She exhaled loudly, ran up to him, and then stopped. She blushed again. “I’m sorry I thought you were looking at other stuff.”
“Don’t. I get why you thought that, but I can assure you I wasn’t doing what you thought I was doing.”
She nodded. “Where are you going for a job tonight?” She stretched.
“It’s nothing. Night security maybe.”
“Security? Would it always be the night shift? We could make that work, too,” she quickly added.
“I don’t know.”
“There’s no pressure on you.” Replacement reached out for his shirt. “I have another website design I’m doing, and I’m sure we’ll start getting some more PI jobs coming in. I just want you to get a job that won’t be too strenuous.”
Don’t make a face. “I’m feeling much better.”
“That doesn’t matter.” Replacement rubbed his side. “The doctor said you needed to go slow.” Jack opened his mouth and she held up a hand. “That means you don’t want to overdo it and get some crazy job, right?”
“Sure…”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Grease-E
Jack sat at a window table in a small coffee shop across the street from the La Jolla strip club and scanned every face going in.
So far, I’m batting zero—no sign of Grease-E or Da Jewel. No Snow White either, but she may have gone in the back entrance for the dancers. With Grease-E being such a scumbag, there’s no way they’re letting him in through the back door.
The phone barked in his pocket and he frowned at the odd looks he got from the other diners who heard his ringtone. “Hey, Bob. Thanks for returning my call.”
“Sorry about the delay. It’s been crazy. Your message sounded urgent.”
“Do you remember the Ray Davis case?” Jack asked.
“The murder over in the new subdivision? It’s still open. He was a father,” Morrison said.
“That’s the one.”
“I know Castillo’s going over old cases, but I’m not sure where he is with that. Do you think there’s a connection?” Morrison asked.
“Ray was a big guy too. Stabbed in the back multiple times. The wife heard the vehicle drive away. Killer sees his victim, drives down a deserted street and attacks. Same with Daniel.”
“How do you figure that? We don’t know where Daniel was killed.”
“I found the leash on the fence.” Jack placed the salt shaker in front of himself on the table. “You saw the size of the dog, and we know that Daniel walked to the dog park since his truck was still at the apartment. He took the dog for a walk. There was still a cup of coffee at his apartment. He wouldn’t just tie the dog to the fence and leave, so something had to happen there. Either someone walked up and killed him or they drove. Daniel weighed over two hundred seventy pounds, so they were driving.”
There was a long pause.
“Bob?” Jack asked.
“Sorry. I’m taking notes. That’s good work, Jack. I’ll pass this onto Castillo and have him pull the Davis file.”
“Thanks, Bob.”
The weary waitress brought him over another refill of coffee. Jack pulled out a few bills and she shook her head. “Thank you, but you look like you work for your money too.” She smiled. “Besides, you’ve tipped me for the coffee and every refill so far.”
Jack shrugged. “You make a good cup of coffee.”
She smiled and then moved off to another table.
Jack looked at his watch. 9:10 p.m. I couldn’t have missed him. He looked back across the street and frowned. Damn. That’s the last place I want to go into.
Jack pounded down the coffee, put another dollar on the table, and then headed across the street. Traffic was light and only a few people walked down the street.
Bouncer outside. Two hundred twenty pounds. Spring-loaded baton in a case on his left hip.
They exchanged nods as Jack walked past. It was a greeting that meant: stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours.
Music and multicolored lights assaulted Jack’s senses when he opened the door. La Jolla was a throwback strip club. It screamed dated from the different carpeted sections that surrounded the main stage in a ring. Divided like a pie split into four even slices, each of the areas used a different theme—music, movies, kink, and pink. The girl on the stage worked up a sweat. Every eye in the place focused on her, and Jack took full advantage to search the men’s faces who stared at the stage.
Walk like you’re heading to the back. Slow. Don’t swivel your head too much.
Jack circled halfway around the hall, but he came up empty. He stopped for a second and a young waitress tapped him on the shoulder. She was slightly smaller than Replacement and gave him a little wave as she asked, “You want anything?”
She poised the opened-ended question in a way Jack knew a lot more than what he wanted to drink could be included in his answer. He felt his mouth turn into a frown. As he struggled to stop it and place his neutral mask back on, the look that remained on his face contained pity. The girl’s eyes darted to the floor as she stood there and waited.
“Do you know if Snow White is here yet?”
“They moved her set to nine thirty.”
He showed her the picture of Grease-E. “Have you seen him?”
“Not tonight. He comes in a lot, though.”
“Thanks.”
She smiled and hurried off. Jack decided to go back and wait for Grease-E outside. He looked for him in the other half of the room, but Grease-E wasn’t inside.
As he pushed the exit doors open, the fresh air made him feel as if he just exited a tomb. He breathed deeply. He nodded again as he walked past the bouncer. Jack turned to the left and stopped dead in his tracks.
Replacement stood in the middle of the sidewalk. Like the neon sign above her shoulder, Jack watched as different emotions flashed across her face. He could tell she fought back tears.
I should’ve told her. “It’s not what it looks like.” Jack held up his hands.
