name?”
“Can I have a seat?”
She smiled a crooked smile. I took this as an invitation.
The room felt cramped but it was large enough. It was hot in there. The madam’s smile was like that of the alligator at home in the warm waters of my blood.
“Ezekiel,” I said.
“Come again?” Lula said.
“Easy. It comes from Ezekiel.”
For some reason this delighted Lula.
“Do they call you that because things always go your way?” she asked.
“Just the opposite.”
“You’re not here for pussy, are you, Mr. Easy?”
“Not right now. You see, a few nights ago a young man named Evander Noon came here on an acid trip with a girl named Ruby—”
“The makeup hippie girl,” Lula interjected.
“—and he, Evander, left with a man dressed all in green—I’m told.”
“Maurice,” Lula said to Big Boy. “I should have known.”
“Known what?” I asked.
“Are you here for Haman Rose?”
“Never heard of him. My friend Mouse sent me.”
“Oh, yeah, Arthur said something about him.”
I supposed Arthur was the name Big Boy went by at this job. It probably wasn’t his real name. You only gave people your real name if they paid you with a check.
“Who’s Haman Rose?” I asked.
“The kind of guy you don’t want looking for you.”
“Neither is Mouse,” I said, and Arthur Big Boy grunted.
Lula frowned at her employee.
“I don’t want any trouble, Easy,” she said. “I remember the young man. He was flying pretty high. Maurice was here that night. But I don’t remember if he had anything to do with your friend … do you, Sparkle?”
“Uh-uh,” the naked couch ornament murmured.
“They left together,” Arthur said.
“When?” I asked.
“Maybe around ten. Maurice said that he had a new girl for us, but when he met the kid he forgot all about that and they split.”
“Where?”
“I’ont know.”
“And this Haman Rose has been looking for him?”
“Keith Handel was,” Big Boy said. “But everybody knows that Keith works for Rose.”
I turned back to Lula.
“You know where I can find any of those men?”
“We aren’t that close. I do business with Maurice from time to time, but I’ve never kissed him on the lips.”
All the forward motion of that night came to a halt then. I wasn’t weak, but the strength Jo’s medicine had given me was gone. I sat there a few seconds too long without speaking.
“You disapprove of prostitution, Mr. Easy?” Lula asked, maybe just to fill in the silence.
“Not at all. I’m just a little surprised to find it here, with all the free love out there in the street.”
Lula’s sneer seemed to be accented by her wandering eye.
“Nothing’s free,” she said. “Free sex is like a pusher giving you a sample of his heroin. Once you get a taste you start paying.”
“For everything except air,” I agreed.
“Except that.”
19
Walking down the stairs I felt the strain in my thighs. I was getting weaker by the moment, and there was a long road left yet to travel. I took my time, because thinking and walking had started to vie for my attention. I’d take two steps and then stop, wondering where Evander was and what he had to do with a man in green that bad men were looking for. Then two more steps …
The parking lot was empty of life. The cars looked so settled and secure that I considered climbing into one and taking a brief eight- or nine-hour nap.
“Hi,” she said, giving the word two syllables.
Ruby had come from behind a slender pine at the edge of the lot.
“I was smoking this joint,” she said.
“That someone gave you for flowers,” I added.
She smiled. “Want some?”
“You hungry?”
“Like a beast,” she said.
Down near La Cienega was a disheveled little diner called Holly Heron’s All-Night Chili Palace. Ruby and I crowded in at the counter.
There was a jukebox playing from the corner.
That was the first time I ever heard the song “Somebody to Love” by the Jefferson Airplane. I
“Can I have a seat?”
She smiled a crooked smile. I took this as an invitation.
The room felt cramped but it was large enough. It was hot in there. The madam’s smile was like that of the alligator at home in the warm waters of my blood.
“Ezekiel,” I said.
“Come again?” Lula said.
“Easy. It comes from Ezekiel.”
For some reason this delighted Lula.
“Do they call you that because things always go your way?” she asked.
“Just the opposite.”
“You’re not here for pussy, are you, Mr. Easy?”
“Not right now. You see, a few nights ago a young man named Evander Noon came here on an acid trip with a girl named Ruby—”
“The makeup hippie girl,” Lula interjected.
“—and he, Evander, left with a man dressed all in green—I’m told.”
“Maurice,” Lula said to Big Boy. “I should have known.”
“Known what?” I asked.
“Are you here for Haman Rose?”
“Never heard of him. My friend Mouse sent me.”
“Oh, yeah, Arthur said something about him.”
I supposed Arthur was the name Big Boy went by at this job. It probably wasn’t his real name. You only gave people your real name if they paid you with a check.
“Who’s Haman Rose?” I asked.
“The kind of guy you don’t want looking for you.”
“Neither is Mouse,” I said, and Arthur Big Boy grunted.
Lula frowned at her employee.
“I don’t want any trouble, Easy,” she said. “I remember the young man. He was flying pretty high. Maurice was here that night. But I don’t remember if he had anything to do with your friend … do you, Sparkle?”
“Uh-uh,” the naked couch ornament murmured.
“They left together,” Arthur said.
“When?” I asked.
“Maybe around ten. Maurice said that he had a new girl for us, but when he met the kid he forgot all about that and they split.”
“Where?”
“I’ont know.”
“And this Haman Rose has been looking for him?”
“Keith Handel was,” Big Boy said. “But everybody knows that Keith works for Rose.”
I turned back to Lula.
“You know where I can find any of those men?”
“We aren’t that close. I do business with Maurice from time to time, but I’ve never kissed him on the lips.”
All the forward motion of that night came to a halt then. I wasn’t weak, but the strength Jo’s medicine had given me was gone. I sat there a few seconds too long without speaking.
“You disapprove of prostitution, Mr. Easy?” Lula asked, maybe just to fill in the silence.
“Not at all. I’m just a little surprised to find it here, with all the free love out there in the street.”
Lula’s sneer seemed to be accented by her wandering eye.
“Nothing’s free,” she said. “Free sex is like a pusher giving you a sample of his heroin. Once you get a taste you start paying.”
“For everything except air,” I agreed.
“Except that.”
19
Walking down the stairs I felt the strain in my thighs. I was getting weaker by the moment, and there was a long road left yet to travel. I took my time, because thinking and walking had started to vie for my attention. I’d take two steps and then stop, wondering where Evander was and what he had to do with a man in green that bad men were looking for. Then two more steps …
The parking lot was empty of life. The cars looked so settled and secure that I considered climbing into one and taking a brief eight- or nine-hour nap.
“Hi,” she said, giving the word two syllables.
Ruby had come from behind a slender pine at the edge of the lot.
“I was smoking this joint,” she said.
“That someone gave you for flowers,” I added.
She smiled. “Want some?”
“You hungry?”
“Like a beast,” she said.
Down near La Cienega was a disheveled little diner called Holly Heron’s All-Night Chili Palace. Ruby and I crowded in at the counter.
There was a jukebox playing from the corner.
That was the first time I ever heard the song “Somebody to Love” by the Jefferson Airplane. I
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