Nerds Like It Hot

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  "Right," Dante said. "A cross-dresser isn't going into town to stock up on serapes and straw hats."

  "She has something to do with this trouble with Gillian," BJ said. "I have a gut feeling about it."

  Lex didn't want to hear that, but he wasn't going to dismiss any possibility. Too much was at stake. "I wondered that, too, but Mafia guys are about as macho as you can get."

  "You're stereotyping again," Dante said.

  "Maybe." Lex kept his eyes open as he moved quickly down the dock. He didn't think Gillian would have taken refuge in a fishing boat, but he looked them over, all the same. "But consider the Sicilian mind-set. Isn't masculinity a big deal in that culture?"

  "It is now," BJ said. "But you go back to early Rome, and you had all sorts of interesting things going on, sexually speaking. Maybe Nancy's a throwback."

  "I'm sorry." Lex shook his head. "I don't picture some godfather type sending a cross-dresser out to handle a job. It makes no sense."

  "We're going to overtake her," Dante said. "Are we planning to make pleasant conversation or what?"

  "I'll make the conversation," Lex said. "She got out here ahead of us, and right now we need information. She happens to be the only source of it in sight."

  Dante leaned close to BJ. "Lex has more investigative experience than I have, so I let him handle this kind of work. I just deal with the more physical parts of the job."

  "Watch yourself, Dante," Lex said. "Don't be getting into trouble by bragging about yourself."

  "What? I had a course in karate once."

  "In high school."

  "You don't forget that stuff," Dante said. "It's like falling off a bike. Wait. That didn't come out right."

  "It came out perfectly," Lex said. "Now be quiet and let me see what Nancy has to say for herself. Hey, Nancy! Wait up!"

  Nancy turned and shaded her eyes. "Why, if it isn't my old roommate, BJ, and her new roommate, Dante! And Lex, who used to be my dinner companion, except you didn't show up at the table last night, and neither did Norma Jean. What happened to you two?"

  "Norma Jean wasn't feeling well," Lex said.

  "Is she still under the weather?" Nancy was dressed in a bright yellow sundress that barely covered her ass. The stiletto heels matched perfectly.

  "She's feeling better, thanks." Lex wished Nancy weren't wearing sunglasses. He'd like to read her expression better. "You're up bright and early this morning."

  "Goodness, yes! I'm always ready for a bargain. These quaint little stalls sometimes have the most marvelous leather items." She smiled at Lex. "Are you into leather?"

  "Not especially." Nancy gave him the creeps, and he supposed that was his homophobia kicking in. But maybe it was something more. He just couldn't imagine how she could be part of a plot to take out Gillian. "Looks like we're the only ones up and about this early, though."

  "Not quite."

  "Oh?" Lex didn't dare hope that she'd mention seeing Gillian.

  "I noticed that dark-haired guy Hector had a head start on me as I was walking down the dock. I thought he might be with Dorothy, but maybe he's decided to head out early and surprise her with a souvenir."

  Lex tried to control his reaction and wasn't sure if he succeeded or not. "Hector, huh?" He looked at Dante. "You know, we haven't gotten much exercise on this trip."

  "Speak for yourself."

  "How about a race into town?"

  "You're on. Go!"

  Lex took off with Dante right by his side.

  "Hey, wait for me!" BJ called. Soon she was sprinting right beside them.

  "Hey!" Dante glanced sideways at BJ. "Where'd you learn how to run?"

  "Cross-country champ, senior year." She pulled slightly ahead of them.

  "Damn." Dante dragged in air. "Smarter than me and faster than me."

  Lex put on a burst of speed. "Just what you need as my replacement."

  Dante gasped for breath. "Considering my relationship with BJ, you might want to rephrase that."

  Lex and BJ reached the outskirts of town slightly ahead of Dante. Lex and BJ slowed to a walk, and Dante nearly ran them over.

  He stopped and braced his hands on his knees as he struggled to breathe. "I thought we were in a hurry."

  "We don't want to go racing down main street, now, do we?" Lex said. "From this point on, we have to be stealthy." He gazed at Dante and shook his head. "As if."

  "I can be stealthy. Just as soon as I catch my breath."

  "Ready?" Lex looked back and saw Nancy hurrying down the dock as fast as her high heels would let her.

