Page 81 of The Best Trick

Zeus and I were on the couch at this point, play wrestling. Doris was barking her head off. Normally things would have turned sexy, but Doris was flipped out enough as it was, so we broke it up.

“Come on over, Doris,” I said. Zeus and I petted her, and then Thor and Odin petted her, too.

“You don’t know how good you have it right now, Doris,” Odin said.

“Eight hands petting. It’s as if we’ve been practicing for this, somehow,” I joked.

* * *

We calledDenko the next day. Odin demanded that it be a video chat.

“Took you long enough,” Denko said, looking scowly. Was he worried? Angry? It was so hard to read him. “How is she?”

“Having the time of herfucking-glife,” Odin said.

“Let’s see her,” Denko said.

“Do you have the tackle bag?” Odin asked.

“Of course I have it.”

“Let’s see it. Let’s have a peek inside,” Odin said.

“It’s papers and a few thumb drives,” Denko said.

“Let’s see,” Odin said. “If you want to see your girl, we get to see that bag.”

Denko got up and went somewhere, returning with the tackle bag he’d described.

“Hold up one of the papers,” Odin said.

“I’m not gonna start showing you everything,” Denko said.

“One paper. Let’s see.”

Denko held up a paper—an email printout of some sort. Odin screenshotted it, needless to say. Thor let Doris out of the bedroom. She came bounding over, and we let Denko get a look at her, then Thor called her back into the bedroom.

“Let's do this now, then,” Zeus said. He named a dog park that we'd scoped out. It had a lot of exits and a lot of sightlines—the perfect place to do the exchange.

Denko grumbled, not into it. “Too many people,” he said.

“We won’t start shooting the place up if you don't,” Zeus said.

“I'm going to give you a different address,” Denko said. We heard papers shuffle. He rattled off an address that was in an industrial area near the airport on West 102ndStreet. “Ninety minutes.”

Odin had a map pulled up. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He showed his phone to Zeus.

Zeus frowned. “Not loving it!”

“Work with me,” Denko said. “It’s a compromise.”

“That evidence better be worth it,” Zeus said.

“It's worth it,” Denko said. “Seven tonight and Thor comes alone with the dog. He parks at the Wally Park and walks. And I'll know if he's not alone.”

“Wait, what?” Zeus growled, examining the map. “Thor alone? In a place like that? Not happening,” Zeus said.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Odin spat.

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