10

 

Blue and red lights slashed across the perfectly manicured lawn highlighting the Fresco Villas’ fountain sign like frantic disco lights. I stood next to Lilah with my arm wrapped around her heaving shoulders. She hadn’t spoken since I arrived.

The paramedic had given her a mild sedative.

The detectives and patrol officers talked in clusters by the white mini-van, and I tried to pick up any hint of what they knew. So far, Ben hadn’t come back from his trip inside the apartment manager’s office.

Lilah and I stood by Renee’s SUV, away from the crime scene. I could see the neighbors gathered on the terraces and stairs overhead. They sent concerned looks while whispering amongst each other.

I chewed on my thumbnail. A sick, hollow feeling churned in my gut. Gnawing worry pulled at my thoughts. Over the din, I thought I heard a familiar voice and turned to scan the gawkers.

Tom stood in the crowd by the side fence. He nodded in a ‘follow me’ gesture, and then stepped back from the fence, dissolving into the crowd.

I looked at Lilah. She hadn’t seen anything.

“Lilah, Honey,” I said to her quietly. “I’m going to go do something real quick.”

She nodded, her eyes still fixed on the van with a vacant stare.

“Are you going to be all right, Lilah?”

She nodded again. I almost didn’t leave, but decided I might learn something that might help her know what happened. I left her by the paramedics and ducked under the police tape heading to where I last saw Tom.

Over by a walkway, hidden from the crowd by an enormous mulberry tree, Tom stood leaning against the trunk. He walked a gold coin between the fingers of his left hand, making it flip to the next digit by moving his knuckles up and down. As kids, he’d always done that when he was thinking, or brooding. Tom’s faded jeans and old shirt were gone, replaced by a dress shirt and slacks. The police lights flashed his face red, then blue, then back. He smiled sadly.

“How are you holding up?” He asked.

I hugged myself. “OK. Lilah on the other hand…” I shook my head and looked out at the crowd. “Were you working nearby?”

“No.” Tom’s raised his eyebrows at me.

“Then how did you know to come here?”

“I heard Lilah’s kid turned up missing.”

“I guess bad news does travel fast,” I murmured. I thought of Lilah and sorrow crept over me. “I hope they find him soon.”

“Ruby, don’t,” Tom said and tossed me the gold coin.

“What?”

Tom pulled a piece of gum from his pocket, unwrapped it, and shoved it in his mouth. His jaw worked it savagely, and he nodded towards Lilah’s van. “Did you see how much blood there is? Lilah’s kid, if they do find him, won’t be alive.”

My stomach fell, but I knew he was right. Whoever it was lost at least three pints, maybe more, all over the front seat and lawn. The average human male had between eight and ten pints of blood but could only loose up to four before his heart stopped. I rubbed my hands over my eyes and shuddered. I found it unlikely that Dakota survived whatever happened to him tonight.

I bit back tears. “Why would someone do this? He wasn’t a model citizen, but no one deserves to…he’s just a big, dumb kid. A kid, Tom.” I shrugged helplessly and stared at the coin in my hands. It was chocolate in gold foil, my favorite.

“I think we both have an idea who did this,” Tom murmured.

“You think it was Antonio?”

Tom looked at me and then out at the crowd. He had the same wary look I’d seen in the hospital. “Local law thinks it’s a car-jacking, but they’re wrong. Word in the ether is that Culebra is behind this.”

“I didn’t think things would go this far. I mean, when Antonio vandalized my car and clinic…it was just stuff.” My eyes slid back towards the flashing lights and the yellow crime scene tape. “This…this is murder, Tom.” Fear shot through my chest. “Just because I wouldn’t hire some of his friends? It doesn’t make sense.”

“You need to walk away from that clinic, Ruby. I don’t know why, at least not yet, but this Antonio guy isn’t playing around.” Tom pushed off from the trunk, worry creasing his forehead

I shook my head vehemently, and my whisper came out in a harsh rush.

“How can you even suggest that? I’d rather lose the clinic by doing the right thing, than open it up to those monsters and their drugs! If I get dragged into this, I’ll lose my medical license. I won’t be able to open a clinic anywhere else. And if I bring in security, the people who need me most won’t come. They’re wary of that kind of stuff.”

“You can’t keep a clinic open if you’re hurt, Ruby, or worse. Antonio isn’t bluffing. I think the blood all over the grass proves that.” Tom ran his finger down the bridge of my nose and smiled sadly.

“We can’t be sure this has anything to do with Antonio and my clinic. Dakota didn’t work there…he isn’t even one of my patients.” I batted his hand away, irritated.

“Are you kidding me? You’re the one who always said that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. Dakota’s connection to the clinic is through his mom. You know that.” Tom’s shook his head. “You’re just being stubborn, Ruby.”

