“Well, well. Look who decided to grace us with her presence.” She gave me a curt smile.
“I almost didn’t recognize you,” I said, looking at her oversized hoodie with the New England Patriots logo. “I guess you’re finally rid of me. I came by to clean out my locker.”
She arched her eyebrows. “You’re quitting?”
“Yeah, I guess this just isn’t the job for me. Maybe I’m better suited as a bodyguard or something.”
She tilted her head to the side and gave me a sly smile. “I can see that.”
“Have you seen Flynn?”
“He left hours ago.”
“I need to speak to him.”
“Did you try calling?”
I shifted the bags to my other hand. “I stopped by his house. It looks like he split town. He has something of mine.”
“That sounds about right. If he has something of yours, you’ll never see it again.”
“Do you know where he might have gone? Does he have any other homes?”
Simone chuckled and adjusted her purse strap. “Flynn travels a lot. I think he lived in San Francisco for a while… or was it Santa Barbara? Maybe it was San Antonio. He never shared a lot of details about his past, and if he did, I wouldn’t believe it. Not after all the lies. Give me your number. If I hear from him, I’ll call you.”
I couldn’t give out my phone number to just anyone. “That’s okay. It’s a small world. I’ll run into him again eventually.”
She got a twinkle in her eye. “Did you put in my name for the boss’s special errands?”
I scratched my head. “Tips pay more. It’s not worth your time.”
She shrugged. “Well, Robin White, I’m late for my second job. Stop by the Red Door sometime and I’ll give you a free drink. Though it seems you had plenty here,” she said with a pointed look. “Later.”
As Simone sauntered off, I headed toward the bar. The colorful accent lights were shut off, and even with the overhead spotlights, the place seemed dark and lifeless. Napkins, cherry stems, cigarette butts, and whip tassels littered the floor. The cleaning crew did a phenomenal job, because each night when I started my shift, the place was spotless.
I dipped behind the bar and squatted in front of the tip shelf. I found the big black box with the large S and opened it up. Then I neatly stacked one hundred grand in Simone’s box. People cleared their tips each night, so no one would look in there before she did. That money wasn’t Viktor’s anyhow. Not really. I’d earned it for the fight, and while he would have let me keep it, Simone deserved it more. She made a mistake with Flynn, but who doesn’t screw up? Does that mean we didn’t deserve second chances? I sure as hell had one, and it changed my life. Maybe this little boost would get her wherever she was going.
When I stood up, Houdini startled me. He sat at the bar, accent lights playing off his bleached hair, which was almost white. I knew it wasn’t his natural color because the roots were dark.
Houdini’s hazel eyes checked mine as he folded his arms. “How about a drink before you go? You know what I like.”
I popped the cap off a beer bottle and set the drink in front of him. “This is my last night here. We closed the case, so you won’t be seeing my face anymore.”
“What a shame.” He sipped his beer and never took his eyes from mine.
It was easy to forget that Houdini was a Vampire, so when I felt the weight of his gaze, I made sure to look away.
“I saw what you put in her box.”
“How?” I looked up at a glass ball in the ceiling that likely had a hidden camera behind it. “Never mind.”
“If that’s a large amount of money, she might quit. Simone is one of my best, and I can’t afford to lose her.”
“I thought you liked a little chaos?”
“Touché. So… what are your plans from here?”
I heaved a sigh and tossed Flynn’s empty satchel into the trash. “Sleep. Eat. The usual. Then on to the next case. What about you? Planning to open up a strip joint?”
“Until I find a more lucrative venture, I’ll stay here. Unless you’d prefer me to start selling on the black market again.”
I shrugged. “Go for it. Maybe you’ll wind up on our hit list.”