Black Teeth Read Free Page A

shifted. ‘You really hatched a plot, didn’t you.’
    ‘I thought about it for a long time. I’ve thought about it for…it’s thirteen years.’
    ‘Who’s the beneficiary?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Who gets the money?’
    ‘Oh.’ He shook his head. ‘That’s just a friend.’
    ‘What’s his name?’
    ‘It’s a girl.’
    ‘Right. A girl…friend?’
    ‘Not a girlfriend. Not like that.’
    ‘What’s her name?’
    ‘Um, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Cannon. She just started, like, this furniture company. Or shop.’
    ‘You must like her a lot.’
    ‘I don’t know if it’s a shop. It’s furniture…’
    ‘What’s she done to deserve one-point-five million dollars?’
    ‘Because she’s, like, the only friend I’ve got.’
    ‘Well…’ Anthony managed to hold Rudy’s eyes this time. ‘Let’s say you’ve got one more as of today.’
    An embarrassed smirk spread across Rudy’s face, then cooled.
    ‘She doesn’t know, if that’s what you think.’
    ‘Doesn’t know she gets the money?’
    A hand sliced through the air. ‘Doesn’t know that. Doesn’t know I’m going to do it. Doesn’t know anything. She doesn’t have to know anything, does she?’
    ‘I guess not.’
    ‘Good. Good. I want it to be a surprise.’
    ‘Have you told anybody else?’
    ‘No. Nup.’
    ‘You sure?’
    ‘Yep.’
    ‘Okay. Don’t tell anybody else . You shouldn’t have even told me. And don’t tell me anything else. I don’t want to know who this bloke is. What he did. Or anything. Nothing, okay?’
    ‘Okay.’ Rudy grinned and rocked in his seat, a big overbite grin. ‘I knew you’d understand. After what you…with the teeth.’
    There was a twinge behind Anthony’s eyes and before he could stop himself he was stretching, fists in the air; a yawn popped his ears.
    ‘You know, coming here today, I thought this would be a waste of time. Especially on a Friday afternoon. I can never sell a policy on a Friday afternoon.’
    His customer sniggered at the irony. The two smiled.
    ‘But Rudy,’ he got serious. ‘You can’t do this thing tonight.’
    ‘Why not?’
    Anthony pushed a thumb and forefinger into the bridge of his nose. The brown leather scratched. He wasn’t accustomed to wearing gloves.
    ‘Because if you’re arrested, some stickybeak at the office could hold up your application, stamp you as an unnecessary risk. And no one will underwrite you once you’re in prison. But you see, once you’re covered, you’re covered. They can’t withdraw it.’
    ‘So…’
    ‘So you’ve got to wait.’
    ‘Until when?’
    ‘Until the policy is active.’
    ‘How long does that take?’
    ‘It depends. But also…’
    ‘What?’
    ‘I need to think about this. Over the weekend.’
    ‘Think about what?’
    ‘About this . Now that you’ve told me, I could go to jail. And I didn’t like it so much that I’m pining to go back. Maybe I shouldn’t arrange this policy for you. Maybe I should just go and forget all about it.’
    ‘But…you loved him. You said…You said—’
    ‘I said I need to think about it. I’ll call you Monday.’
    Anthony stood, snapped the case shut and hauled it off the table, willing now to brush at the chewed fingernails adhering to its base.
    ‘I promise,’ he said.
    ‘No.’
    The tightness of Rudy’s voice was obvious to Anthony, who moved purposefully to the kitchen entrance and into the hallway.
    ‘ No ,’ he heard again, tighter.
    Anthony’s speed picked up past the stairwell.
    ‘I’ll call you on Monday!’
    Bounding footsteps. Rudy was agile, despite his flaccid frame and the need to hold up his pants. He slipped between Anthony and the wall and halted Anthony’s march to the door.
    ‘ Please ,’ he gripped the deadbolt. ‘My dad…I’ve done the waiting.’
    ‘I know, dude. I get it. Really. But—’
    ‘He didn’t !’ Rudy’s mouth seemed to rupture with these words. ‘My dad didn’t do it. They told me he didn’t.’
    This surprised the insurance