CHAPTER 6

I heard Ann Williams yelling at someone, and my eyes flew open. I was on a cot in Vivi’s office. Where the heck had it come from, and how had I ended up here? My mouth felt like someone had stuck hot stones in it. There was a wet, cool rag on my head.

“You were supposed to make sure she was okay,” Ann yelled. She stood in the doorway next to Dex. All up in Dex’s face. His normally passive face was red as he looked down at her.

She was dressed in her usual black—leggings and a T-shirt. Occasionally she’d break up the black with a bit of red trim. Her dark hair flowed around her in perfect waves.

“She was fine when she walked into Two Bobs,” Dex answered.

I sat up, and my head felt like someone was playing Olympic-worthy ping-pong in it. They both whipped their heads toward me.

“Dex is right. I was fine when I walked in Two Bobs.” Well, maybe fine was a bit of an exaggeration, but I’d gone from happy to passed out awfully fast. “It wasn’t his fault,” I said. “I’m a lousy drinker. Especially during the day.”

Joaquín and Vivi hurried over.

“Are you okay?” Joaquín asked.

“You gave us a scare, seeing Dex carry you in over his shoulder,” Vivi said.

I looked at Dex. He’d carried me back here? “Thank you, Dex. I’m so embarrassed.”

I smelled barbeque, and my stomach growled again. “I need to order some food.”

“I ordered for you,” Dex said.

“When?” I asked. I didn’t remember that.

“After I got you back here. It’s in the kitchen. I’ll grab it for you.” Dex ducked out of sight.

Perhaps he wanted to get away from Ann’s wrath, because she almost looked like one of those cartoon characters with steam coming out of her ears. He reappeared and put the food on Vivi’s desk. Everyone either piled into her office or stood in the doorway. I sat in one of the chairs at Vivi’s desk and lifted the lid off the tray.

“Yum,” I said, looking over the array of food.

Everyone laughed. Dex had brought a huge glass of ice water, too. I chugged about half of that.

“You must be feeling better,” Joaquín said. “You were snoring like a beast. Our customers thought there was an incoming tsunami.” He kissed the top of my head. “I’ll head back out to the bar.”

“Anybody want some?” I asked as I forked in a bit of the pork. Heaven on earth. Wade, who owned the Briny Pirate, was a genius with a smoker. Next, I had a bite of potato salad, mac and cheese, cole slaw, and then I ate a hush puppy.

Vivi sat in her big office chair across from me. She put her elbows on her desk and leaned forward. “My doctor’s on the way.”

I stopped my fork midway to my mouth. “Why?”

She tilted her head to Dex. “He said you went from seemingly fine to passed out fairly quickly.”

That’s the same thing I’d thought.

“We’re worried that someone slipped something in your drink,” Ann said. There was still a lot of anger in her voice.

Slipped something in my drink? I shoveled in more food while I let that thought roll around in my head. My hand shook as I put my fork down.

“My doctor is going to do some tests and check you out,” Vivi said. “I thought you’d prefer that to going to the hospital.”

Who would have put something in my drink? I knew about how quickly drugs could kick in. It would had to have been Jean Claude or Enrique. The bartender I ordered from at Two Bobs or that waitress who brought up the Bushwacker and scotch. But why would she do that to me? Why would any of them? Did she want Enrique? All indications were a yes, but that seemed an extreme way to get rid of the competition—not that I was. The whole episode was terrifying. I nodded. Hospital food wouldn’t be nearly as good as this. Plus, I didn’t think there was any reason for me to go. “How long was I out?”

“Thirty minutes,” Ann said. Ann had a small pirate flag tattooed on her ankle. She was a descendent of Jean Lafitte, pirate and war hero.

From what I’d read about roofies, they affected different people in different ways depending on the dose and the person. Symptoms ranged from nausea to passing out for hours and not remembering anything that happened. I shuddered. Vivi, Ann, and Dex watched me.

“I probably just drank too much,” I said. “I should have been more careful.” I ate some more, because I was ravenous.

Ann glared at Dex again.

“I’m sorry,” Dex said to me.

“None of this is your fault. You protected me, swept me out of the bar at Sandy’s at the first sign of trouble.” I turned to Ann. “He was wonderful.”

Dex pinked up.

Ann relaxed a little and nodded. “Thanks.”

Dex drifted out of the office and turned toward the bar. I’ll bet he needed a drink. I ate another hush puppy and pushed back the tray of food. By the time the doctor came and went, it was almost seven.

“Go home and get some rest,” Vivi said. “The doctor said rest would be good for you.”

The bar was still full of people here on spring break. “I’d rather work.” Working would be so much better than wondering if I’d been drugged. The doctor had said it would be a few days before we would know the answer to that.

Vivi frowned but nodded.

“I saw some coasters online the other day that we could order that can be used to see if there’s anything in your drink or not. You put a little bit of your drink on the coaster, and if it turns blue, you know there’s something in your drink.”

“We’ve never had a problem here,” Vivi said.

“I know that, but after the scare today, it seems like it might be smart to order them. At the very least, they’d be a deterrent.”

“That’s a great idea. Let’s buy some.”

