"O.K. I give up. Arrest me on suspicion of involvement with organized pasta."
"Are you?"
His voice grew stern. "Who hired you to ask these questions, ma"am?"
It was clear he would tell me nothing. I pushed the fear to a corner of my mind, knowing that it wouldn"t stay there, and went to my room to change. But I"d made a decision.
Kit was going back to Houston.
After dinner Kit settled in front of the TV and I went to my computer. I"d just pulled up the jpg files that contained Kate"s photos and the one I"d borrowed from Jacques Roy, when the phone rang.
Kit answered, and I heard laughter and banter through the wall, then the tone changed. Though I could make out no words, it was clear Kit was upset. His voice grew loud and angry, and at one point I heard something slammed.
In a moment Kit appeared at my door, his agitation apparent.
"I"m going out for a little bit, Auntie T."
"Out?"
"Yep."
"With?"
"Just some guys." Only his mouth smiled.
"That"s not good enough, Kit."
"Oh h.e.l.l, don"t you start in."
With that he stormed down the hall.
"s.h.i.t!"
I leaped to my feet, but Kit was already out the door when I rounded the corner into the living room.
"s.h.i.t!" I repeated for emphasis.
I was about to go after him when the phone rang. Thinking it was Kit"s earlier caller, I grabbed the handset.
"Yes!" I seethed.
"Jesus, Tempe. Maybe you need to get into some kind of exercise program. You are becoming consistently rude."
"Where the h.e.l.l are you, Harry?"
"The great state of Jalisco. Buenos noch Buenos noch-"
"Why didn"t you tell me about Kit"s trouble in Houston?"
"Trouble?"
"The tiny matter of the drug bust!" I was almost shouting.
"Oh, that."
"That."
"I really don"t believe that was Kit"s fault. If it weren"t for the pasty-faced little p.r.i.c.ks he was hanging out with, he"d never have gotten involved with that stuff."
"But he did, Harry. And now he has a police record."
"But he didn"t have to do any jail time. Howard"s lawyer got him off with probation and some community service. Tempe, that boy worked at a homeless shelter for five nights, ate there and slept there and everything. I think it gave him a real good understanding of how the less fortun-"
"Did you get him into counseling?"
"It was just wild oats. Kit"s fine."
"He could have a serious problem."
"He just took to runnin" with the wrong crowd."
I wanted to explode from sheer exasperation. Then another thought occurred to me.
"Kit is on probation?"
"Yes, that"s all. So it didn"t seem worth mentioning."
"What are the terms of his probation?"
"What?"
"Are there restrictions on what Kit is allowed to do?"
"He can"t drive after midnight. That"s been a real p.i.s.ser. Oh, yeah. And he can"t a.s.sociate with criminals." She said the last with exaggerated drama, then snorted. "As if he roams with Bonnie and Clyde."
Harry"s inability to grasp the obvious never ceased to amaze me. She talked to houseplants, but had no inkling of how to communicate with her son.
"Are you supervising what he does, whom he sees?"
"Tempe, it"s not like the boy"s gonna rob a bank."
"That"s not the point."
"I really don"t want to discuss this anymore."
Harry was a grand master at "I really don"t want to discuss this."
"I"ve got to run, Harry." The conversation was degenerating into an argument, and I had no desire to go there.
"Okeydokey. Just wanted to make sure y"all are doing fine. I"ll keep in touch."
"Do that."
I disconnected and stood for a full five minutes, considering my options. None was appealing, but I finally settled on a plan.
After checking the phone book for an address, I grabbed my keys and headed out.
Traffic was light, and within twenty minutes I pulled to the curb on rue Ontario. I cut the engine and looked around, while b.u.t.terflies took flight in my stomach. I"d have preferred a decade of laser resurfacing to the enterprise I was about to undertake.
La Taverne des Rapides was directly across from me, sandwiched between a tattoo parlor and a motorcycle atelier. The place looked as seedy as I remembered from the photos of Kit that Claudel had brought to my office. Neon signs promised Budweiser and Molson through window gla.s.s last washed in the Age of Aquarius.
Zipping a can of Mace inside my jacket pocket, I got out, locked the car, and crossed the street. From the sidewalk I could feel the throb of music vibrating the tavern. Opening the door, I was blasted by the smell of smoke and sweat and stale beer.
Inside, a bouncer looked me up and down. He wore a black T-shirt with the words Born to Die Born to Die emblazoned across a screaming skull. emblazoned across a screaming skull.
