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------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Morris noticed the silver gray van when he looked out the window to see if the squirrels had gotten past his latest defenses. He’d become fond of the little bastards and half wanted them to keep winning. -------The van slowed as it approached his house, and something glinted in the driver’s window. A camera? The house wasn’t that picturesque. He was on the deck and got a better look when it came by again. The driver saw him. ------- After the van crossed the bridge and disappeared around the curve, Morris ran to his car. He caught up to it and kept it in sight until it pulled into the Governor Winthrop Motel. A large man in a business suit and a hat got out and went into a room. Morris thought he looked like a rabbi. ------- He parked in a lot across the road and watched until it was time to meet Terry for lunch. He didn’t mention the man to her. ------- ------- Morris returned to the motel after lunch. The silver van was still there. He waited, listening to the radio, until the man came out just before three and drove off. He was clearly making another pass by Morris’s house, so Morris stayed well back and pulled off the road before the bridge and watched through binoculars. -------The man must have assumed no one was home. He got out of his car and went to the front door. He knocked and tried the knob. Then he went around to the back of the house and reappeared a minute later. ------- Morris was waiting when the van returned to the motel. The past was catching up with him. He’d been a fool to think he could simply slip into a new life. Whatever it was about, it would have to wait until evening. ------- ------- “Going out for a while,” he told Terri after supper. ------- Terri was surprised. Morris didn’t like to go out at night. ------- “Anything wrong, Morrie?” ------- “No,” he said. “Just some business to take care of.” -------Morris took his walking stick from the coat closet, grabbed his car keys, and drove to the motel. ------- -------“Yes?” The man spoke through the closed door. ------- “Manager,” Morris said. ------- The door opened, and the man looked at him suspiciously ------- “What’s this about?” he asked. ------- “That’s what I want to know,” Morris said. ------- He watched the man closely and saw his eyes flick towards the suitcase at the foot of the bed. ------- Morris shook his head. “Forget it,” he said. ------- The man stepped back, but he didn’t seem afraid. Morris saw that he was wearing a yarmulke. Maybe he was a rabbi. ------- “Sit,” the man said. The chair was near the suitcase, so Morris sat down. The man sat on the bed. ------- “How did you spot me?” he said. ------- “You’re not good at this,” Morris said. “You and I have a problem?” ------- The man didn’t answer. ------- “What’s your name?” Morris asked. ------- “Josh Weintraub.” ------- “Ben’s son?” ------- Weintraub nodded. ------- “It was self defense,” Morris said. ------- “In his own apartment?” ------- “We were at the Oaks to visit my mom. I didn’t know Ben lived there until I saw him in the dinning room. I was going to stay away from him, but he pulled a gun on me in the elevator. How’d you find me?” ------- “Your mom keeps your letters in her desk.” -------“Terrific. You’re smarter than I thought, Rabbi.” ------- The man raised his eyebrows. ------- “The hat. Not even lawyers wear hats around here.” ------- “I wasn’t thinking.” ------- “Conservative or orthodox?” Morris asked. ------- “Conservative,” Weintraub said. “You religious?” ------- “Everyone’s religious,” Morris said. “The Jews invented religion, right? Listen, Josh, I’m sorry about your dad. Call it a misunderstanding.” -------Weintraub shrugged his shoulders. “What’s it like up here in the boonies?” ------- “It’s good. We read, take walks. We go to a Unitarian Church.” ------- Weintraub laughed. “Unitarians! A hit man should fit in. Ever think about coming back?” ------- “What? Become observant?” That’s why you came, Josh? All this way just to tell me to re-up?” ------- “I came to kill you.” ------- “What about the sixth commandment?” ------- “Do no murder.’ It’s not quite the same thing, Morris, but let’s forget about it.” ------- “Fine with me.” -------Weintraub nodded and sank back against the headboard. “I’ll say good night then. Got to get up at 4:00 am to drive to Logan.” ------- “Just don’t leave the gun under the pillow, Rabbi. State’s got tough laws.” -------Amateurs. Back in his car, Morris unscrewed the top of his walking stick. He removed the ten gauge shotgun shell and put it in his pocket. ------- ------- |