“Good. I’ll go with you. Tariq can watch the kids when they get home from school.”
Janelle confronting one of Asshat’s ex-girlfriends? Not a good idea. “I can probably handle it.”
“Forget it. I’m going with you. If she tried to kill Asshat, I’ll know it.”
“How?” I asked.
“I’ve seen that look in the mirror a few times.”
Roxy popped a piece of gum in her mouth before filling the coffeepot with water. She ripped open a Mylar pack of rich-smelling grounds and poured them into the filter.
“Janelle and I are going to talk to the bank woman. You in?” I asked around a yawn. I’d had a nightmare last night and woke up at two o’clock. I hadn’t been able to go back to sleep and as a result, I was gritty-eyed and groggy.
She glared at me, but the effect was spoiled by her black top hat decorated with a mini stuffed bear that wobbled every time she moved her head. “I told you to call me if you couldn’t sleep.”
“I’m all right,” I said as I moved around the diner and pulled up the shades.
Dillon sat at the counter and spun in circles. He wore earbuds and sang falsetto to the music.
Roxy walked by and stuck out her foot, putting a stop to his twirling. She yanked a bud out of his ear. “Get to work.”
“Doing what, man?”
“Go to the kitchen and see if Ma needs help,” I said.
I think he rolled his eyes, but it was hard to tell through that mop of hair. “Fine.” He hopped off the stool and slouched toward the kitchen.
“It’s not just me, right?” she asked. “He’s annoying?”
“Very,” I said. “Now, what about going with Janelle and me?”
“Yeah, but I have to get home early. Tariq and I are going to the movies tonight.”
“Don’t let him get fresh. Girls who wear bears on their hats shouldn’t give away too much on the first date. It’s unseemly.”
She snorted.
My brain remained in a fog despite three cups of coffee. So when my customers hit the door, I was a little slow in telling them to come back for lunch. Ma pulled me aside twice to remind me.
“Tell them about lunch, toots. Tell them about our chicken soup. That rat bastard Rudy is not going to win, you hear me?”
Yikes, Ma was getting mean. I’d seen her competitive streak a time or two—nearly lost my hand in a game of spoons—but this was getting ridiculous.
By eleven, we had another large lunch crowd. And like the two previous days, my tips were dismal.
I got texts from my sister and Sullivan, but I didn’t have time to answer either one until after three, when my last customer left.
I pulled out my phone to call Jacks when Janelle walked in. “Hey, girl.” She glanced at Roxy and her top hat. “Tariq said he asked you out? What are you going to wear?”
I headed to the office to make my call. The new kid was asleep on the floor behind the desk, so I nudged his rear with the toe of my tennis shoe. “Go help Ma.”
He gave me a look of disgust and stood, stretching his skinny arms above his head. “All you guys do is ride my ass. Jeez.” He shuffled out the door.
I parked myself on the desk and called Jacks.
“Hey,” she said, “how’s the car thing coming along? I talked to Allen and if you need a loan or anything—”
“No, I’m using Ax’s car for now. I’ll be fine.”
“I want to remind you about dinner tonight. Don’t be late or Mom will have a cow.”
“Jacks, I’m not going to dinner. I’m too busy with this Janelle thing.”
She tried for several minutes to talk me into it, but I held firm. I knew she wanted me to play nice with Mom. Christmas would be even colder if my mom decided to freeze me out.
“I’m sorry, sis. Not tonight.”
I think she was a little ticked off I didn’t fall into line.
My next call was to Sullivan.
Chapter 13
“Have you found the money?” Sullivan asked in lieu of greeting.
“Nope. Any word on who put out the hit?”
Predictable pause. “If you find anything, call me immediately.”
“You could always ask instead of demand. And it’s a two-way street, you know. If you hear anything about Asshat, let me know.”
He hung up without saying goodbye.
I stared at the phone in irritation. He really was a jerk sometimes.
I walked back into the dining room and helped Roxy finish cleaning up while Janelle played with her phone.
When we were through, Roxy grabbed her fuzzy bear head purse and her long Victorian coat from beneath the counter. “Okay, losers, let’s go find Asshat’s cougar.”
“You guys go ahead,” I said. “I’ll tell Ma we’re leaving.”
I walked through the kitchen door, heard the roar of the running industrial dishwasher, and found Ma and Ray standing toe to toe. Of course, Ray dwarfed her by almost two feet.
“We need more chicken and this was my goddamn kitchen long before you got here. Your father and I started this business, don’t forget.”
“Need room to bake the rolls,” Ray rumbled.
This was an explosion waiting to go boom. Every day Ma bitched at Ray about trivial perceived mistakes—too much cinnamon in the rolls, not enough salt in the ham—and Ray always, always, let that shit slide. The fact he was speaking in words and not grunts was monumental.
I wedged my way between them. “Listen, you two.” I tried to shove Ray back with my arm, but he was like a mountain. “We’re not going to get anywhere unless we can compromise.” I shoved at Ray again and this time he took a step back, but the low-browed scowl didn’t disappear.
“Hate this lunch thing,” he said.