“You lied to me. I’d have…I mean, if that’s what you want, I’ll…”
“You got it wrong. I did lie but not about that.” He exhaled and took a deep breath before he confessed. “I’m working here.”
Replacement’s mouth dropped open and she gasped. “You’re a stripper?”
Jack stood there, blinking. “What?”
“You work here? Jack, no.” She grabbed his shirt. “We don’t need money that badly.”
“What? No. I mean, right now I’m working—”
“There you are.” He recognized the perfume that wafted up behind him before the voice. Da Jewel walked up to stand next to him and Replacement.
Jack didn’t think Replacement’s eyes could get any bigger, but as she stared at the older woman with the halter top, seven-inch heels, and micro skirt, he realized he was wrong.
“You’re late.” Da Jewel held out a hand. “I did your favor. You owe me another fifty.”
Jack coughed.
The look on Replacement’s face made Jack shudder. “What favor did you do for fifty dollars?” Replacement asked through gritted teeth.
Jack waved his hands and moved his mouth, but the words seemed stuck in his throat.
“Oh, he didn’t do nothing with me.” Da Jewel smiled at Replacement as she shook her head. “He wanted a guy.”
Replacement froze.
“Hold on.” Jack’s hand cut through the air between the women. “Alice, I’m working for Titus as a bounty hunter. I’m trying to find a bail jumper. I didn’t want to tell you because you’d think it was dangerous, and the doctor hadn’t given me the okay yet. I also wasn’t too proud of it. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I should’ve right away. I was wrong. Very wrong and I’m sorry.” The confession tumbled out of his mouth, and he took a gulp of air at the end.
“So where’s my fifty?” Da Jewel tapped her foot.
“Where’s Grease-E?” Jack hurriedly handed her the bill.
; “Right there.” She pointed at the front door of the strip club as she stuck the money under her wig.
The short man who held the strip club door open turned his head at the sound of his own name. Grease-E deserved his nickname. His long, oily hair was combed straight back and his face had a slight sheen. Grease-E froze for a moment and stared at Jack before he bolted through the door.
Jack turned to Replacement. “Stay here,” he said, and then turned to give chase. As he yanked the strip club door open, he yelled, “Go to the car.”
The club was almost pitch black as the new dancer on stage performed with just a spotlight. Jack jogged toward the back as he scanned for Grease-E.
“He ran that way.” The waitress jumped up and down and pointed down a dimly lit corridor.
“What’s down there?” Jack looked down the hallway.
“Bathrooms and private rooms. There’s no exit.”
“Thanks.” Jack frowned as he rushed forward. Grease-E likes knives.
Jack hurried forward and threw open the first door on the right. A naked girl spun around, and three men sitting on the couch looked up. He pulled the door closed and tossed open the next.
Empty. Ladies’ room on the left. Men’s on the right.
He pushed open the men’s room door. At the back of the room, he saw two feet disappear out the little window.
Damn.
One look at the small window and he was surprised that Grease-E fit through, but he knew he couldn’t make it out that way. He spun around, and the bouncer blocked the end of the hallway. When the man saw Jack, he moved out of the way, and Jack ran by.
Jack sprinted over to the dancers’ entrance at the back of the club. He flew through the door and out into the narrow alley. Two girls leaned up against the wall. Their cigarettes dangled out of their mouths as they stared at him. One pointed down the alleyway, and Jack took off. As he approached the intersection ahead, he tried to remember the layout of the block.
A girl’s high-pitched scream echoed off the bricks.
Alice? Was it her? I told her to go back to the car but…
He burst into a sprint as he flew down the alley and then rounded the corner. At the last second, he stopped before he stepped on the prone figure that writhed on the ground.
Replacement stood with her feet wide and a little pink Taser clutched in her outstretched hands. Jack looked down at Grease-E, who twitched and moaned on the tar.
“This thing is awesome.” Replacement grinned.
Jack started to flip Grease-E over, but he screamed again. “Stop. Stop!”
Grease-E pointed at the Taser barbs. Jack winced. One stuck in his face and the other hit him in the groin. Jack was almost tempted to call an ambulance but then he saw the knife on the ground.
He pulled a knife on Alice.
Jack grabbed the wires from the Taser. “Don’t move,” he snarled before he yanked them out.
Grease-E screamed.
“Shut up.” Jack tossed the wires back and looked at Replacement. “Don’t touch the barbs. They’re sharp, and you don’t know where he’s been.”
Replacement nodded.
Jack flipped Grease-E on his stomach. “You have any other weapons on you?”
“I need a doctor. This is brutality.”
“No. This is brutality.” Jack knelt on Grease-E’s back. “Here’s some free advice.” Jack frisked Grease-E. “One. Do you really want to go before a judge and say you pulled a knife on a girl? Two. Do you really want to go into the Bay and let everyone know you got your ass handed to you by a girl with a little pink Taser? Three. You crossed Titus. Do you want me to tell him you need to be shut up?” He cuffed him.
Grease-E shook his head.
Jack pulled a crack pipe from Grease-E’s pocket, tossed it on the ground and smashed it.
“Man. Why’d you do that?” Grease-E whined.
Jack yanked him up by his arms. “I’m taking you to jail, genius. Do you want to go with that in your pocket?”
