by Peart, A. O.
EIGHT
“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg though he knows that you are slightly cracked.
Bernard Meltzer
Ten minutes later the taxi picks me up from Libby’s house. I beg her not to tell Colin, unless he calls her and asks. I hope he’s preoccupied with Frank and won’t contact her any time soon.
Libby wants to go to the hospital when she learns about Frank’s condition, but I convince her to stay put. There are still many of the party guests searching the neighborhood, and someone needs to let them know that Helga’s already miles away. No need to continue the search, at least not in West Seattle.
Libby reluctantly agrees to stay. I tell her to continue monitoring the credit cards, and suggest doing that online instead of calling.
“Text or call me right away if you see any new charge coming through.” A friend of mine who works in the banking industry explained to me once that the charges hit the bank only when a vendor sends the daily batch out. Nobody submits separate transactions because of the banks’ fees. So we might not see Helga’s next purchase until tomorrow, if we’re lucky. But with the information gathered from the Lula’s waitress, I know where I’m heading.
The Black Horned Beast bar is smack in the center of downtown Seattle. I pay the taxi driver and get out of the vehicle. It’s raining, so I run to the door. As soon as I open it, the music mixed with loud conversations and laughter filters out. I spot my friends at a table close to the bar and stride straight in their direction.
“Hey, Davenport!” Ali yells, scrambling from her chair. She throws herself onto me, squeezing me in her death-grip bear hug.
I wince. “Easy does it. Ali… Ali, fuck, you’re gonna flatten me like a pancake.” I’m gasping for air.
“Sorry,” she slurs, letting me go. “I had too much to drink.” She hiccups and laughs.
“You’re wasted, girlfriend. No more booze for you tonight,” I command.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Jena hugs me, half-leaning from her chair. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I shrug. “I know where Helga’s heading.”
Svetlana and Caroline hug me briefly, demanding to know more.
“To a casino, of all places.” I chuckle.
“Which one?” Jena asks. “Muckleshoot?’
“Point Elliott,” I say.
Ali giggles. “That’s hilarious. Grandmas are sneaking out to gamble!”
I can’t help but laugh too because it’s a funny thought. “I know, right? But I need to find her and drag her ass back home, before Libby has a heart attack. She’s not amused.”
“Okay.” Svetlana rubs her hands together. “Let’s go then. Oleg and Vadim are ready.”
“You’ve got them on call or something?” Ali muses. “I wanna have a guy on call.”
“You had a guy on call before you started dating Ash, remember? Your fuck buddy?” I remind her. “But you’re better off now, trust me.”
“They are not fuck buddies, you crazy. They are my bodyguards,” Svetlana huffs indignantly. It’s comical how she pronounces fuck and crazy in her harsh Russian accent. “I have a boyfriend, and he actually pays them a nice salary to be around when I need them.”
“We have a freakin’ celebrity here.” Jena downs her drink and puts the glass down. “Bodyguards.” She snorts.
“What else should I call them? Escorts?”
That earns Svetlana a round of hoots and high-fives from Ali, Caroline, Jena, and me.
Jena’s grinning with approval. “Yeah, escorts sound so much better. Although that would be pretty much the same as fuck buddies.”
Svetlana takes a sip of her drink. “Andrei would kill me and them if that was true. Don’t even joke about that.”
“Okay, okay. The big, bad Mafioso wolf.” Jena pretends to shudder.
Ali goes to the bathroom, and I ask the girls, “So what’s up with her? Why did she get so wasted?”
Caroline shrugs. “Not sure. I don’t think there is a reason. She just had one too many.”
“It’s not like her to get drunk. Now we need to haul her ass home. She can’t go with us,” I say.
“Good luck with that.” Jena rummages in her purse and takes a lipstick out. “She’s gonna be fine. You’ll see.”
“Okay.” I’m not convinced, but I know that arguing with Ali would be pointless. “Is anyone driving tonight?”
They all shake their heads, and I’m relieved since they’ve been drinking. But now how are we going to get to that casino? “We need a big taxi to fit all five of us.”
