––––––––
“I was involved with a gang called True North about a year ago when I was living here,” I began. I rolled up my right sleeve to show Gabriel the tattoo on my forearm. “I got suckered into this support group scam. One of the girls there got me into an expensive habit. It got to the point where I owed a True North dealer a lot of money. To pay it off, I was forced to join them.”
Gabriel nodded, touching his fingers lightly to my tattoo. It was rather plain and non-suspect, the lines of a compass over a gray and black outline of a rose. The design was specific enough to be recognizable, but generic and dismissible to anybody who wasn’t part of the gang. I watched his face carefully as he studied it, wondering when he was going to ask about what I had to do to pay off that debt. Thankfully, he never did.
“Anyway,” I continued quickly, rolling my sleeve back down, “some scary gang shit went down, and I ran away back home. The gang tracked me down, though. I got ambushed and shoved into a van in downtown Phoenix. Somehow, my brother’s club figured out we were headed for the Nevada border and reached out to Laughlin. Laughlin caught up to us, but the True Northers sweet-talked them into a distribution deal—”
“Whoa, wait a second,” Gabriel said. “The Laughlin chapter did what?”
I stared back at his wide eyes, shaping my words carefully. “The True Northers convinced Laughlin to strike up a partnership. The Laughlin president made it seem like it was to get me back, but really it was just for the money.”
“And now they’re dealing drugs over there?”
I shrugged. “As far as I know. I’ve been out of the loop for a few days now.”
Gabriel knitted his dark brows together, scrutinizing me. “So, why are you in Vegas, then? After going through so much trouble to run away in the first place?”
I looked down and fingered the pattern of my bedspread. Who knew? Even I didn’t. My returning to Vegas defied all logic. Still, my gut told me it was the right thing to do. Maybe it was because it was all my fault. If it weren’t for me, the Laughlin Skull Kings and True North never would’ve crossed paths.
But there was another reason, too. It was one I hadn’t even realized until just before Larry walked out the door.
I exhaled slowly. “Anna,” I said simply.
“Anna?”
“She was my best friend when I was living here. I lost track of her, and I’ve been looking for her ever since.”
I spread my hand flat against the bedspread. My fingers looked almost infantile, short and thin, beside Gabriel’s wide, weathered hands. I dared to peek at his face and saw his jaw muscles clenching.
“Larry kind of alluded that Anna might be back in town, right?” he said.
“Yeah.”
“Kind of a weird coincidence, right?”
I laughed, surprised. “Yeah. Weird. But I believe that things happen for a reason. Maybe I ended up here so I could find her again.”
Gabriel nodded stiffly. His eyes were fixed at the wall in front of us. He hadn’t looked at me the whole time since he’d sat down. “I believe things happen for a reason, too.”
What are you saying? I thought at him. I watched his profile until I forgot to feel self-conscious about looking at him. I didn’t have time to glance away when he finally turned to face me. His eyes were startling in their earnest brownness.
“I’m a Skull King, and somehow we met in this big ol’ city. I don’t believe in coincidences, Lisbeth. Whatever it is you have to do here, I’m going to help you.”
* * *
Although I paid for a week’s stay, Gabriel made me pack up my belongings, saying we could worry about finding me a place later. It was in case what Larry said about the gang looking for me was true.
“In the meantime,” he said, “let’s go talk to Gloria.”
We rode back to Lip Service. By then, the nightlife crowd was in full swing. The warbling jukebox tunes were replaced by a DJ spinning electronic dance music, and go-go dancers in shiny silver bikinis danced on top of tables. Gabriel had told me earlier that Gloria was their unofficial official cocaine dealer. Everybody knew to look for the woman in the cowboy hat.
I followed Gabriel as he weaved through the crowd, keeping an eye out for that hat and that crazy face of hers. We ended up at the bar, and Gabriel signaled to the bartender, this time a tall, modelesque woman with teased black hair and winged eyeliner.
“You seen Gloria?” I heard him yell over the music.
“She went out back with a customer,” the bartender yelled back.
Gabriel nodded once in thanks and grabbed my hand. I grew warm from the sudden, unexpected contact, but he didn’t seem to notice. I bit my lip as he pulled me through the crowd, hoping that my blush would fade away soon. The crowd thinned out by the time we drew close to the bathrooms, and he finally let go.
“This way,” he said, jerking his head toward a back exit. He put both hands on the door and pushed, letting in a rush of cold night air.
I walked slowly out into the damp, empty alleyway. There was nothing but a brick wall, a single light, and a pile of empty boxes by a dumpster.
“Gloria?” Gabriel called. His boots echoed against the walls as he walked off in one direction.
“Uh...Gabriel?” I said.
“Go look for her over there.”
“I think I already found her.”
I stared at the pile of boxes, afraid to get any closer. I could see two splayed legs, the rest of the body obscured by the pile. There was a shadowy lump just a few feet away, shaped suspiciously like a cowboy hat. I heard Gabriel’s footsteps bounding closer to me. I hugged myself, shaking.
He stood over the body and released a low whistle. “Yeah, that’s her all right. You wanna see?”
“No.”
He leaned over and put his hands on his knees. “Looks like she took a shot to the chest. At least she died quickly.”
“At least.”
Gabriel turned toward me. “Are you okay?” he asked.
I took a few steps back, feeling faint. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Gabriel hurried forward. He grabbed my arms to hold me steady, even though I was okay on my own. There was a soft look of concern on his face, as if at that very moment, nothing else existed in the world but me.
“Take a few deep breaths. Like this.”
