“Slick Nick” he mumbled to himself, then shook his head and chuckled. Just what kind of scam was the kid working? Obviously, something to do with the old man’s big, ugly paintings. Big and ugly, yes, but worth big money, he knew. There was one he really liked, though. By a guy named Francis Bacon. Dude had a fucked-up way of painting people’s heads. But he could definitely see it on a wall of his, though. Then he thought about the old man. Shit, guy didn’t even know his name, called him Zapruder, for Chrissakes, which made it highly unlikely that he would be provided for when the old man bought it. Unlike one of those beloved, loyal retainers who becomes part of the family and ends up getting more than the black sheep son. Alcie realized this was the only opportunity he’d ever get. Grab it or end up being some homeless guy living under a bridge. Instead of returning to his mother in North Carolina as the conquering hero, the way he always dreamed it. He went back to the library where Nick was reading an art book.
