Almost an Hour Later

Chenille is waiting in front of my apartment as I pull into a spot. I rub the bridge of my nose. What a fucking morning. This is why I don’t get up early. Too much time for shit to go down. I grab the rum and step out of the Lincoln. Chenille immediately starts in on me.

“What the fuck, Levi? What the fuck? Twenty minutes? It’s been an hour!” I slam the car door and point at her. She stops her flapping jaw instantly. Wow. That’s never worked before. Apparently I must look as crazy as I feel. I step past her and open the door to my building. We walk in silence up the stairs to my apartment.

“What’s so urgent?” I ask as I set the rum on my kitchen counter.

“I got some news on this so-called ‘Megan Basset’ character,” she says.

I shake my head. “Megan is no longer our main concern.” I have to be abrupt. I can tell by the look on Chenille’s face, combined with the pulsating vein in her neck, that she doesn’t want to be silenced right now. I don’t particularly care at this point. “I got another visit from the mint green envelope fairy. She placed some good advice in my hands.”

I give Chenille the rundown on my meeting with Veronica. Chenille still doesn’t seem happy about having to leave a good lead behind, but at least she doesn’t seem so eager to explode. I pour us both drinks.

“I need you to find out as much as you can about Maise for me.”

Chenille nods as she sips the rum. “Do you have a last name?”

I shake my head. “No, but I can get you one if you need it.”

Chenille nods again. We drink in silence, both of us turning the gears in our heads full tilt. Finally, Chenille sets her glass down. “Do you want to hear the news I got about Basset?”

In all honesty, I don’t want to hear any news about any girl ever again for as long as I live. Right now, I just want to make sure that I don’t wind up with my head in a vice. I’m about to say no, but curiosity gets the best of me. I polish off what’s left in my glass and pour in some more. “What have you got?”

Chenille clears her throat. “‘Megan Basset’ . . . and keep in mind, I’m only using that name so we’re both on the same page . . .”

I wish she had a fast forward button. I wave at her to continue. I would’ve yelled at her to get on with it, but I had the glass up to my lips already. At this point, drinking seems more urgent than shouting.

“‘Megan Basset’ is apparently at the gym constantly,” Chenille continues. “She pals around with whatever asshole works at the front desk and I hear from a source that she’s been spotted having in-depth conversations with Bruiser himself.”

“That makes no sense at all.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that and I agree completely.”

“Whatever sources you went to must have the wrong girl,” I tell her, but the knot that’s forming in my belly seems to disagree with me.

Chenille raises her hands. “I’m just conveying the information I received from my sources, Levi,” she tells me. “That’s sources, plural. I talked to five different people.”

I set my glass down hard. “What were they talking about?” I’m starting to see red. Not so much because I’m angry, which I am, but more because I can’t seem to wrap my head around what Chenille is telling me. If Megan isn’t who she says she is, then who the fuck is she?

“No one seemed to know, or if they did know, no one was willing to discuss it with me.” Chenille picks up her glass. “I could dig in further if you want me to, but—”

“No,” I tell her. “I want you to concentrate on the Maise thing.”

“That’s what I figured.” She polishes off her drink in a single gulp and moves to the door. “Which is fine. That seems more important to me at the present time. I gotta get going.”

She exits the room with a wave. I remain seated in my chair. Luna jumps in my lap. I scratch her behind the ears and light up a cigarette. This is getting fucked up. I gotta get to the bottom of this.

My gut tells me something is rotten and I intend to find out what it is. I pull out my cell phone and punch in Megan’s number.