interior of the tavern was dim, and Kelly had to wait several seconds for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once they did, she saw a plump, heavily made-up woman with bleached blond hair sitting at the bar, nursing a drink. In a far corner, close to a small stage, two large men with their arms tattooed from one end to another played a pinball machine and drank beer from the bottle.
At a call from the blonde, a surly bartender with a two-day stubble, a dirty T-shirt and a toothpick in the corner of his mouth appeared from a back door and watched Kelly approach, while the two pinball players made suggestive remarks. Kelly ignored them and walked straight to the bar. "May I have a club soda, please?" As the bartender filled a glass, she once again dug into her bag for money, this time two twenties and a ten. She also took out a photograph of Jonathan she had borrowed from
Victoria
. "Is the owner around?"
"I'm the owner." The man put the glass in front of her with a bang.
"In that case, I'd like some information." She put the money on the counter, along with Jonathan's photograph.
The bartender eyed the bills, then the photograph. "What kind of information?"
"Have you ever seen this man?"
The toothpick was switched from one end of his mouth to the other.
"Yeah, I seen him." His voice was heavy with resentment.
"When was that?"
"'bout a year ago. Son of a bitch took my best dancer away."
So that much was true. "Did he ever come back?"
"No. Or
Magdalena
. I still owed the bitch a week's pay but she never bothered to come and pick it up."
Of course not. She had latched onto a very generous sugar daddy. "Tell me about that night," Kelly said, wondering how much more her fifty dollars would buy. "Did he come in alone?"
"Came alone, sat alone and only had eyes for Maggy . That's 'bout it."
"Had you ever seen him before that?"
"No." His mouth pulled into what could have passed for a smile. "We don't get too many of his kind 'round this joint."
His thick fingers grabbed the money and made it disappear. The blonde at the end of the bar yelled something, and he walked away to pour his customer another drink. The conversation was over.
Seeing no reason to hang around the place a moment longer, Kelly slid down from her stool, her club soda untouched, and hurried out, glad to see that the two gorillas were no longer playing pinball. Out in the alley, she stopped and looked around in dismay. Her cab was gone.
She thought about going back inside and asking the bartender to call another taxi, but the prospect of waiting for a driver to come to this part of town did not thrill her. She was better off taking her chances on the main thoroughfare.
"Hey, beautiful!"
Kelly's heart did a little flip as she recognized the raspy voice of one of the men in Salamander. Had they been waiting for her? Once again, she ignored them and quickened her step, telling herself not to panic.
She knew martial arts. Once they realized that, they'd leave her alone.
A cry of alarm rose from her throat as both men suddenly jumped in front of her and started walking backward, grinning from ear to ear.
Up close, they looked even larger and more ominous than they had inside the bar. The one who had addressed her had long brown hair held back in a ponytail and a gold upper front tooth. Dangling from his right ear was an earring in the shape of a skull. His companion was no less frightening. An inch or two shorter, he wore a red bandanna around his shaved head and stared directly at her chest, leaving little doubt about his intentions.
"Where you going so fast, baby?" Gold Tooth asked.
Kelly kept on walking, remembering Dr. Ho's instructions when faced with imminent danger. Stay calm. Breathe deeply. Consider all options. The only option she could think of at the moment was to run, but considering the obstacles, that was impossible. "I'm meeting some friends at the corner," she said.
The man laughed. "You hear that, Paulie ? She's meeting some
At a call from the blonde, a surly bartender with a two-day stubble, a dirty T-shirt and a toothpick in the corner of his mouth appeared from a back door and watched Kelly approach, while the two pinball players made suggestive remarks. Kelly ignored them and walked straight to the bar. "May I have a club soda, please?" As the bartender filled a glass, she once again dug into her bag for money, this time two twenties and a ten. She also took out a photograph of Jonathan she had borrowed from
Victoria
. "Is the owner around?"
"I'm the owner." The man put the glass in front of her with a bang.
"In that case, I'd like some information." She put the money on the counter, along with Jonathan's photograph.
The bartender eyed the bills, then the photograph. "What kind of information?"
"Have you ever seen this man?"
The toothpick was switched from one end of his mouth to the other.
"Yeah, I seen him." His voice was heavy with resentment.
"When was that?"
"'bout a year ago. Son of a bitch took my best dancer away."
So that much was true. "Did he ever come back?"
"No. Or
Magdalena
. I still owed the bitch a week's pay but she never bothered to come and pick it up."
Of course not. She had latched onto a very generous sugar daddy. "Tell me about that night," Kelly said, wondering how much more her fifty dollars would buy. "Did he come in alone?"
"Came alone, sat alone and only had eyes for Maggy . That's 'bout it."
"Had you ever seen him before that?"
"No." His mouth pulled into what could have passed for a smile. "We don't get too many of his kind 'round this joint."
His thick fingers grabbed the money and made it disappear. The blonde at the end of the bar yelled something, and he walked away to pour his customer another drink. The conversation was over.
Seeing no reason to hang around the place a moment longer, Kelly slid down from her stool, her club soda untouched, and hurried out, glad to see that the two gorillas were no longer playing pinball. Out in the alley, she stopped and looked around in dismay. Her cab was gone.
She thought about going back inside and asking the bartender to call another taxi, but the prospect of waiting for a driver to come to this part of town did not thrill her. She was better off taking her chances on the main thoroughfare.
"Hey, beautiful!"
Kelly's heart did a little flip as she recognized the raspy voice of one of the men in Salamander. Had they been waiting for her? Once again, she ignored them and quickened her step, telling herself not to panic.
She knew martial arts. Once they realized that, they'd leave her alone.
A cry of alarm rose from her throat as both men suddenly jumped in front of her and started walking backward, grinning from ear to ear.
Up close, they looked even larger and more ominous than they had inside the bar. The one who had addressed her had long brown hair held back in a ponytail and a gold upper front tooth. Dangling from his right ear was an earring in the shape of a skull. His companion was no less frightening. An inch or two shorter, he wore a red bandanna around his shaved head and stared directly at her chest, leaving little doubt about his intentions.
"Where you going so fast, baby?" Gold Tooth asked.
Kelly kept on walking, remembering Dr. Ho's instructions when faced with imminent danger. Stay calm. Breathe deeply. Consider all options. The only option she could think of at the moment was to run, but considering the obstacles, that was impossible. "I'm meeting some friends at the corner," she said.
The man laughed. "You hear that, Paulie ? She's meeting some
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