Purgatory (Jack Taylor) by Ken Bruen

Author:Ken Bruen
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Published: 2013-11-03T18:30:00+00:00

22

I don’t see it as any fucking tragedy, my life. Everyone thought I’d be a failure and a liability.

—Shane MacGowan, in reflective mode

The table was a riot of pints, shots, bowls of nuts, and the ubiquitous iPhones, iPads. Skylar, Stan, and me own self were in the Quays, two of the Saw Doctors giving an impromptu gig of

Reels

Jigs, and, of course,

Downtown, in that slanted Tuam fashion. Skylar was ecstatic, gushed,

“Those dudes were like on Letterman and Jodie Foster bought them a burger.”

If the two events were related, I was past caring. I was having me a time, having been convinced my spy/industrial espionage gig was as low as I can sometimes go. But, hey, go figure. I was rolling, getting with the flow, enjoying me own self. The planet of geekdom was surprisingly interesting. Maybe as Stan and I had bonded over

Breaking Bad, Season 4

Detour through the British The Thick of It

And

Back stateside,

Veep.

Doing that drink-fueled dance of quoting our favorite lines to each other. Stan was ahead on Veep with,

“I’ve met some people, real people, and a lot of them are fucking idiots.”

Selina Meyer, the fictional VP.

He thought I’d concede there but I had Malcolm Tucker, Gothic spin from The Thick of It, with

“Please could you take this note, ram it up his hairy inbox, and pin it to his fucking prostate?”

And saw Skylar’s face drop. I offered,

“You want to talk, um, Desperate Housewives, The Real Housewives of Orange County?”

My smile defused the insult and she said,

“What’s a black ’n’ tan?”

I presumed she meant the drink, else I’d be there a week foulmouthing the band of thugs and scum sent to terrorize the Irish. I took the chance and ordered the drink. I was about to go for it when Stan said,

“Man, I’d kill for a Saw Doctors T-shirt.”

Sometimes, rare to rarest in truth, you get the stars in line and I spotted Ollie Jennings, their manager, one of life’s real gentlemen, in nature and personality. Called him, said to Stan,

“Ask their manager.”

Headed for the bar.

Got the drinks, headed back to see Stan joining Ollie and the Saw Doctors. Skylar said,

“Oh, Lordy, he’ll be unbearable now.”

Drink or two in and she was weeping on my shoulder, her love for Stan, but how he seemed to have no interest. His sole focus, with music, was work, and then she said,

“He’d murder someone for the chance I have.”

Jesus.

Just dropped it in my lap and, worse, tomorrow, she wouldn’t even remember. I could have done the decent thing, steered the conversation in another direction. I liked her, a lot. She could have been the daughter I’d never have. She had a sweetness, almost an innocence, that held resonances of Serena but I couldn’t go there. Drained my Jay, shook the memory of that little girl’s death. Skylar, concerned, asked,

“Mr. Taylor, you okay? You seemed like you saw a ghost.”

“Fucking Black ’n’ Tans.”

I hesitated, then,

“So, you have a shot at something big?”

She did.

Spilled it all, between drinks, a crying jag, a hint of pride, and an awful shitload of indiscretion.

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