, who thought marijuana was the best kick in the world. His own attitude had been prejudiced long ago by a dope fiend, his pool-hustler father, the fast man who said: "I don't need shitty weed to make me crazier. Man, I need God's medicine to make me sane." And then busted the vein with a needle while his son watched. His father had been a junkie. Stark vowed he'd never get hooked. Only suckers got hooked.

He dragged once more on the joint, and as he held his breath this time, the marijuana worked its magic. In seconds his mind zoomed to a higher level of perspective, at once more intense and yet distorted. Crowley's face came to mind, bulldog and stupid. A sudden fit of laughter erupted. His laughter booming through the silence of the empty streets. He checked himself, aware that the grass was playing with his imagination. The lights were brighter, and the windows that had been ugly moments before seemed like rows of impressionist paintings hung by a great artist in the gallery of night. The thought brought another gust of insane laughter.

Trash cans, battered by use, lined the curbs, waiting for dawn. These, too, had meaning, especially a deformed washtub heaped to overflow by wine bottles. Stark stopped abruptly, leaned far forward and narrowed his bloodshot eyes.

"I'll be goddamned," he said in solemn awe. "It's a bloody avant garde masterpiece ..." He laughed at his own ridiculousness.

A black and white prowl car slid to the curb, its bright headlights bathing him. It immediately broke his mood. A policeman, featureless beneath the bill of his hat, popped his head from the window, like a puppet from a box.

"What're ya doin' out here, buddy? It's late to be roaming."

"Just digging the crazy art."

"What?"

"Bringing out the rubbish." He knew the officer had stopped to see if he was a drunk. The hustler straightened himself. "They pick it up early. I work nights so I brought it out. Glad to see you on the job. It makes me feel safer leaving my wife home alone."

"Okay, mister. Don't work too hard." He looked pointedly down at the numerous wine bottles. "And watch your ulcers."

The police car slid away to prowl other places in the night. Stark watched it and sobered up. "Better be cool before this happy grass gets me locked up for laughing at the moon."

He quickened his pace toward the Panama Club.

Sounds of strident jukebox saxophone reached out to Stark as he neared the door of the Panama Club. A marine staggered out, shirt unbuttoned and hat askew, and stood wavering on the sidewalk as if debating which course his life should take. He was one of numberless servicemen who came from as far away as San Diego in search of liquor, laughter, and a lay.

Stark detoured around the drunk and slipped inside. Blatant light, screaming percussion, and the odor of cigarette and perfume assaulted his senses simultaneously. He loved it all. It was his turf. He stood in the shadows while his eyes adjusted to the glare. He scanned the large, pulsating room — bar, small dance floor, the filled tables, crowded, though not as jammed as on weekends. Rock and roll boomed from the jukebox. A bleached B-girl and a rosy cheeked sailor were the only dancers.

Through the haze and movement, Stark saw Momo and Dummy at the far end of the bar, just where he'd left them. Dummy was sharply dressed as always, wearing a salt and pepper sports coat. His handsome face was unlined. Momo was just the opposite. He was hulking, drab, unpressed; as soon as he put on clothes his blobbish figure wrinkled them. His face was swarthy, pockmarked, and shiny with sweat. What a pair, he thought.

Stark moved smoothly between the tables, skirted the dance floor, nodded a hip hello to the barmaid, and arrived behind the two men.

"A little air," he said to Momo, nodding to Dummy. Stark slipped between them, glancing at the profile of Momo Mendoza's swarthy, acne-pitted face.

"Where'd you go?" Momo asked. "You've been gone a while."

Before Stark could reply Dummy demanded attention in the hand language of mutes. He pointed to Stark's head and made a motion as if turning on a faucet. The implication was clear. Stark grinned and winked, relieved.

Dummy nodded. He patted the lean-faced man on the shoulder, took a quarter from the stack of coins on the bar, and moved away. Stark turned once more to Momo.

"Where'd you go?" the Hawaiian repeated. "Somebody said they saw you get in a car."

Stark was stunned. Dummy must have spotted him. He cut his eyes to Momo's black, expressionless pools and momentarily could not think. Instantly, he gained control of himself, but wondered if Momo suspected or had seen his reaction. He leaned toward the man in a ludicrous exaggeration of conspiracy: "Man," he whispered, "that was Harry Anstetter, chief of the whole damn state narcotics bureau."

Momo's face cracked into a slight smile at the ridiculousness. A smile was not enough. Stark leaned closer, his mouth almost touching Momo's ear.

"Don't tell anybody, keep it cool, but old Harry didn't come on business. The guy's an undercover pansy ... been in love with me for years."

Momo's smile grew to vulgar laughter, Stark's fear dissipating with the sound of it. He flagged a bartender and ordered a glass of ginger ale. While waiting for it, he said off-handedly that he had gone to smoke some marijuana that a friend had given him.

"I didn't think you liked pot," Momo said.

"Now and then ... I go for anything. He's been bugging me to get some. Hell, that was my drug of choice, until you started giving me free rides of your shit. Now I got to have a couple of tastes every day. Like medicine. One in the a.m. and one in the p.m."

Momo nudged him and gestured with a thumb toward the jukebox. Dummy had slipped there, leaning into the vibrations of the music. It was one of the rare times he saw Dummy smile. Stark snickered, but was not interested; more important things were on his mind:

"You got anything for my p.m.?"

"It'll cost you a ten spot. And that's my wholesale price."

"I've got the dough. You got a couple of bundles?"

"Not here. It's near my pad. It won't take long to get to."

"At your bargain prices, I should take a couple days' worth."

Momo nodded. "How soon do you need it? The club closes in another hour."

"The sooner the better. This weed's got my brain fuzzy as the jute mill in San Quentin."

Momo nodded his head again, this time sympathetically. "Marijuana is for sex freaks. I don't mess with it myself." He lifted a shot glass of cheap bar whiskey and dumped it down his throat. On the way out, Momo paused at the jukebox to wave to Dummy. The mute nodded goodbye and stared at Stark, his eyes never leaving the two as they departed.

On the street outside, followed by the strains of music and surrounded by a light fog, Stark said, "Dummy makes me nervous. His eyes are scary. Even in the joint guys avoided him. He's cold, man. You'd think after our doing time together he'd be friendlier."

"He's okay," Momo said. "He's reliable. And people don't fuck with him. A little crazy, maybe. But reliable."

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Excerpted from Stark by Edward Bunker. Copyright © 2007 Brendan W. Bunker. Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
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