Last Diner Standing, page 7
“When is she coming home?”
“Soon.”
“Promise?”
Those sad brown eyes got to me. It was Christmastime and the kid was sick. He needed his mom. I took a deep breath. “Yeah, Damon, I promise.”
Sondra shook her head in disapproval. But I was going to get Janelle out of jail, if I had to break her out myself.
“I need to make a quick call,” I said over the blaring cartoons.
“Up the stairs, first bedroom on the right.”
“Thanks.” I took the short flight of stairs and stepped into a bedroom. The queen bed, with its blue and green striped comforter, took up almost every square inch of space. I shut the door behind me and with a shaky hand dialed Sullivan.
“Hello, Rose.”
I took a fortifying breath and blew it out. “I need a favor.”
Long pause. “Are you sure?”
No, not at all. “I need ten thousand to get my friend, Janelle, out of jail. One of her kids is sick and they need her. I don’t know how I’m going to pay you back.” I couldn’t even afford to buy a used car right now. Ten thousand? It might as well be a hundred thousand.
Another one of those long ass silences. “All right,” he said. “I’ll have her out tomorrow.”
“Thanks.” I hit the end button and wondered if I’d just signed my life away.
I left the bedroom and trotted down the stairs to Sondra and Damon. “I got someone to post bail. She should be out tomorrow.”
Sondra stared into my eyes. “What did you do? If it were this easy, she’d be home by now. Who’d you get the money from?”
I smiled. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” I glanced down at Damon. “He finally fell asleep, huh?”
“Yeah, I got some fluid down him. I’ll wake him up every thirty minutes and give him a little more.”
“You need me to stick around and help out with the kids?”
She hesitated a moment. “If you don’t mind.”
I spent the evening making macaroni and cheese, reading bedtime stories, and washing a sink full of dishes. As I scrubbed bowls and spoons, my gut clenched in anxiety. I knew I had done the right thing for Janelle, but how was I going to pay back Sullivan?
*
The next morning, I met up with Roxy in the diner parking lot and told her about my debt problem.
“How are you going to come up with ten thousand dollars? Does Sullivan expect you to sex him up?”
“I’m not having sex with him, jeez.” At least not for money. I mentally slapped myself.
“Just asking,” Roxy said.
When we walked into the kitchen, Ma was waiting for us, looking as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. “Girls, come with me. I’ve got something to show you.”
Exchanging glances, Roxy and I followed Ma through the dining room and into the office. At the green metal storage cabinet, she opened the door and waved her hand with the flourish of a game show hostess. “Ta da!”
“Forget it. I’m not wearing that,” I said.
Roxy shook her blue curls. “Me, neither.”
“Of course not,” Ma said. “It’s for Dillon.”
I stared at the giant, fuzzy, yellow chicken suit in relief.
“Who’s Dillon?” Roxy asked, smacking her gum.
“The busboy.” Ma pulled the suit out of the cabinet. “I’d wear it myself, but I’d never be able to get in and out of that thing. Not with my hip. What do you think?”
“I’m sure he’ll love it.” Poor New Kid. He’d sat around the last two days doing less than nothing, now it was time to pay the piper. Karma was a bitch.
Roxy and I went to work, and by six we had customers waiting. At seven, Dillon stepped out of the office, his face visible through the chicken beak.
The customers stopped eating to gawk as he made his way to the front door. He stopped next to my table. “I’m not getting paid enough for this, man. Being a chicken sucks.”
I patted his wing. “Better you than me.” Then I whipped out my phone and snapped a picture of him. If he didn’t start pulling his weight around here, I’d use it for blackmailing purposes.
We worked steadily until nine when a regular stepped through the door, a newspaper tucked under his arm. “Hey, what’s that chicken doing outside?”
I glanced out the window. Ma had given Dillon a sign to hold up to help spread the word about our chicken specials. But New Kid had tossed it aside and was standing on the sidewalk, playing with his phone.
Roxy joined me. “That new kid’s a dick.”
As the morning progressed, I occasionally checked on him. I’d never seen a chicken flip the bird before. He gave everyone who drove by the one-fingered salute. With both hands. How was this helping business again?
That afternoon, lunch really started to pick up. By noon, people were actually waiting outside the diner for tables. By one, we still had customers, and by three, we had to turn people away.
“See, just like I told you,” Ma crowed. Or should I say clucked. “Chicken. That’s the answer. And tomorrow’s special: chicken pot pie. If business stays this brisk, we may have to hire another cook. Maybe we’ll expand the diner. I don’t see why we can’t stay open for dinner.”