I folded my arms. My earlier conversation with Lilah about the clinic’s odd paperwork nagged at the back of my mind. Fear rammed in my head. Could they be connected? “Tom, there’s something I haven’t told you; something about the clinic’s shipments being weird.”

His face registered shock. “What?”

“It seemed like a computer glitch when Lilah first told me about it, but now—”

“Lilah discovered something?” Tom interrupted. “And now her son is missing.” Frustration creased his lips. “Why didn’t you say something sooner, Ruby?”

“I told you, we thought it was just a clerical error,” I whispered harshly.

“That’s it,” he said evenly. “You’re not going back to that clinic.”

“What are you talking about? That’s the only place I have.” I snapped.

“Are you paying attention to this week’s events, Ruby?” He shot back. “Open your eyes.”

“I will not abandon those kids, Tom. We both know what that feels like, to have adults cut and run when things get tough.”

Tom opened his mouth to say something more, but his gaze went past me, over my shoulder. He lowered his head and turned away, disappearing in the darkness.

“Tom?”

“Promise me you’ll go back to the hospital tonight. Wait for me in the cafeteria.” His low voice floated out from farther away than I’d anticipated.

“Where are you going?” I whispered to the shadows.

“Just do it, Ruby…for me.”

I squinted into the trees but didn’t see even the slightest rustle. “Tom? Great.” I turned and headed back towards Lilah, who was talking with Ben over by the SUV. She looked terrible. Hugging her, I turned to Ben and smiled sadly.

“Hey there,” Ben said and scanned the crowd by the fence. “Where’d you go?”

“Ah, you know…” I said and shrugged.

He raised an eyebrow but let it go.

“Did you find anything out?” I asked.

“The manager didn’t notice any weird cars or people hanging around.” He waved his hand at the buildings. “This complex doesn’t have security cameras or anything.” He looked at Lilah. “I’ll keep digging though.” He checked his watch. “My shift starts in an hour. Do you want me to take lost time? I can call in.”

“No, that’s sweet, but no. There’s no reason for you to miss work.” I turned to Lilah. “Honey, do you need a ride home?”

She shook her head and wiped her nose with a crumpled napkin.

“No, I don’t want to go home.”

“Where can I take you, then?”

Her gaze, sorrowful and desperate, met mine. “I need to go tell Dakota’s father. I don’t want him to hear it from cops. He hates cops.” She looked at Ben quickly. “No offense.”

“None taken.”

She turned back to me. “I’ve tried his cell, but I think the number is old. Can you go with me, Ruby?”

“Uh, yeah, where does he live?”

She wrung the paper napkin in her hands and sniffed. “Brooklyn’s not home. He works nights. He’s the bartender over at that new club downtown.”

She said it like I’d know about new clubs. I gave her a puzzled look.

She dug in her purse, pulled out a laminated card, and handed it to me. It looked like a backstage pass. Silver script spelled out the name, Flow. The card had a thumbnail-size picture of the club’s front doors. It looked expensive.

“Are you guys going?” Ben leaned in to look over my shoulder.

“I guess so.”

“Let me call in.” He glanced at me, torn. “I’ll go with you.”

“Don’t do that, Ben. We’ll be fine. It’s just a club.”

Ben nodded and then wrapped his arms around me in a hug. “Can you call me when you’re home…just so I know not to worry?”

My eyes darted to the trees, guilt flooding through me as I hugged him back. Chiding myself, I shook it off. I had no reason to feel guilty, right?

“Sure, Ben,” I said, smoothing the bangs over my scar. “But don’t worry.”

It took us a while to get going because I insisted that the paramedic take a look at Lilah. She seemed close to shock. Shaky and pale, she gave in and let them check her out, but refused to go to the hospital.

I gave up trying to convince her. Forty-five minutes later, we pulled into the lot across the street from Flow. Saturday night was apparently a busy night because the line to get in snaked around the back of the building. The steady thump of muffled music shook the metal door and windows. Lilah and I walked past the line of well dressed, beautiful people, most of whom felt the need to complain or swear at our attempt to cut in line. Ignoring them, Lilah walked up to the huge, wall-of-a-guy with a clipboard. He looked Samoan, with a buzzed haircut and wild eyebrows.

His gaze ran over her nurse’s scrubs and his brow wrinkled. “Gotta wait in line,” he said in a baritone.

Lilah leaned in, showed him her driver’s license and spoke into his ear. His face fell. Nodding, he lifted the velvet rope that served as a gate and let us into the club. Moans and protests from the other people in line followed us into the dark club. Inside, the thumping music, much louder now, kept time with blinking lights that froze everyone’s dance moves in flashes of strobe. Colored laser effects swirled through the thick fog that rose off of the dance floor.