“I’ll do that, and then I have to make a phone call.” I needed to call Rip and let him know what had happened. The last thing I wanted was for him to hear about what may or may not have happened to me from someone else. He was a volunteer firefighter and on duty tonight. I took a deep breath and dialed. Rip answered on the second ring. A lump formed in my throat at the sound of his voice. It took me a moment to be able to say anything.

“Hey,” he said, “are you okay?”

“Yes.” But it came out a little shakier than I wanted it to. I explained to him what had happened and emphasized that I was fine. “I’ve been well taken care of,” I said as I wrapped up my telling of the events of the day.

“I’m sorry I have to work and can’t be there. Do you need anything? What can I do?” His voice sounded more tense than usual.

“Just listening to me and not judging me helped a lot. Thank you.” I heard the alert sound that there was a fire through the phone.

“I have to go. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m good. Just hearing your voice made me feel way better.” We hung up. Most of me believed what I’d said about the possible drugging. But a little part of me worried about what could have happened and how much worse things might have been.

* * *

I grabbed an apron, pad, pen, and started around the room, checking on customers and taking orders. Dex and Ann sat at a high-top table together, both reading. Dex had a dog-eared copy of The Art of War, and Ann was reading a novel by Catriona McPherson. Both of them ordered iced tea. I ran back and forth from 7 to 8:30, getting last rounds of drinks and reminding people we closed at nine. While that was much earlier than most bars, it worked for us. By 8:50, the bar was almost empty. Dex and Ann were still sitting reading with untouched iced teas by their elbows.

Joaquín was polishing glasses as I wiped down tables using our lemon-scented cleanser. I looked up to see what sounded like the start of a bad joke. What happens when a stuntwoman, a surfer, and an Olympic shot-putter enter a bar? I now know the answer to that joke: everyone stopped mid-motion.

Ann Williams looked pale and grabbed Dex’s arm. He jerked his head up, eyes narrowing at the sight of the three. They both stared at Enrique. Lisa walked over to me with Jean Claude and Enrique trailing her. They stopped in front of me like they were the Justice League and I was the bad guy. My only weapon was my spray bottle of cleaner, but I wasn’t afraid to use it if need be. I felt Joaquín move to my side. Ann and Dex slipped out of their seats and stood by their table.

“We’re closed,” I said.

“Checking out the competition today?” Lisa asked. “The list of competitors for the barback competition was posted tonight. It wasn’t hard to figure out once we were having drinks and talking about our day. All of us met a cute little brunette, and then someone named Chloe was on the list.”

Busted. That was the only thought in my head for about two seconds until I realized that either Jean Claude or Enrique might have spiked my drink. I wouldn’t let either of them have the satisfaction of knowing I was a little freaked out. And by a little, I meant major-league freaked out. I didn’t realize that seeing them again would impact me the way it was. My knees wavered a little, and so did the rest of me. I managed a shrug.

“You could have just been upfront with us,” Lisa said.

“Every athlete needs a competitive advantage,” I replied.

Jean Claude snorted at that. “Honey, you’re hardly an athlete.”

A stream of curse words circled through my head. My years of training as a children’s librarian meant I held them in. “We’ll see about that. I may just be a barback, but you’re all ringers. Don’t worry. I’ll beat you anyway.”

Now Enrique laughed in a dismissive way. “Doubtful.”

I suddenly wanted to win the stupid competition way more than I had earlier today. Wiping all those superior looks off their faces would be a pleasure.

“Rick Laurier?” Ann had moved up behind the trio.

What the heck was she talking about? Enrique whirled around with a startled look on his face. I was mystified.

“Ann?” He took a step toward Ann.

She took a step back. I’d never seen her do anything but stand her ground. Dex stepped up until he was right behind her.

“I can’t believe you managed to transform yourself from Rick to Enrique without anyone figuring it out. Are you still running from the law? Or has enough time passed that you’re safe now?”

Enrique/Rick got paler with every question. Vivi came out of her office. Joaquín put a hand on my shoulder and was squeezing it. Hard. I’m not even sure he realized he was doing it.

“How did you know?” Enrique asked.

“There was something in the angle of your head when I took your photo that got me thinking, remembering. I’m not the scared little teenage girl I once was. The one that could be threatened into silence.”

She took a step forward, and Enrique took a big step back, bumping up against Lisa and Jean Claude. Neither of them budged for him.

“How many others were there?” Ann asked.

“N-n-none,” he said.

Enrique sounded like he was lying.

“I’ve found some of your victims,” Ann said. “And you’re going to pay.” She whirled around and left, with Dex not far behind her.

Enrique shook himself, like he was trying to shake off the encounter with Ann. He turned toward Lisa and Jean Claude.

“Is she telling the truth?” Lisa asked. There was a frightening note of fury in her voice.

Jean Claude’s massive hands were fisted on his hips.

“It’s nonsense,” Enrique said to them. He gestured to Ann. “We went to high school together, and she followed me around like a puppy. When I rejected her, she made all kinds of accusations.”

Ann wasn’t one to fling around unfounded accusations, and even though high school was a long time ago, I couldn’t imagine her doing it then, either. I didn’t buy Enrique’s story.

He looked over at me and smiled. “We’ll be seeing you around.”

“Not if I can help it.”