  "Let's find Gillian," BJ said.

  "Right." Dante fell into step beside them.

  They turned the corner and gazed down the dirt road.

  Dante cleared his throat. "Does anybody else feel an OK Corral moment coming on?"

  "Let's hope not." He searched the street, not expecting to find Gillian, but hoping she might be there, somewhere. "Hector's over by that stall," he said quietly. He was relieved to see the guy out in plain sight. It seemed likely Hector hadn't located Gillian yet, either.

  "Okay, here's the plan," BJ said. "We go over and talk to Hector about souvenirs and stuff. Then I say I have to go to the bathroom. I'm sure the only bathroom in this town is in that cantina. And if Gillian's looking for a way out of town, she would have gone there first."

  "Good," Lex said. "That way we can keep Hector occupied while you check out the cantina and ask if anybody's seen Gillian."

  "And the story makes sense," Dante said. "Women are always having to go to the bathroom."

  BJ glared at him. "We'll take that up later. Okay, let's roll."

  Hector looked up from the serape he was examining as the three of them approached. In his Blues Brothers sunglasses and holding a cigarette, he looked very much like a Mafia guy to Lex. But there was no proof. Hector could be simply buying a souvenir for Dorothy.

  "Hi," Hector said. "You three must have been up at the crack of dawn."

  "You know what they say." Dante walked over to a display of painted gourds. "The early bird gets the maracas. Check these out, BJ."

  Lex took a deep breath and stretched. "Feels good to get here ahead of the crowd, you know?"

  Hector nodded. "Yeah." He studied Lex. "So, want a cigarette?"

  That was all he needed, to choke himself to death on a cancer stick when he needed to be alert and ready for anything. "Thanks, but I don't dare. I caught hell for the last one."

  "Norma Jean's right about that. Smoking's bad for you. Where is she, by the way?"

  "Under the weather," Lex said.

  "Hm." Hector looked unconvinced.

  "You guys, I really, really have to go to the bathroom," BJ said. "I'm heading over to the cantina to see if they have one there."

  "Oh." Dante looked at her. "Good idea. We'll be right here. Hector, what do you know about maracas?"

  "Not much." Hector watched BJ walk across the street toward the cantina. "I was thinking Dorothy might go for a serape, though. She was talking about getting one to hang on her wall." He turned to Lex. "You should get something to take back to Norma Jean. I'll bet she'd like that."

  "I'm sure she would." Lex tried to convince himself that Hector was just a guy out buying a surprise gift for his girlfriend. But he couldn't make himself believe that.

  "Whew!" Nancy hurried over to them, her heels sinking into the ruts in the road. "That was quite a trip. You boys shopping?"

  "Si," the vendor said, smiling. "They buy many things. I make them good price. You, too, pretty lady."

  Nancy batted her eyelashes at him. "I'm sure I need one of everything you've got, senor." She glanced at Dante. "Where's my old roommate? Drinking in the cantina already?"

  "The senorita, she's in the bathroom," the vendor said.

  "Oh." Nancy surveyed the dusty street. "In the cantina, I assume?"

  "Only one we got," the vendor said.

  "Well, I need to go myself. If you boys will excuse me, I'll be right back."
>
  Twenty-nine

  WHEN GILLIAN HEARD FOOTSTEPS CRUNCHING ON the dry dirt of the street, she left her seat at a table and crouched behind the bar. Whoever it was walked into the cantina, but the footsteps sounded lighter than Hector's.

  "Gillian?" someone called softly. "You in here? It's BJ."

  Gillian closed her eyes in frustration. This wasn't working out the way she'd hoped at all. But maybe, with a little bit of luck, she could hide from BJ.

  "Okay, maybe you're not in here," BJ said. "But in case you're hiding somewhere and can hear me, I just want to say that Lex is totally in love with you. I know you're trying to protect him, and I understand that. I'm thinking you must love him, too."

  Yes. More than I realized.

  "Anyway, he wants to help you," BJ said. "He's out on the street right now with Dante. They're talking to Hector. We still don't know if Hector's Mafia or not, but the two guys are keeping an eye on him. If you'd like to get a message to Lex, I could take it to him. Hector wouldn't have to know you're in here. If you are in here."