“A party bus!” Svetlana clinks her appletini glass with Caroline’s.”
“Oh, oh, or let’s get a limo,” Jena pipes in, excitedly.
I roll my eyes, but now when I know that Helga is safe and only set out on a little adventure, I’m in a much lighter mood. “What’s next? A helicopter?” I take my phone out and dial the City Express Taxi.
“That would be cool,” Svetlana grins. “Especially if the pilot was hot.”
“I’m sitting next to the pilot. You’ve got your bodyguards.” Caroline laughs.
Svetlana throws a cardboard coaster with the Black Horned Beast logo on it at Caroline but misses. It lands on the floor and rolls under the next table over.
“Time to go. You’re all out of control, and I’m ashamed to be seen in public with you.” I taunt, but they know I’m totally joking.
That earns me a smack on the butt from Ali who just returned from the restroom. “Hey, you just hurt my feelings,” she slurs.
Caroline snorts. “That would be a first.”
Ali points to her head. “Noted. Right in here. I’ll use it against you when the time comes.”
“I’m sure you will.” Caroline weaves her arm through Ali’s, and they walk together to the door.
I’m friends with moronic clowns.
NINE
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.”
George MacDonald
“We’re riding in this?” Svetlana exclaims when an old Toyota minivan with a huge City Express Taxi logo on each side and the hood stops in front of the Black Horned Beast. The vehicle is painted red-and-black, but the paint is scraped in several places. There is a dent in the door, and I see duct tape pieces on the driver’s seat.
“It’s just transportation. Come on.” I grab her wrist and pull her with me to the minivan.
“Maybe I should call Oleg to pick me up. He’s driving with Vadim to the casino, anyway.” She eyes the van skeptically.
“And miss all the fun?” I laugh.
She sighs, resigned, but I know she prefers to stay with us.
The driver gets out and slides the doors open. He’s a hunched man in his sixties with a black turban on his head. His black-and-gray bushy beard and moustache cover most of his face. I notice he walks with a limp but moves energetically. He motions to us to enter the van.
There are three rows of seats inside. Svetlana looks like something stinky got stuck under her nose. I chuckle and bump my shoulder with hers. She looks at me, frowning.
“Relax, you’ll be fine. Just look at it as a new and exciting experience.”
Svetlana mutters something, clearly unconvinced. Jena and Caroline haul Ali into the back seat and sit on each side of her. She protests loudly, without making much sense with her reasoning on why she should sit by the driver. I could understand if the guy was hot, but this one—not so much. Maybe she’s just seeing something that I’m not.
“I’ll personally duct-tape your mouth if you don’t shut up,” Jena hisses.
“Try it and I’ll make you forget… erm… re…” she hiccups, “remember. Oh, shit, what am I tryin’ to say?” Ali slurs, flapping her arm in front of her. “It stinks in here.”
It doesn’t stink. Actually, the inside of the vehicle is surprisingly clean, and besides the driver’s tattered seat, everything else is in good condition.
“What the hell happened
to your seat?” Ali inquires in her drunken voice when the driver gets in and starts the engine.
He shrugs and says, “Someone cut it with a knife.”
That stops me for a moment, but I don’t give it much thought.
“Where to?” he asks.
“Point Elliott Casino, please,” I say.
“I’m tired,” Ali whines and lays her head down in Caroline’s lap.
Caroline glances down at Ali. “I’ll let you use me as a pillow if you stop talking and actually take a nap, deal?”
“You’re a skinny, bone-poking pillow, damn it,” Ali mumbles against Caroline’s skirt, but Caroline ignores her.
A moment later, Ali’s quietly snoring.
“Finally, a moment of freakin’ peace.” Jena yawns. “Remind me not to let her ever drink more than two appletinis.”
“If she pukes on me, I’ll hold you all responsible.” Caroline grumbles.
“Me too? Why me?” I object. “I wasn’t even at the bar with you.”
“Especially you, missy. It’s your crazy escapade we’re going on,” Caroline snorts.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re on a quest and lovin’ it.” I laugh.
