The phone keeps ringing. Eddie says goes over and picks up the receiver and says, "Yeah?" Then says, "Who wants him?" "I ain't here, hang up," Charlie says. "Oh Christ . . . Sorry, sir, didn't recognize your voice," Eddie says. "Eddie, sir, Eddie Gato. . . . Yessir, he's right here." He covers the mouthpiece and holds the receiver out toward Charlie and says, "Harry Mack." That gets everybody's attention. As the eldest of the Three Uncles, Harry McElroy Wolfe is the head of the Texas family. He's also Charlie's dad, and it's unheard of for him to call this phone. Whenever he calls Charlie he calls his cell, and if Charlie's got it turned off, he just leaves a message. Charlie takes the phone and says, "Yes, sir?" I've never heard Charlie address his father by any name but "sir," and whenever he refers to him in conversation it's always as we do--Harry Mack. Charlie listens for more than a minute without saying anything other than "Right" and "Yessir" a couple of times. His face is unreadable. He hooks the receiver back into its wall cradle and just stands there a minute with his hand still on the phone and his back to us. Then he turns and says, "They've got Jessie." Excerpted from The House of Wolfe: A Border Noir by James Carlos Blake All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
