Page 95 of Sticky Fingers
“Busy? What are you—oh, shit, I see.” Dominic laughs. “Sorry for that, but this is kind of important.”
“What could be so important? I mean, it’s not even eight in the fucking morning,” Malcolm replies, and I hear him closing the door as Dominic steps inside.
“The condo board is going fucking bananas, man,” Dominic continues, lowering his voice a bit. “They’re considering having a vote on whether you can stay or not.”
“Stay? Where?”
“Clarendon Tower! The assholes are actually considering kicking you out.”
“What the fuck?” Malcolm replies, raising his voice. “It must be that asshole Peter. I’ll just pay him a visit and—”
“Jesus, Malcolm. Chill the fuck out. Peter’s one of the voices pushing for the vote, but others agree with him...I know you came clean, and that you’re going legit. But they’re still concerned about that fucking painting. Daphne already told them she doesn’t care about it anymore, but they’re having none of it. Not with Strong snooping around. They believe you fucking stole it, man, or that at least you know who did.”
“They’ve gone insane…” I hear the couch creak as the two men sit down. “Have they lost their fucking minds?”
“I have no idea, but if you don’t think of a way out...you’ll end up losing the apartment. And there’s only so much Daphne and I can do. The board doesn’t really listen to us. At least not when it comes to you.”
They continue talking, but they’ve both lowered their voices so much that I can’t hear a word. Holding my breath, I get up from the bed and walk towards the bedroom door. Pressing my naked body against the wall, I close my eyes and try to listen in.
“Listen, Malcolm,” Dominic’s saying, “there’s no other way...Daphne has been defending you, and now they’ve already started to accuse her as well.”
“What? That doesn’t make any fucking sense!”
“They say that since she doesn’t seem to care about the painting, that she...well, she might be trying to defraud the insurance company. The only reason I didn’t kill every single member of the condo board was because Daphne didn’t let me do it.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, this is serious. Malcolm...if you know who took the painting, there’s no other way around it. You’ll have to give them up.”
Oh, God. I knew that this shit with the painting would eventually bite us in the ass, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon. Now even Daphne is being accused! And all because of me.
All because I was an idiot who wanted to havefun.
Karma’s a real bitch.
Everything was simpler when I was younger. There were no consequences, and I was smart enough to make sure things stayed that way.
Growing up, I had all the money I needed, and the whole world always bent over to satisfy every single one of my needs. A snap of my fingers, and things fell exactly where I wanted them to fall.
Eventually, I grew bored of that.
Moving in the shadows, stealing highly-guarded paintings, and cutting risky deals in fancy backrooms… Now, that provided all the excitement I could’ve ever wanted. And, as always, I never had to face the consequences that would come out of turning into a criminal.
I acted like a spoiled child, and now I’m paying for it.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
There’s a long moment of silence, when neither Malcolm or Dominic say a thing. Malcolm’s the first to break the silence.
“I can’t do that,” he merely says, and he does it in a way that leaves no room for doubt...
Malcolm knows who took the painting. He knows it’s me—he has always known—and he’s willing to risk everything he fought for to protect me.
“Fuck me,” Dominic replies, his tone of voice brimming with frustration.
For a moment, I almost think they’re going to start arguing. But then, Dominic surprises me.
“Alright, man...you must have your reasons, and I sure as fuck am not going to question them. But whoever you’re trying to protect, it doesn’t change the facts. We need to figure out a way out of this mess.”