Dillon marched himself inside. He had to with those floppy chicken feet. “Look at me. Some idiot poured beer all over my legs.”
Roxy stared at his drumsticks. “You better hope it was beer. Could have been pee.”
Before I could comment, my phone vibrated. I tugged it from my jeans pocket. Sullivan.
“Hey,” I said. I left Roxy and Dillon by the front door and slipped behind the counter. “What’s up?”
“Just wanted you to know your friend is out of jail. Henry took her home.”
“Thanks. So, how are we going to do this? Do I pay you weekly or something?”
Pause. I wiped down the counter with my free hand and waited him out.
“We can negotiate later.”
Now I paused. “I’m not having sex with you.”
“I’m going to enjoy proving you wrong.” Then he hung up.
Holy freaking cow. He was joking. He had to be. Sex with Sullivan would be…amazing. But it wasn’t happening. My legs were firmly closed where that man was concerned. He was a criminal. I had to keep reminding myself that it mattered.
As I stared down at my phone, it vibrated again. This time Janelle.
“Rose, I don’t know what you did, girl, but I owe you big time.”
“No, we’re good. I’m just glad you’re out. How’s Damon?”
“Better. His fever broke. I’m going to pay you back, I swear. I know you borrowed money from Sullivan. And that Henry’s a bad mofo. Scared the bejeezus out of me.”
Henry was scary, but I didn’t want to her to worry about all this now. She had enough on her plate and if we didn’t find out who put Asshat in a coma, she was going back to jail for a long time.
“We can talk about it later. In the meantime, just enjoy being home with your kids.”
She sniffed. “I’m going to help you find who did this to Asshat. He wasn’t much of a husband. Or man. Or a lover. But he is the kids’ dad and he didn’t deserve this.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Roxy wipe down the tables and Ma snag the empty coffeepot on her way to the kitchen.
“Janelle, let’s talk about all this later. I’ve got to help clean up the diner.”
“Come by for dinner tonight. Tariq and Sondra and her kids are coming. It’s kind of a welcome home. Six o’clock. Bring Roxy, too.”
“You got it.”
“Girl, I hate to ask—you’ve done so much already—but how’s it coming? Are you any closer to finding out who hit Asshat?”
“I’m sorry, Janelle, not yet. And I still need to talk to LD.”
“You’ll find out the truth, Rose. You found Axton, didn’t you?”
I wasn’t sure if Janelle’s faith in me was justified, but I was going to do everything I could to help her. “Yeah. Gotta go.”
I walked to the office, grabbed the broom, then Roxy and I commenced with cleanup. New Kid stood out front, smoking and yakking on his phone.
Roxy stood at the window and watched him with longing as she chomped her nicotine gum. “It’s official. I hate that kid.”
“Hey, Janelle invited us for dinner at six. Tariq will be there.”
“Shit, that only gives me two hours to get ready. I don’t have a thing to wear.”
Chapter 9
I walked into Janelle’s house and was treated to the spicy smell of oregano, basil, and garlic. My stomach did a back flip from hunger.
In the living room, a four-foot Christmas tree was completely covered in kids’ craft ornaments. I was glad I’d called Sullivan. This was where Janelle belonged.
Damon and his cousins sat on the floor playing video games and Sherise braided Roxy’s hair.
“Hey,” Roxy said, not moving her head. Looked like she found something to wear: a short black dress edged with pink pom poms and a hot pink Bambi embroidered on the skirt.
“You’re hair looks beautiful.”
Roxy grinned. “Sherise is the best hairdresser evah.”
Sherise bopped Roxy’s head. “Hold still.”
Sondra waved me into the kitchen where Janelle stood at the stove and stirred a pot of sauce. She looked better than she had in jail, but there were lines of tension around her eyes and mouth.
When she saw me, she handed the long wooden spoon off to Sondra and threw her arms around me. She squeezed until I thought I might pass out. “Thanks for getting me out of jail. My babies needed me.” She pulled away.
“You’re welcome. Can we talk a minute?”
“I’m so damn glad to be home, I’ll give you two.” She led me to the master bedroom. A pretty quilt covered the bed and an antique dresser stood against one wall.
“What’s up, girl? You look all worried and your ass wasn’t even in jail. You nervous about paying Sullivan back? Because I’ve decided to drop out of school and get a full-time job.”