A text from Colin arrives: “Any news from Helga? Frank is doing fine. They r keeping him overnite at hospital.”
“Crap,” I whisper, reading it.
“What?” Svetlana looks over my shoulder. “Something wrong?”
“Colin’s texting me. I promised him to stay with his grandma Libby at her house.”
“But you’re going to get his great-grandma back home, right? So what’s the problem?”
“You’re right.” I shrug and type back: “Helga’s at the Point Elliott Casino. I’m on my way there with my girlfriends.” I hit send.
I know all hell is about to break loose, but he should realize that going to retrieve Helga from her insane fantasy adventure will take some girl power. And I’m providing just that.
Our driver turns right from 6th Avenue onto Interstate 5 North. There is always traffic in Seattle, but he swiftly maneuvers between the cars and into one of the middle lanes. Soon we’re leaving the tall buildings of downtown Seattle behind us. Jena and Caroline are talking quietly, careful not to wake Ali up.
“Have you ever lived anywhere besides Moscow and Seattle?” I ask Svetlana.
“Not really. Right before I came to the States, I stayed with my aunt in this small village south of Moscow. It was for almost two weeks.”
“Do you miss it? I mean, Russia?”
“No. I don’t like living there. Moscow is a huge city, fun, you know? But I don’t like the rest of the country and the politics. I liked my aunt’s village, but it was difficult living there. She doesn’t own a car, and all stores and restaurants are far. Her house is small, and she doesn’t always have warm water. I didn’t mind it too much because it was only for a short time. But she has a tough life. Maybe one day I could bring her here.”
“And your parents?” I inquire. It’s fascinating that Svetlana’s from another country, and I want to know more about her life before she came here.
“They live in Moscow. I have two older sisters. They’re there too. My dad is a doctor… a heart surgeon. He travels a lot for work, teaching other doctors all over the world. My mom doesn’t work. Never has.” She smiles at her own thoughts.
“You miss them?”
“Yes. But I talk to them almost every day on the phone. I’ll go visit soon, and Dad is planning to be in Washington D.C. in a few months at some medical conference. Mom’s coming with him,” she says excitedly.
My phone rings, and I take it out of my little wristlet bag. It’s Colin, of course.
“I bet he’s angry,” I say nonchalantly before answering the call. “Hey, where are you?”
“On my way to the freaking casino.” Yep, he’s definitely pissed. “I told you to stay with Libby.”
“Yeah, you told me to stay put. That doesn’t mean you weren’t actually wrong, does it? I found out where Helga was heading, and now I’m going to get her.” I try to keep my voice calm, but that’s not how I feel inside. I actually want to scream at him for throwing his possessive boyfriend attitude around. I don’t need him or any other guy to tell me what I can or can’t do. Screw that.
He sighs heavily, and for a moment there is only silence coming from the phone. “Okay, fine. Just promise me that you won’t do anything to get into trouble like last time.”
“What kind of trouble could I possibly get into? I’m just going to the casino to find two sweet old ladies.” Knowing my luck, there will be a robbery, a kidnapping, and a lockdown all in one, and I’ll get stuck right in the middle of it.
“I’ll call you again when I’m almost there. Where are you now?”
I look out the window. “Not sure, but we’ve been driving for a while, so we might be getting close. Relax, I’ll text you.”
“Okay. Be careful, please,” he pleads, although I can still hear a note of passing anger in his voice.
“You got it. Love you.”
“I love you too.”
I put my phone back in my purse and, sighing deeply, turn to Svetlana. “Does your boyfriend… Andrei, right? Does he tell you what you can and what you can’t do?”
She blows an exasperated breath out. “All the time. Why do you think he pays Oleg and Vadim to keep an eye on me?”
“Does he know where you are now?”
“Sure he does. I texted him that I’m on my way to Point Elliott. Oleg and Vadim will be there, and he knows that. See? I learned how to smooth everything out so he leaves me alone. Besides, he trusts those two to protect me.” She shrugs.