“He’s over there,” Lilah shouted over the music.

I nodded and followed her past couples writhing against each other on the tightly packed floor. The music, a mix of techno and hard rock, made a mesmerizing pulse. The vibrations slid through me like a buzzing snake. I hooked my finger in Lilah’s side pocket. We cut through the crowd, leaned up to the bar counter, and pressed up against the stools.

Lilah slapped her hand against the counter. “Brooklyn,” she shouted. “Brooklyn, come here a second.”

The bartender, an older version of Dakota, leaned towards a customer and said something before coming over to our end of the bar. His gaze slid over her face and he blanched. I would have guessed them brothers, not father and son.

“What’s the matter? Where’s Dakota?” He asked, brown eyes growing wide. “What happened?”

Lilah pointed off to the side of the bar. Brooklyn went to meet her. She turned to me and put a hand up.

I nodded and parked my bottom on one of the stools. Grabbing a small flyer, I fashioned it into an origami frog. Another bartender, a woman, slipped behind the bar, and I guessed Brooklyn must have asked her to cover for him. She walked to me, arched her eyebrow at the frog, and poured me a soda. She threw in a few cherries and pushed it towards me. I smiled in thanks.

I turned to face the dance floor and sipped on my soda. The strobe light made me dizzy, but I was glad I didn’t have to break the news to Dakota’s father.

The music changed, and a slower beat pulsed out of the speakers. The couples moved closer, and I had a flash of a high-school prom…but dirtier. My gaze wandered over the crowd to the stairs in the back of the room. Another large man stood at the foot of the stairs, arms crossed over his bulky chest.

I looked up to the balcony, watching the better dressed people drinking and talking in the V.I.P. lounge. I finished my drink and turned to ask for another when a familiar form yanked my gaze back to the top floor.

Tom, dressed in the dark blue slacks and a light blue dress shirt from earlier, stood and walked towards the stairs. He looked amazing. Shaved and smiling, he pulled someone behind him, a gorgeous woman with almost a whole dress on.

I sat, mouth agape, and watched him lead her to the dance floor. They moved together to the song. Slow and sinuous, she twisted in his arms. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her as they danced. He buried his face in her neck, and she threw her head back laughing.

My stomach twisted. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. She was stunning, tall with long wavy hair the color of honey. The overhead strobe hit them and froze their intimate dance in quick definable movements. Burning jealousy flooded through me. I covered my mouth with my hands and turned, fighting back the sudden overwhelming anger that seared through my chest. I couldn’t stop the tears from burning.

Lilah came up behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. “Are you OK?”

I forced a smile.

“I hate all of this fog stuff they pump into the place,” I shouted over the thudding beat.

She looked at me with red, puffy eyes. “Brooklyn said he’s going to get off early here.” She checked her watch. “In about an hour, then we’re going to talk with his parents. He said he’d give me a ride home.”

I was nodding, trying to look like I was listening, but my eyes kept skidding across the dance floor to Tom and his partner. Lilah looked at me with expectation, and I knew I’d missed something.

“I’m sorry, what?” I yelled.

“I said, you can go, Ruby. I’ll get a ride from Brooklyn. We’re going to go back to th-the apartment to talk to the detectives.” She wiped her face with shaking hands.

“Oh,” I said finally understanding. “Do you want me to stay? I can follow you guys.”

She shook her head. “No. I…I need to do this with Dakota’s father.”

Patting her arm, I spoke over the music. “Are you going to be all right?”

She nodded. “I’m going to my brother’s for the long weekend. I think I need to be with family right now.”

“Do you want me to call anyone?”

She shook her head no.

“I’ll call work later,” she said. “I’ll be OK.”

I gave her a hug and watched her thread her way back to the side of the bar. Brooklyn put his arm around her and held her close. I tried to maneuver my way along the side wall, but a new song started, a fast one, and throngs of people pushed me towards the center of the dance floor. Frustrated, I fought against the flow trying to steer clear of Tom.

The lights flashed off. Then black lights flashed on and off highlighting my nearly white outfit like a neon banner in a sea of people dressed in black. Tom caught my movement through the crowd over the shoulder of the blonde. Our eyes locked, and he startled.

His jaw dropped open as if to say something, but I turned away and squirmed through a group of women talking by the door. I was out the door and across the street in a matter of seconds. I slipped into the SUV and crouched in the seat barely looking over the dashboard. Tom wouldn’t know this vehicle. He’d never met Renee.

Heart racing, I watched the front door, half-wishing that he would run out and find me skulking in the parking lot.

He never came out.