Page 14 of Heart and Soul
“He doesn’t make it easy, that’s for sure.”
“Again, are you hearing yourself?”
“Hearthis, Shayne Davies.” Planting his feet wide, Russo pins me with an intense look, vigorous gesticulation of his hands accentuating his explanation. “I’m a career cop, a lifer. Dad’s a cop. His dad’s a cop. His dad’s dad’s a bank robber, knew all the cops.”
“Close enough.”
“Point is, it’s in my blood. The job is all I know and all I’ve seen. But I’ve never seenanybodydo this job like Brenner. Do you know how hard it is to keep that rookie focus, that passion for the job? Somehow, Brenner still hasn’t lost it. I was successful in Chicago, Shayne. I was a big deal, the big swinging dick.”
“You loved that.”
“Loved it. But couldn’t have done any of it without Brenner. He was my secret weapon. His devotion is infectious. I was just trying to keep up with him. After he left, things weren’t the same.”
“So you followed him here to ride his coattails?”
“Absolutely. That, and to escape my three girlfriends after they all found out about each other.”
From somewhere in the office, Ferro’s voice floats to the heavens. “Lord, take me. Just take me now.”
I slap his thickly-muscled shoulder. “Three?”
“Amy, Amy, and Jen.”
“Two Amy’s?”
He winks. “Less names to confuse.”
“They didnotlove that.”
“Didn’t love it. Didn’t evenlikeit.”
“What happened to all this crap about being a lifer? Police work is in your blood? Don’t you have some kind of sacred duty to pass on the genes? You’re pushing forty, guy. Why don’t you find a nice cop lady to settle down with and have a dozen cop babies?”
“Love to,” Russo says. “Just point her out to me.”
I point to Ferro, the only woman in sight.
Russo gives a noncommittal shrug. “Ferro’s sharp. Good build. Great cop.”
“Good build? Are you buying a car?”
“No spark, is all. Got to have that spark. Can’t fake it, can’t force it, have to love it.” He raises his voice. “Ain’t that right, Ferro? No spark between us.”
“In your dreams,” she answers.
“Not likely. I maintain a strict regimen for optimum sleep hygiene. Deep sleep, no dreams.”
Ferro has had enough. She gathers up her things to move to another desk. “Delicious on the outside, crazy on the inside. You and Brenner truly are perfect for each other.”
“I just realized something,” I say to Russo. “You’re the voice.”
His smile widens. “Brenner tell you that?”
“Not to me, but to somebody else one time, he said, ‘I’m not the voice, I’m—’”
“—the hammer.” His smile stretches all the way to his ears. “Love the hammer. Good cop, bad cop. Nobody did it better than Brenner. But look, that was then…” His voice trails off, and his smile dims. In fact, it nearly vanishes. This is the closest I’ve ever seen him tonotsmiling. “It’s the one regret I have from Chicago, Shayne.”
“Not the two Amy’s?”