Trust—that’s it. I know that’s the key to my ongoing troubles with Colin. Does he really trust me? Or does his tragic past with Faith stand in the way to ever trust another girl? No matter what I do, he will always be suspicious and on high alert, because in his mind, I’m another Faith—a crazy party girl who had no regard for her own safety. That realization stings like a son of a bitch. Living with a dead girl’s legacy is not easy do.
TEN
“It’s a funny old world—a man is lucky if he gets out of it alive.”
W.C. Fields
A vehicle behind us honks angrily, pulling me out of my reverie. I think our driver cut them off. He ignores the blaring horn and accelerates toward exit 200 for “88th Street NE”. We must be already in Marysville where the casino is located.
The horn keeps furiously beeping behind us. I turn in my seat to see better, but I’m too far from the back window. Jena and Caroline are craning their necks, too.
“Someone’s pissed off,” Jena comments.
“No shit.” I shake my head. “Why are they still honking?”
I meet the driver’s dark eyes in the rear view mirror. He’s frowning.
“It’s some psycho, I bet.” Caroline shrugs. “This is getting annoying. Jeez, give it a rest.”
We roll to a stop at the red light. The car from behind us passes, and swerves in front of us across the crosswalk. It blocks us, and our driver leans on his horn. Holy cow, what’s happening?
“Whoa! Shit!” We all yell.
“What the hell?” I half-stand up, as much as the seatbelt allows me to.
Two young males jump out from the car and run to the driver’s side. Their angry faces aren’t promising anything good.
“Fuck! Really?” Jena shouts, when they yank the driver’s door open.
I scream, and so does Caroline. I think Ali’s awake now, but I don’t pay attention to what she’s doing.
The guys are yelling something in God-knows-what-language. I only know I can’t understand a word. They both wear baseball hats and black bandanas around their necks. One of them is trying to wrench the driver out from the van, but our turbaned friend is resisting, holding onto the steering wheel and squealing like a frightened animal.
“Let him go, dickbrains!” I yell.
They ignore me. I look around for something to
throw at them and see Svetlana calmly reaching into her bag. Fuck, no!
Before I can say anything, she pulls out her Glock, unclicks her seatbelt, and stands up, holding the gun at the ready with both hands. “Hey, asshole!” she says in a loud but collected voice, trying to pronounce each word with the least noticeable Russian accent but failing miserably. “Yeah, I’m talking to you.”
For a moment all three men freeze, their eyes on Svetlana and her no-nonsense gun. Holy Mother of Sweet Jesus, what now?
Out of the corner of my eye I see Caroline, Jena, and Ali. Their mouths hang open, and then Ali whistles. “I like you more and more, girlfriend.”
Svetlana ignores Ali and motions for the attackers to get their hands off the poor driver. They finally realize their best option is to get the hell out of here. And so they do—with a high-pitched screech of their tires.
Before any of us is able to say a word, our driver jumps out of the van and runs off into the dark.
Jena shouts, “Seriously? Now he’s gone too?”
Ali snorts. “What, you miss him? Okay, Svetlana, I must say, that was classic.”
“What the fuck?” Caroline complains. “Are you both insane? I almost peed my pants I was so scared. Don’t you ever pull that gun on people like that. Ever!”
Svetlana stashes the Glock back in her purse. “And what would you prefer me to do? They were about to beat that poor guy up. I bet they wouldn’t leave us alone either.”
That finally convinces Caroline, but she still huffs angrily. “You can’t bring a gun into the casino.”
“I’m not going to use it there. Come on, I’m not stupid. They have cameras everywhere, and their security’s not a joke,” Svetlana says hotly.
“Okay, wait.” I attempt to quiet everyone down. “If you haven’t noticed, we are stranded in the middle of practically nowhere. Where is that driver?”
“What do we do now? We can’t just wait here for him. Who knows when he’ll be back,” Caroline says.
“Oh, for God sake.” Jena crawls over the seats and to the front of the van. “I’ll drive. I know where that casino is.”