  Gillian tried to breathe very quietly. It didn't really matter whether Lex was motivated by sex or love. In the long run, he'd still be making an unacceptable sacrifice to run away with her. She couldn't allow it.

  "I had the feeling you would be hiding in here until you can get a way out of town," B J said. "Maybe I was wrong."

  "You weren't wrong." The short woman with the bun came through the curtained doorway. "She's right there, hiding behind the bar. What's this about Mafia, anyway?"

  Ratted out. With a sigh, Gillian stood. She couldn't blame the woman. Who wanted to get involved with gangsters when all you wanted was to earn a few pesos from the tourists?

  "Gillian!" BJ's gaze darted from her to the woman in the kitchen doorway. "We don't know that the Mafia's involved with this, ma'am. I was just looking for my friend."

  "She wanted a car to get away." The woman turned to Gillian. "No car. Sorry."

  "I'll pay more money," Gillian said. "No. No car."

  "What's this about a car?" Nancy walked into the cantina. "Oh, my goodness. If it isn't Norma Jean. Lex told me you were under the weather, and I have to say, you do look a little pale, darling."

  Gillian's heart slammed against her ribs, but she forced herself to breathe and think carefully. She had to get BJ out of harm's way. "Nancy! Just the person I wanted to see."

  "Is that right? Funny, because I was hoping to run into you, too."

  Gillian glanced over to where BJ stood looking confused. "BJ, I have to ask you, as a friend, to go back to the guys and not say you found me in here."

  "But what about Nancy? She'll tell them."

  "I don't think she will. Will you, Nancy?"

  "No, I most certainly won't. I'll keep your little secret."

  BJ frowned. "I don't get this."

  "It's simple," Gillian said. "Nancy's going to help me get away. Right, Nancy?"

  "Absolutely, honey bunch. That's the plan. That was the plan all along. In another hour or so, we'll both be gone. I'll take care of everything."

  "So you're running off with a cross-dresser." BJ shook her head. "That's pitiful, Gillian. And poor Lex. And you don't have to worry about me telling him anything. I'd rather he didn't know." BJ turned and stalked out of the cantina.

  "Nice work." Nancy advanced toward her.

  "This is between you and me." Gillian searched the bar for a weapon and found a small paring knife that was probably used for slicing limes. She picked it up and stuck it behind her back.

  "I don't want any trouble!" the woman said from the kitchen doorway.

  "No problem," Gillian edged away from the bar. "We'll go out behind the cantina. We just have to make a detour through your kitchen."

  "Suits me," Nancy said.

  Keeping her gaze fixed on Nancy, Gillian backed through the tiny kitchen filled with the scent of onions, garlic, and hot oil. Nancy followed, her heels tapping deliberately and surely on the wooden floor as she navigated the small space.

  With a quick glance over her shoulder, Gillian located the rickety screen door. She backed through it into a dusty yard shaded by a mesquite tree. She heard the sound of chickens clucking.

  "I hope you're not planning to run," Nancy said.

  "No." Gillian's heart hammered, but her head was clear. She was the only one who could stop Neil, the only one who would take the blame for it. "Not this time."

  HECTOR GAZED AFTER NANCY AS SHE TEETERED OVER toward the cantina and walked through the door. "Stupid shoes for this place."

  "Yeah," Lex said. Then, on impulse, he decided to see what Hector's reaction would be to some news about Nancy. "We have a theory about her," he said.

  Hector glanced at him. "What's that?"

  "That she's a man dressed as a woman."

  Behind Hector's sunglasses, his eyebrows lifted. As he stood there with a serape dangling from one hand, he uttered a soft, Sicilian-sounding curse. "I should have known."

  Then he turned toward the cantina. "She can't go in there!" He dropped the serape in the dirt and started off at a run.

  He collided with BJ, spun around, and hurled himself through the cantina door.

  Lex took one look at Dante and they both ran after him.

  "Wait!" BJ tried to block their progress. "Don't go in there!"

  "We have to." Heart pounding, Lex brushed her aside. "No, Lex!" BJ caught his arm. "It's not how you think it is!"

  "BJ, don't try to stop me." He shook her off and kept going.

  "But. . . but. . . Gillian's running off with Nancy!"

  'The hell you say." Lex dashed through the cantina door with Dante right behind him. Gillian might have tried to give him the slip this morning, but no way was she running away with a cross-dresser. She was in love with him, damn it.

