To describe Don Baker’s bar as a piece of shit hole-in-the-wall would be flattering, to say the least. It would take a serious upgrade to meet such a description. A majority of the swill that frequented the establishment led lives that centered on their drinking schedules.
Step liked the place because it made him feel better about his own dismal life. He sat at a table with his constant companion, Kenny, working on his fourth beer in the last thirty minutes. His blood pressure was only slightly less elevated than it had been when he’d left the walk-in freezer at Billy’s Meat Keeper.
“Took a cooler full of venison from Billy’s,” Kenny said, trying to break the silence that had crept up on them.
“I know, dumb shit. I was with you.”
“I know, I was just saying you might should come over tonight, and I’ll grill up some venison burgers.”
“Ain’t hungry.”
“I ain’t talking about now. I’m talking about later.”
“I ain’t hungry later either.”
Kenny threw back a swallow of beer from his bottle. “What’s got into you, Step? You still stewing over that daughter-selling business?”
“Hit me wrong is all,” Step said, sliding his beer bottle from one hand to the next over and over again.
“That don’t surprise me none, given your situation and all.”
Step stopped pushing the beer bottle around and stared down Kenny. “That ain’t a good wound for you to pick at, brother.”
“I ain’t got no desire to pick at it. I’m just saying, I can see how such a thing could irritate you more than necessary.”
“More than necessary?” Step responded, gripping his beer bottle tightly.
“Don’t raise up on me. There ain’t no good way to look at a man that would sell his baby girl to get out of a debt. I understand that, but it didn’t nearly spin me up like it done you. I gotta think your misfortune has something to do with your reaction. That’s all I’m saying.”
“We ain’t gonna talk about my misfortune. You hear me?”
Kenny patted Step’s shoulder. “Loud and clear, partner. Loud and clear.”
Step took a swig of beer.
“You know what’s got me puzzled?” Kenny asked.
Step didn’t answer because he knew he didn’t have to. Kenny was going to tell him no matter what.
“What would make a man go there? I mean I know he was cold, and he wasn’t looking forward to having no more of those knives pulled off him, but it still seems like a desperate place for a man to go.”
“Billy Campbell’s a lowlife piece of shit. That’s why he went there.”
“No, I get that. That goes without saying. I’m more wondering why he’d have it in his mind we’d be open to such a notion. You think we’ve developed that kind of reputation?”
Step shook his head. “Look around you, Kenny. The folks around here would sell little boys to priests for a sip of beer.”
“You miss my point. Right or wrong, priests have got a reputation for having little boy appetites. It’s almost like Billy assumed we’d want to buy his daughter because that’s the kind of thing we’re open to.”
“It don’t matter what we’re open to,” Step said, finishing another beer. “We were there collecting for Boss. Offering us his little girl doesn’t fix things with Boss.”
Kenny nodded with a smile. “Now you’ve hit onto something, partner.”
“Hit onto what?”
“Billy Campbell wasn’t offering up his little girl to us, he was offering up his little girl to Boss.”
“So?”
“So, it’s like the priest situation with little boys. You see what I’m saying?”
“I do not.” Step motioned for the waitress to bring him another round.
“Billy’s got it in his mind that Boss is open to such a thing. Why do you reckon that is? Could it be Boss has that kind of reputation?”
Step raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been working for the man a good while now. I ain’t never heard of him buying up little girls.”
“Do you know all his dealings? I don’t.”
Step shook his head. “I ain’t never done nothing but closeouts and collections for him.”
“Exactly. Me, neither. He’s got whole other enterprises we got no idea about.”
“He ain’t in the business of buying up—” Step stopped short when the haggard old waitress set a bottle of beer in front of him. When she was out of earshot, he leaned in and whispered, “Boss ain’t buying up little girls.”
“Maybe,” Kenny said.
“To what end would he be doing such a thing?”
“What do you mean?”
Step wiped his mouth with his shirt sleeve after taking a drink of his new beer. “I mean you don’t collect little girls like knickknacks. You gotta unload them somewhere. Where is it around here you think Boss is retailing out little girls?”
Kenny thought about Step’s point. “Suppose it would be kind of difficult to off-load that sort of merchandise.”
“Boss is a lot of things,” Step said, “but he ain’t into human trafficking.”
Kenny drank from his bottle. “Still curious.”
Step picked up his empty pack of cigarettes and let out a little growl. “Time to restock.”
“You should quit is what you should do,” Kenny said.
Step downed his beer and pushed back his chair. “I’ll quit smoking when you stop asking stupid questions.”
Kenny stood. “I keep telling you my inquisitive ways are gonna come in handy one of these days.”
“More likely to get us killed,” Step said as he staggered to the exit.