"Sweet darling," he said with an oily purr, leering at my chest. "I think I"m in love."
The man was missing several teeth, and looked like a member of Thugs Anonymous. I did not return his greeting.
"You come back to Remi when you"re ready for something special, honey."
He ran a hairy hand down my arm, then signaled me to proceed.
I moved past, wanting to reduce Remi"s dent.i.tion by another two or three incisors.
The place had the feel of an Appalachian hooch house, complete with pool table, jukebox, and TV"s bolted to corner shelves. A bar occupied one wall, booths another. The rest of the room was filled with tables. It was dark except for Christmas lights framing the bar and front windows.
When my eyes adjusted, I did a sweep. The clientele were alpha male, scruffy and longhaired, looking like Visigoth extras from central casting. The women had swirled their hair into styling-gel do"s, and stuffed their b.r.e.a.s.t.s into halters with rock-my-world cleavage.
I did not see Kit.
I was threading my way toward the back of the room when I heard shouts and the sound of scuffling feet. Lowering my head, I plowed a course through a sea of beer bellies and flattened myself against a wall.
Near the bar, a goon with Rasputin brows and concave cheeks bellowed and shot to his feet. Blood streamed down his face, staining his sweatshirt and darkening the chains around his neck. A puffy-faced man glared at him from the opposite side of a small table. He was holding a Molson bottle by the wrong end, jabbing it forward to keep his opponent at bay. With a yell, Rasputin grabbed a chair and slammed it into his rival. I heard gla.s.s shatter as man and bottle hit the cement.
Tables and bar stools emptied as patrons surged forward, eager to join in whatever was happening. Remi the bouncer appeared with a baseball bat, and boosted himself onto the bar.
That was enough for me. I decided to wait for Kit outside.
I was halfway to the door when a pair of hands clamped my upper arms. I tried to wrench free but the grip tightened, squeezing my flesh hard against my bones.
Furious, I twisted, and looked into a face strikingly like that of a swamp gator. It sat atop a thick neck, with protruding beady eyes, jaw long and narrow and slung forward at an obtuse angle.
My captor curled his lips and split the air with a piercing whistle. Rasputin froze, and there was a moment of surprised silence as he and his spectators located the source of the whistle. George Strait crooned in the sudden quiet.
"Hey, cut the s.h.i.t, I got some show-and-tell." The man"s voice was surprisingly high. "Remi, get the G.o.ddam bottle from Tank."
Remi dropped from the bar and stepped between the combatants, the bat resting lightly on his shoulder. He placed a foot on Tank"s wrist, applied weight, and what remained of the bottle rolled free. Remi kicked it away, then pulled Tank to his feet. Tank started to sputter but the man holding me cut him off.
"Shut the f.u.c.k up and listen."
"You talking to me, JJ?" Tank swayed, then spread his feet for better balance.
"You f.u.c.king bet your a.s.s I am."
Again Tank opened his mouth. Again JJ ignored him.
"Look what we have here, gents."
A few listened, faces vacant from booze or boredom, most turned away. George finished his song and the Rolling Stones took over. The bartender went back to pouring drinks. The hubbub began to swell.
"Big f.u.c.kin" deal," yelled a man at the bar. "You found a broad who don"t puke when she looks at you."
Laughter.
"Take a good look, d.i.c.k brain," JJ replied in an adenoidal whine. "Ever hear of the bone lady?"
"Who the f.u.c.k cares?"
"The one what did a little yard work for the Vipers?" He was shouting now, the tendons in his neck taut as guy wires.
A handful of customers turned back to us, confusion floating across their faces.
"Don"t any of you a.s.sholes read the papers?" JJ"s voice cracked with the effort to be heard.
While others went back to their drinks and conversation, Tank picked his way toward us, moving with the exaggerated care of the very drunk. Breathing heavily, he planted himself in front of me, and ran a hand down my cheek.
I turned away, but he cupped my chin and twisted my face to his. His beery breath made my stomach lurch.
"She don"t look like such a ball buster to me."
I said nothing.
"You out slummin", plotte?" plotte?"
Ignoring the wh.o.r.e reference, I looked him straight in the eyes.
With his free hand Tank fumbled with the zipper of his jacket. When it opened I could see the b.u.t.t of a .38 tucked into his waistband. Fear slithered along my nerves.
On the edge of my vision, I saw a man slide from a bar stool and move in our direction. He stepped close and gave Tank a shoulder-jab greeting.