  ONCE THEY WERE OUTSIDE, GILLIAN CROUCHED LOW and brought out the knife. She wasn't planning to kill him, but if she could disable him, that would be good enough. She'd never used a knife as a weapon in her life, though. Her odds weren't very good in this fight, but she was the only one standing between Neil Rucker and his freedom.

  "Ah. I see you're armed." Neil took off both shoes, but he held on to one. "So am I." He began to circle her.

  "I suppose you have a stiletto and you know how to use it."

  "You caught that line, did you? Then you must know what happened after that." "I'm not Theo."

  "No, you're certainly not. But you're a bigger threat to me than he was. So I'm afraid you'll have to—" He paused and lifted his head. "I hear shouting."

  Gillian did. too. Maybe BJ had said something, after all. The last thing Gillian wanted was Lex riding to the rescue and bringing the wrath of the mob down on himself. And yet she'd run out of ways to protect him.

  When Hector came through the screen door, she lost all hope. So she was really and truly dead. She might be able to fight off Neil, maybe even subdue him, but she was no match for both Neil and Hector.

  Neil glanced at Hector. "I thought so. My stepfather sent you to help, didn't he?"

  "Yeah, he sent me."

  Gillian moaned softly.

  "But not to help you. To watch out for her."

  Neil shot him a quick glance. "That's a joke."

  "No it's not. You have orders to leave her alone and come with me. If you do that, you won't get hurt. Drop the stiletto."

  "Okay. Sure." Neil let the shoe slip from his hand.

  Gillian couldn't believe he'd give in so fast. Then again, Phil Adamo was a scary guy. As she started to relax, Neil leaped. In one smooth motion he'd twisted her arm behind her back and had the knife she'd meant for him pressed against her throat.

  "Sorry," he said to Hector, "but that program doesn't work for me. My stepdaddy's trying to ruin my life, and I don't care for that."

  "You'll live to regret this decision," Hector said.

  Gillian hoped she lived, period.

  "I doubt it," Neil said. "Gillian and I will simply disappear from this li
ttle burg." He started backing away from Hector. "If anybody tries to stop us, I'll kill her. Simple as that."

  "What difference does it make?" Hector said. "You'll kill her anyway."

  "True, but if you let me go you won't have to watch. And you can tell my stepfather that so far as you know, Gillian's still alive. It won't be a lie. And he might spare your worthless hide."

  Gillian shuddered.

  Hector's voice was steady, as if he were discussing the weather. "You'll have no transportation."

  "Sure I will. Thanks to all the training I got growing up, I can hot-wire anything with an engine. Those trucks on the hill wouldn't be my first choice of a vehicle, but they'll get me to something better."

  Dante came through the screen door. "I see we have a little party going on here. Hector, it seems we misjudged you."

  "Nah, you had it right. I work for Phil Adamo. Just not for Neil Rucker. I should have figured that one out sooner."

  Gillian watched the screen door. Lex should be stepping out any minute now, but there wasn't a thing he or anyone could do. She would try to get away, of course, and maybe she'd even succeed before Neil slit her throat. But she couldn't count on it.

  "Say, Neil," Dante said. "You might want to watch where you're going. Lots of cactus around here. I'd hate to see you back into one, you being barefoot and all."

  "Nice try. There's no cactus in the street, which is how I plan to get up to that rusty old truck I spotted earlier." He backed away faster. "I probably shouldn't have worn the stilettos, but I thought it would be such a nice touch if I dispatched Gillian the same way I did Theo. I love drama."

  "I don't know if you're making a wise move," Dante said. "It could get prickly on that street."

  "There's no cactus, I tell you! They drive their trucks down that street. They wouldn't want to blow a tire on—" Then he screeched like a banshee, and, for one brief moment, loosened his grip on Gillian.

  BJ came out of nowhere and grabbed her, pulling her to safety as Lex appeared and hurled himself at Neil, knocking him backward onto the pieces of cactus scattered behind him all along the dirt road.

  Gillian winced as the two rolled in the dirt and some of the cactus ended up stuck on Lex. Then Dante and Hector moved in. They both sustained cactus damage, too, but Neil in his miniskirt took the worst of it.