I mimicked the shape of his pursed lips and inhaled, exhaled, inhaled along with him. His eyes were concentrated on mine for a few moments. Then, they lowered to my mouth.
I reminded myself to keep breathing.
Suddenly, the door opened loudly behind us, issuing music into the alleyway.
“What’s going on—”
The pallor of Gabriel’s face made me turn to look. The bartender from earlier stood there, one hand still holding the door open. The other rose steadily to her mouth as she stared toward the dumpster. It had taken her much less time to realize what was hidden in the trash.
“Is that—”
“Yeah,” Gabriel said.
She let the door swing shut behind her. “Did you guys find her like that?”
Gabriel ran his hands through his hair. “Fuck, Sarah. Of course we did.”
Sarah walked over to join us in the middle of the alley. The perfume she wore smelled strongly of sandalwood. Her slim arms crossed over her chest. “What should we do?”
“Give me a minute,” Gabriel muttered. He backed away slowly, covering his mouth as he eyed the sky, deep in thought. “Okay, you said she came back here with a customer. Did you happen to see what the customer looked like?”
“It was a chick,” Sarah said. “White. Young, kind of like your friend here. Peroxide blonde. Honestly, a little generic looking.” She shrugged helplessly.
“That’s okay,” Gabriel said. “I think we have a...” His voice dropped away as he scanned the walls. I followed his gaze to a security camera mounted just a few feet away from us. “Yes! We have a camera there. We can check the footage and see if we can get a good look at—”
“Why?” Sarah asked suddenly. “What’s going on?”
“It’s none of your business—”
“Sure it is.” She smirked. “I’m a witness. The police will be interested in talking to me.”
Gabriel groaned. “Just give us a few minutes with security to look at the tape, okay? Then we’ll worry about the cops and everything else.”
Sarah lowered her head, gazing at Gabriel through her eyelashes. “It’s going to look suspicious if we’re standing around talking like this, and the tape is time-stamped. I’m going to call the police right now. You should have enough time to review the tape before they get here.”
“Awesome. Come on,” Gabriel said.
Sarah caught my wrist just as I began to walk away. “Rude of him not to introduce us. I’m Sarah.”
I returned her warm smile. “Lisbeth.”
There was no use lying about my name, now.
* * *
Gabriel and I stood behind his colleague, Omar. We were in the office, and Omar sat at a cluttered desk to fast forward through the footage from the outside surveillance camera.
“Wait!” Gabriel said, clamping his hand onto Omar’s large shoulder. “There.”
The footage stopped and resumed at normal speed. A door swung open in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and I recognized Gloria in her cowboy hat and braids as she entered the frame. A small figured followed close behind her.
Gabriel and I leaned forward.
“It’s kind of grainy,” Omar remarked.
“Looks young, white, and blonde, just like Sarah told us,” Gabriel said, sounding a little disappointed.
“And tattooed,” Omar said, noting her heavily inked arms.
I remained silent. My stomach felt like it had collapsed on itself. I pressed my lips together and kept watching the tape.
“Are they arguing? They’re arguing, right?” Gabriel continued.
In the footage, Gloria gestured wildly with her hands. The young woman in front of her was also moving her hands, but with much less enthusiasm. Gloria shrugged and shook her head, stepping close to the other woman, who backed off. Then, the woman raised her middle finger and shoved it in Gloria’s face before walking off.
“Huh,” Gabriel said. “Someone else killed Gloria, then.”
The young woman walked toward the camera, passing under the lamp. Her face was illuminated for the entire two seconds she remained in the frame. Then, she was gone.
“There!” Omar cried out.
A second figure in a black hoodie emerged from the shadows, running in from the opposite direction. Gloria reacted with a surprised jump, but she didn’t have time to do anything else. The figure pointed what was obviously a gun at Gloria’s chest. A white flash briefly filled the screen. Although there was no audio, I heard the shot sound off in my head. Then, Gloria crumpled to the ground. The hooded figure tucked his gun back into his belt, grabbed Gloria by her wrists, and dragged her toward the dumpster. Her hat fell off and rolled away into the darkness.
“Jesus,” Gabriel said, straightening up. He exchanged a troubled glance with Omar.
Just then, the door opened behind us. Sarah poked her head in. “You guys might want to take off. The police just pulled up.”
“Great. Thank you,” Gabriel said. Before she could step back out, he stopped her. “You mind if we crash at your place tonight?”
“Sure,” Sarah said. It sounded like it wasn’t a big deal at all, as if she were used to Gabriel randomly asking to stay at her place. “Come with me. I’ll give you my spare key.”
Gabriel caught the strange look on my face and chuckled. “Don’t worry,” he said, misreading my emotions. “Sarah’s cool. No gang affiliations or anything. Probably the first normal person you’ve met since you got here.”
Back out on the floor, we waited patiently while Sarah ducked under the bar to get her keys. Two uniformed police officers entered the room, enduring jeers from the drunk and grinding crowd. The younger looking of the two met my eyes from across the room and walked up to me.
“Someone called the police. Was it you?” he asked, his voice dripping with authority.
“I did,” Sarah said, suddenly popping up from behind the bar.
“Take us to the body. And—” he waved a hand at the crowd behind him “—you might want to close early tonight.”
“I’ll let my boss know,” Sarah said. “Please follow me, officer.” She walked away from us, leaving a single key on the bar just where her hand had been a second ago.
“Smooth,” I said as Gabriel picked up the key.
He raised his eyebrows at me. “That’s Sarah for you.”
We were on our way out the door when the music stopped.
“Ladies and ladies, I’m sorry to say that we will be forced to shut down early tonight,” the DJ’s voice boomed through the speakers.