ten

Mallen came out of another bar, this one in the Mission. What a shithole. The bartender wasn’t like Bill that was for sure. What a dickhead. He wondered for a moment if word had gotten out onto the street that he was back. Not only from being a hypo hound, but also from being an undercover cop.

Hell, that’s all I need … .

He had to, had to find either Shannon Waters or this guy William Lucas. Both names were pretty singular. Went to the doorway of a store that hadn’t been anything since a couple years ago. Stood there for a moment in the blackness of the store entrance, thinking about whether to call Gato again, or not. In the end, he pulled out his phone. He needed help. Street help. He checked his watch. It was late, but he needed to talk to his friend. Dialed Gato’s number.

It was picked up right away. “Vato,” his friend answered, “it’s like we’re on the same wavelength or something. I was just going to call you.”

“You found something?”

“Well, yeah … and no.”

“Not about the kidnapping. It’s Lupe, right? You found something about her?”

He could hear Gato let out a breath he’d probably been holding. “Yeah, man. I did.”

“Where is she? Not L.A., right?”

“No, man. Vegas. A woman about her height and looks, with the street name Paloma, was seen around the casinos. One of the older ones. The Four Queens. I gotta go check it out, man.”

“I know. Fuck yeah, of course you got to, G.” Changed the subject, quickly and lightly. “How’s the girl working out you hired?”

“Ah … it’s okay. She’s nice and seems to care.”

“There’s a lot of reservation in that voice, brother.”

Gato laughed. “Mr. ex-cop. I should’ve known. No … it’s cool. Just not into leaving my mother with strangers, you know?”

“Sure. Dude, I’ll check in on her when I can, okay?”

“Thank you, bro. I know she would like that. She talks about you and your ‘handsome face’ all the time.”

“You didn’t tell me her eyesight was going, Gato.”

A soft laugh on the other end of the line. Mallen pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Had the feeling he’d need a lot of the things in the near future. “So, you’re off to Vegas, yeah?”

“I gotta go, bro. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t fucking apologize to me over something like this, okay? Not ever. You have a line on Lupe. Your sister. You have to go. Go.”

“And you, mi amigo? What will you do?”

“I got lines of inquiry to follow up with. It’s all good, like I said.”