Replacement skipped up closer to him and hugged the Taser.
“You bought a Taser?” Jack asked.
“It works sweet.” Her dimples popped. “That rocked. You should have seen the look on his face. Did you hear him?” She giggled.
Jack shook his head. I don’t know if I’m mad or jealous. “Point it down,” Jack said.
“Now what do you do with him?” she asked.
Jack pushed Grease-E forward. “I have to take him to the jail and fill out a ton of paperwork.”
“Can I come?”
Jack shook his head. “I’m meeting up with Bobbie afterward. I won’t be long.”
“Bobbie G? I haven’t seen him for a while. Please?” she begged.
“Let me think about it.” As they neared the street, Jack looked down at the Taser in her hand. “Put that thing away. I’m parked on the right.”
“I parked in front of you. Do you want to drop him off, and I’ll meet you there?”
“Wait a minute…” Jack stopped. “Did you follow me here?”
Replacement’s mouth started to open, but then her eyes narrowed. “You wait a second. You come home reeking of perfume, I catch you on a strip club website, then you leave your phone on the table and get a text from a Debra talking about meeting her and a stripper named Snow White, and you think I’m not going to check into that? I love you. I trust you. But I’m not going to be an ostrich and stick my head in the sand.”
He exhaled and ran his hand down his face. “You’re right. Entirely right. Follow me.”
Her face lit up. She tucked the Taser into her pocket and then hurried forward.
“Is she your partner?” Grease-E asked.
“Shut up. No.”
“No? Why’d she Taser me?”
“Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Jack opened the back door to the Charger and shoved Grease-E in. “This is my car, so behave.”
Grease-E glared at him. “It’s an old cruiser. You’re a wannabe cop?”
Jack got in and quietly closed the door. Don’t let him get to you.
“How come you couldn’t be a real cop?” Grease-E grinned maliciously. “What’s next? You gonna work at the mall?”
Replacement tapped at Jack’s window. “Lady wants to ride with you. Is that okay?”
Jack grinned from ear to ear. “Sure. Put her in the back.”
Replacement opened the back door; Grease-E and the huge dog stared at each other for a moment. Lady’s ears flattened against her head and her lips curled back into a snarl.
Grease-E shrieked. Lady barked like crazy.
“Lady, quiet,” Jack commanded, and Lady stopped barking. “Easy. Lady, in.”
The dog jumped into the backseat, and Grease-E whimpered.
Replacement put both hands on the window and looked wide-eyed at Jack. “Is that safe?”
Jack shrugged. “If Grease-E behaves.”
“How do you know Lady won’t bite him?” she asked.
Jack leaned closer to her and whispered loudly enough for Grease-E to hear, “I don’t.”
She gave him a look that two kids share when they steal a cookie. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“Good girl.” Jack reached back and rubbed Lady’s head before he looked at Grease-E. “Don’t move. Don’t talk.”
Grease-E pressed his lips together and quickly nodded his head.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Little Z
Jack and Replacement walked through the door of Hannigan’s, and Jack smiled. It had been years since he’d been there, and the place was just about the same. Hannigan’s was a pool hall that served beer—no hard liquor. A dozen tables were scattered across the open floor, but only four games were going on.
Bobbie played at a back table. He was alone. He grinned broadly as he strode forward. “Look at you, little Z. You’ve turned into a beautiful young woman.”
Replacement blushed and gave him a big hug. She almost disappeared in his huge arms. “Hi, Bobbi
e. Long time.” She bounced back over to Jack.
“Nice haul this month, Jack,” Bobbie said. “Getting Grease-E was some serious icing.”
“Yeah.” Replacement punched Jack in the arm. “How many does that make this month for Jack?”
Jack knew she was fishing for the answer, and Bobbie fell for it.
“Four.” Bobbie grinned.
Jack didn’t.
“You’re working for Titus too?” Replacement asked.
“Five years. I better be careful or Speedy here is going to put me out of a job.” Bobbie held up a hand with two fingers out and the bartender nodded. “This is on me. They still got the best drafts.”
“I hope one’s for you.” Jack grabbed a rack and moved to the end of the table.
Replacement rolled her eyes. “I got the next game.” She leaned up and kissed Jack’s cheek before she whispered, “One beer.” She held up her index finger. “Excuse me while I freshen up.” She skipped off to the bathroom.
Bobbie chuckled. “You and Z? I figured it had to happen someday.”
Jack racked for a game of eight ball. “Little Z?” He hung the rack under the table.
“Z. It’s short for Crazy. I mostly call her that.” The balls practically exploded as Bobbie broke, but he only dropped one ball.
“Nice break. Why did you say it figures that we’re together?”
The bartender brought over the beers. Jack took his and handed the other to Bobbie.
Bobbie lined up a shot. “She told you when she got the nickname, right?” He dropped the two and stood up. “It was when she kicked your ex’s ass.”
No. Replacement got in a fight with one of my old girlfriends? “She told me but…” Jack lied, “it’s always better hearing it from an unbiased observer. Which ex?”
“The supermodel. The blonde with the long hair.”
JACK AND THE GIANT KILLER Page 14