“Well, that’s too damn bad because we’re doing lunch,” Ma said. She tugged on her sweatshirt and adjusted her specs. “I’m going to crush Rudy’s Roundup, and you’re either with me or against me.”
Ray made a series of unhappy, guttural sounds.
“Ma, is there any way you could cook the chicken the night before and warm it up?” I asked.
She crossed her arms, casting her eyes to the side, and shrugged. “Maybe.”
“And Ray, Jorge could get here two hours earlier and help with the cinnamon rolls and biscuits. I know he could use the extra money.”
Jorge stuck his head between the vertical plastic strips that blocked the entrance to the cooler. “That’s true. Could always use more cash.”
“Ungh,” Ray said with a nod.
“See? We can all get along here.” Crap, I was starting to sound like my sister, Jacks—the poster girl of diplomacy. “We’re okay?”
Ma shrugged.
Ray lifted a shoulder.
Jorge exited the cooler with a grin.
The new kid was AWOL.
I left the kitchen and moved through the dining room. This lunch thing was putting us all on edge.
I shrugged into my coat and left the diner. The temperature had dropped and the sky was overcast. At least the weatherman wasn’t calling for snow. Yet.
I climbed into the backseat of Janelle’s PT cruiser. “There’s trouble brewing. Ray was using human words.”
Roxy turned to look at me. “Lunch is bullshit. I’m so over it, I could yark.”
Word.
Huntingford Bank and Trust had two locations—one in the swanky part of town and one next to the mall. We decided to hit the swanky one first.
“Okay,” I said as we exited the car. “I think one of us should do the talking.”
Roxy smacked her gum. “And I suppose it’s going to be you?”
Janelle put her hands on her ample hips. “Yeah, why does it get to be you
?”
I eyed them both. “Because it’s your ex-husband and you’re too emotionally involved, and you,” I pointed at Roxy, “look like the Mad Freaking Hatter.”
“I have a certain style. Don’t hate, hater.”
God help me. I strode into the building and let them follow. The teller line was a short one. When I got to the window, Roxy and Janelle flanked me, but kept silent.
A balding man with glasses and a brown tie fluttered his eyes at us. “Um, may I help you?”
“I need to talk to Brenda.”
“There’s no one here by that name. Sorry.”
That had been très anti-climactic.
We trudged back to the car and drove across town to the second location. “You going to forbid us to talk again?” Janelle asked.
“She’s worried we might embarrass her,” Roxy said.
I leaned forward in my seat. “Trust me, I quit being embarrassed by the both of you a long time ago.”
This Huntingford Bank and Trust was located in a small building next to the mall, which was a snarling tangle of Christmas traffic. Which reminded me I needed to do some shopping, but not only was I short on time, I was very low on cash.
We entered the bank and the line was much longer here. I scoped out the tellers and decided to stick with the one who looked closest to Vi’s description of Brenda. A white woman in her forties, well put together with a bob of brown hair, seemed to fit the bill.
Roxy smacked her gum and fiddled with her phone, and Janelle made a grocery list as we waited.
When we finally got to the front of the line, the woman smiled pleasantly. “May I help you?”
I glanced at her name tag. Brenda. Bingo.
“We need to talk to you about Sheik Johnson.”
The smile faltered. “I’m…I don’t. I’m working right now.”
I glanced at the people in line behind me and then faced Brenda once more. “It’s really important.”
“Like vital,” Roxy said.
Brenda swallowed. “Yes, all right. I get off in forty-five minutes. I’ll meet you at the mall. The west entrance.” Her eyes darted around nervously. “You have to go now. I don’t want to get into trouble.”
Once we left the building, Roxy heaved a dramatic sigh. “I’m supposed to get ready for my date with Tariq.”
“And I’ve got kids to feed. Tariq will let them eat chips and cookies and they won’t be hungry for dinner. Damn.”
Instead of driving, since the traffic was insane, we hotfooted it over to the mall.
The place was packed tighter than Santa’s suit after the holidays. Decorations filled store windows, and white cotton snow mounds and plastic signs pointed the way to the North Pole village. The line of kids and parents stopped at the foot of the food court where Roxy practically ran for a smoothie.
“Try this. Mango berry. Full of antioxidants.”
“No thanks, I’ll take your word for it.”
“I need to bring Sherise out here. Let her get a picture with Santa,” Janelle said. “Last year she got kicked out for biting him on the nose.”
“Maybe she’s mellowed,” I said.
Janelle led us to Macy’s where she picked out a long-sleeved polo from the sale rack. “What do you think, Roxy. Will Tariq like the stripes?”
Roxy handed her smoothie to me and took the shirt. “I think he’d look better in red.”
“Red’s not on sale,” Janelle said. “I’m getting blue.”
A harried saleswoman approached us. “No food or drink in the store. Get that out of here.” She pointed at the smoothie.
“That’s my cue,” I said. “You better hurry, Janelle, so we have time to meet Brenda.” I left the store and stood next to the railing, watching the kids take turns on Santa’s lap. That always seemed a little pervy to me, hopping up on some old guy’s lap and asking for gifts.
