Shame The Devil Part 43

Thomas Wilson was buried alongside Charles Greene at Fort Lincoln cemetery in Northeast. Stephanie held Karras's hand as he stared down at Wilson's grave.

"You okay?" she said.

Karras touched the knot of his tie. "Yes, I'm fine."

Dimitri Karras lit a candle and did his stavro stavro in the narthex of St. Sophia's Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Then he and Stephanie went upstairs to the balcony and listened to the remainder of the service. They enjoyed the choir and took in the atmosphere of the church. Stephanie's eyes were closed as she prayed for Dimitri and those who were gone. in the narthex of St. Sophia's Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Then he and Stephanie went upstairs to the balcony and listened to the remainder of the service. They enjoyed the choir and took in the atmosphere of the church. Stephanie's eyes were closed as she prayed for Dimitri and those who were gone.

Karras looked down to the nave, where the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons of Greek immigrants and their families stood side by side in the pews. He noticed the graying hair of a man who stood alone, wearing a lightweight fifties sport jacket.

Karras smiled and whispered, "Nick."

They waited on the stone steps of the cathedral as parishioners streamed from the front doors. Bells chimed, and a warm breeze came off Ma.s.sachusetts Avenue. Men were lighting cigarettes, greeting each other with firm handshakes, and children were chasing one another and laughing. Karras saw Nick Stefanos emerge from the church.

"Yasou, Niko!" said Karras. Niko!" said Karras.

"Dimitri!" Stefanos came to meet them. He kissed Stephanie on the cheek and squeezed her arm. He looked at Karras and smiled. "What're you doing here, man?"

"I should be asking you the same thing."

"Like I told you before: I'm just trying to figure it all out." Stefanos squinted up at the bright, cloudless sky. "Nice day. You guys feel like taking a ride?"

"Where to?" said Karras.

"I was thinking of Hanes Point."

"You go ahead, Dimitri," said Stephanie. "I've got things to do this afternoon."

Karras handed her his car keys and gave her a kiss. "See you later. Thanks."

They watched her descend the stone steps and turn the corner toward Garfield Street.

"You're a lucky man," said Stefanos.

"I know it."

"Come on. My ride's parked out back."

"We're getting married," said Karras as they drove along the Potomac, the wind rushing through the open windows of the Dodge.

"Congratulations, man."

"I love her, Nick."

"As you should."

Karras looked out the window. "She wants to have a baby. I want the same thing. This baby's not meant to replace Jimmy. No one will ever replace him in my heart. But I was a good father, Nick, and I didn't get to finish. And I feel like, if Stephanie and I have a child, then our meeting the way we did will have meant something. That everything that happened to everyone else will have meant something, too. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, Dimitri. It makes sense."

Stefanos parked the Dodge in the first set of s.p.a.ces at Hanes Point. He and Karras got out of the car and walked across the gra.s.s to the concrete path that ringed the outer edge of the park. They leaned on the rail and looked out across the Washington Channel, the sun winking off its waters.

Karras loosened his tie at the neck. "It's beautiful, man."

"Yes, it is." Stefanos looked over at his friend. "So what were you doing in church?"

"I made a promise to a friend that I'd give it a try."

"And?"

"I kept the promise." Karras ran his thumb along the thin scar that creased his forehead, thinking of his son. He smiled at the memory, looking into the channel's brown waters.

"You still think you lied to Jimmy about G.o.d?" asked Stefanos. "I don't know anymore. There are days when I'm certain that there is no G.o.d. And then I'll have a day, every now and again, when I think it might be possible. That makes me like most men, I guess. Which is where I've been trying to get back to all along." Karras frowned. "The question is, after what I did in the warehouse - after what you've done yourself - does G.o.d even care to save men like us?"

"I don't know," said Stefanos. "We'll find out soon enough, I guess."

Stefanos smoked a cigarette while the two of them looked across the channel.

"They used to call this 'the speedway,' " said Stefanos. "You remember that?"

"I know everything about this place," said Karras, pointing to the middle of the channel. "My mother told me that my father learned to swim out there on a day just like this, when he was a kid back in the Depression."

"And my grandfather would bring me fishing down here when I was a little boy."

"Lotta history."

"Yes."

Karras nodded to the restaurants behind the marina on the opposite sh.o.r.e. "Feel like grabbing a beer or something?"

"I don't think so," said Stefanos. "How about we just take a walk instead."

Stefanos pushed away from the railing and headed down the concrete path, Karras at his side. They walked unhurriedly along the speedway, as those who had come before them had done so many times.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

I'd like to express my appreciation to the staffs of the District of Columbia and Montgomery County library systems, who provided a.s.sistance in the research for this novel. Thanks to Sloan Harris and Alicia Gordon for their friendship and guidance; my longtime editor, Michael Pietsch, for his friendship, instincts, and smarts; and everyone down the line at Little, Brown for their general kindness. My wife, Emily, and my children, Nick, Pete, and Rosa, continue to be unselfish in sharing me with my work, and for that, and for everything else, I can only say, I love you very much. Finally, a special nod to Joe Aronstamn, who lives it every day.

Also by George Pelecanos

Hard Revolution

Soul Circus

h.e.l.l to Pay

Right As Rain

The Sweet Forever

Shame the Devil

King Suckerman

The Big Blowdown

Down By the River Where the Dead Men Go

Shoedog

Nick's Trip

A Firing Offense