the town

by nick nelson

part one of three

eddie walked in. frank was sitting at his desk, staring into space and thinking terrible thoughts. eddie closed the door behind him, a sign that he had something to say. what’s on your mind, frank asked, taking his mind off his thoughts. there’s a stranger in town. so? there are always strangers in town. that is what the town is here for. people come here where nobody knows them, so they can do things they don’t want anybody to know about. it’s our stock in trade, and also our road game if need be. it’s what’s we do, and i think we do a pretty good job. eddie waited patiently for frank to finish. i know all that, frank, but this guy is different. what is different about him? it’s hard to say, but there is just something about him. well, what do you think we should do about him? i thought i would have sal keep an eye on him, and maybe put daisy on him too. do what you think is right, that is what i pay you for. sure, frank. i just thought i would keep you posted, keep you in the loop. thank you, i appreciate it. eddie left, leaving the door open behind him. frank usually left his door open because he had nothing to hide. frank went back to his thoughts and dreams. * eddie walked down the corridor to the bar. sal was the only person seated at the bar. ralph, the bartender, was staring into space. he was indulging his brain in fantasies. the bar was quiet. only one tv screen was on, and it was on mute. but business would pick up later, when the wednesday night game started. eddie came up behind sal, and sal turned around. sal was a deep one, like eddie himself. it was hard to know what he was thinking, or if he was thinking anything. what did he say, sal asked eddie. he said to do what we had to do. well, he told me to do what i had to do. you can help me out if you want. sal shrugged. that is what i am here for. all right. let’s go see if we could find this guy. sure. sal got up, nodded to ralph, who nodded back after two seconds. eddie and sal went out. when they left, since the bar was now empty, ralph turned the tv on to the easy listening music channel, as his brain was getting a little overheated from his fantasies. after a few minutes, dingbat dave, one of the regular customers, came in. he sat down at the bar. what is that crap you have got on, he asked ralph. ralph brought dave his usual, a manhattan, and put it in front of him. i will change the station if you want, dave. you are the customer here. put on sports talk on 606. coming right up. part 2