Janelle and Rox came out a few minutes later and we headed toward the west entrance.
I half-expected Brenda to be a no-show, but she arrived on time and sat down on a bench next to a cell phone cover kiosk. The three of us crowded around her.
“What’s this about Sheik?” she asked.
I sat next to her and tried to put her at ease. “Why don’t you tell us how you met?”
“I was at a bachelorette party. One of the girls at the bank was getting married and we all went to a club one night. Not my usual sort of place.”
I smiled encouragingly. “And Sheik was there?”
She nodded. “He’s so handsome and charming.”
Janelle rolled her eyes. “Right.”
I shot her a look. “So what happened?”
Brenda shrugged. “It was nice, having someone that good looking want me. Say hot, nasty things to me.”
Whoa, Brenda was over-sharing. “I think I understand,” I said.
She closed her pale blue eyes and took a deep breath. “The things that man could do with his tongue.”
“We get it,” Roxy said.
I snuck a glance at Janelle. She’d crossed her arms and pursed her lips.
But Brenda was on a roll. “You forget how much you miss having a man touch every part of your naked body.”
“Brenda,” I said her name sharply.
She opened her eyes. “Yes?”
“How long have the two of you been dating?” I asked.
“We’d see each other a couple of times a week. Things were great. Very…passionate.”
“The two of you fucked like rabbits,” Janelle said. “It was all real magical. Move on.”
“Then he wanted to borrow money,” Brenda said. “One of his kids needed surgery and Sheik lost his job.”
“Oh, hells no,” Janelle all but yelled.
Roxy elbowed her in the arm. “Shhh. Go on.”
Brenda looked startled.
Janelle wasn’t going to be able to keep her yap shut, so I went with the truth. “Janelle was married to Sheik and his kids are just fine.”
“Oh,” Brenda said. “Well, that’s good, I suppose.”
“So Sheik took money from you?” I asked.
“Six thousand and some change.”
“You’re not alone,” Janelle said. “That’s what he does best—he takes money from women.”
Brenda raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t say that’s what he does best. He had this one move where he’d twist his—”
“Whoa, please,” I said. “No more sex talk, I beg of you. Back to the money. Sheik recently came into some. Did he mention anything about that?”
“No. I actually haven’t seen him in a few weeks.” She shifted on the bench. “Right after I loaned him the money, he quit calling. I still miss him. I know now he was using me, but in a way, I was using him, too. He awakened a sexual side in me I never knew I had.”
“I don’t know how to say this, Brenda, but Sheik may have given you…,” I winced, trying to find a delicate way to say the words.
“Gonorrhea,” Roxy said.
Brenda nodded. “He did. And I wound up giving it to my husband.”
“Oh, shit,” Roxy said. “You’re married? You don’t wear a ring.”
“Well, my little affair with Sheik put an end to it.” She glanced down at her naked finger.
I touched her sleeve. “Sheik’s in a coma. Someone attacked him. Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt him?”
She paled. “Just my husband.”
After a little prodding, Brenda gave us her husband’s name and place of business. And I added him to my growing list of suspects.
Janelle drove us back to the diner. She had to run home and feed the kids and Roxy had a hot date. I had no plans at all, so I swung by Crystal’s condo, but she wasn’t home.
I should have packed it in for the night, but I was feeling too restless to sit around the apartment, so after I grabbed a sandwich, I called Ax. “Hey, are you busy?”
“Hang on.” I heard video game sounds in the background. “There, I’m paused. Never too busy for you. What’s up?”
“I thought I’d head over to The Bottom Dollar. Want to go with?”
“Duh. Wait, I actually get to see the strippers, right?”
“I’m counting on it.”
I picked him up ten minutes later and he came out of the house with his roommate, Stoner Joe. They clambered into the car, Ax sitting shotgun and Joe in the back.
Tall with long, greasy hair and a purple tuque permanently attached to his head, Joe never met a pot brownie or a bong load he didn’t love. Don’t get me wrong, Ax liked to spark up, too, but he could function. Had a job, friends, a life. Stoner Joe was just a stoner.
“Rosarita,” Joe said, slapping my shoulder. “How’s it hanging?” He made the whole car smell skunky.
I glanced at Ax. “Really? Did you have to babysit tonight or something?”
“Joe wanted to come.”
“Like, literally.” Joe breathed a wheezy laugh from the backseat. “Loves me some strippers, man. Titty power, you know?”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, you guys act like you don’t know me when you go in. Try and talk to the strippers. I want to know who Crystal’s sugar daddy is. Ask them who’s paying her bills, okay?”
“Dude, I’ve got bills.” Joe leaned forward and stuck his head between Ax and me. “Gonna stuff some g-strings, get a lapper.” He slapped the air with his hand. “Whssh. Yeah.”
I sighed.
“Don’t worry, Rose. I promise I’ll talk to every stripper I see,” Ax said.
Why did I think this was a good idea?
When we pulled up to The Bottom Dollar, almost every spot in the lot was full. I’d been here so often over the last few days, I was starting to feel like a frequent flyer.
2 Last Diner Standing Page 11