“No, that’s not it. Roxy and I broke into Asshat’s house and found this.” I pulled the pictures of Sullivan and the handwritten pages from my purse.
Her brows lowered as she stared at the photos. “Who’s this?”
“Sullivan.”
She whistled. “That’s Sullivan? Damn. He’s one mighty fine piece of ass.”
Yes, he was. “Could someone have been paying Asshat to watch Sullivan?”
Janelle scoffed. “Asshat wouldn’t know how to do undercover. The man does everything he can to draw attention to himself, like a damn peacock. And this isn’t his handwriting.” She handed everything back to me.
Well that added a whole new slew of questions, but before I could articulate any of them, my phone vibrated. I held a finger up to Janelle and answered.
“Um, Jane? This is Jess.” It was hard to hear her over the loud music.
I wracked my brain. “Jess?”
“You know, Satin Lace, from The Bottom Dollar?”
My brow unfurrowed. The stripper I had talked to in the bathroom. “Right, how are you?”
“Listen, Crystal’s here in Freddy’s office. Just thought you’d like to know.” Then she hung up.
“Who was that?” Janelle asked.
“Jess the stripper. Chicken Licker has been sighted. I’m going to try and catch her.”
Janelle hopped off the bed. “Not without me, you’re not.”
“I don’t think that such a goo—”
“I’m not playing with you right now.” She pointed a yellow fingernail at me. “Shut up and get your shit.”
*
Janelle, Roxy, and I didn’t have to pay a cover to get into the club. Apparently, every night was ladies night at The Bottom Dollar.
The place was packed with men in suits, men in jeans and work jackets, and a group of college-aged guys by the door. Hardly anyone noticed us because all eyes were riveted to the naked woman on stage, shaking her butt in time to the music, or the various women in Santa hats scattered throughout the room riding men’s laps like bull riders in a rodeo.
I led Roxy and Janelle to Freddy’s office and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
I poked my head inside. Freddy Libra sat behind his desk, his large feet propped on top. When he saw me, he smiled. “Decided to take me up on my offer? Wise choice. And later, you might consider getting implants. I know a doctor. He’s good.”
Boy, this guy creeped me out and pissed me off at the same time. “Where’s Crystal?”
He planted his feet on the floor. “How did you know Crystal was here?”
“Where is she, Freddy?”
He stared at me a moment, then shrugged. “She left a minute ago. You just missed her.”
I turned around to Roxy and Janelle. “Go to the parking lot and see if you can find her.” Then I entered the office. A Lil Wayne song pounded against the closed door.
“What did she want?” I asked. Crossing my arms, I gave Freddy my meanest stare that mostly involved looking into his eyes and not blinking. I think I ruined the effect when my eyes started watering.
“You’re not Crystal’s cousin,” he said.
“No shit, Sherlock. Now what was she doing here?”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.” He leaned back in his seat and laced his hands behind his head. “But because it will get you out of my hair, I will. She wanted her job back.”
I didn’t believe him. Freddy was as bad at lying as he was picking out clothes from this decade.
I turned my death glare into a smile. “Okay, great. Thanks.” I walked to the door, my hand on the knob. “Oh, by the way, there are a group of boys out front who are underage—I know a couple of them. Probably got in using fake IDs. I wonder what the cops will think of that.” Hey, it could be true. I opened the door.
“Wait.”
I turned back around. “Yes?”
He dropped his hands to the desk. “Crystal wanted money. I gave her a couple hundred and she left.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why would you give her money? Because you’re such an altruistic person?”
He appeared confused. Note to self: don’t use college prep words on a strip club owner.
“Because you’re such a generous guy?” I rephrased.
He shrugged. “I felt sorry for the kid. We had to let her go and now she’s hurting.”
Yeah, Freddy was a really crappy liar. I left without another word and met Roxy and Janelle in the hallway. “Did you find her?”
“That bitch was with Marcus. She hopped into his truck and they hauled ass out of here before we could even think about following them,” Janelle said.
“Marcus Walker?” I asked. What was Sheik’s friend, the muffler man, doing with Crystal?
Two men in suits entered the hallway from the main room and walked toward us. I knew there wasn’t a men’s room down this way, so what were they doing? One was older, bald. The other was younger, probably fortyish. He was wiry with weasely features and greased back hair.
They stepped past us and walked into Freddy’s office without knocking on the door.
“Clay, you’re early,” I heard Freddy say before the door slammed shut.
I raised my brows at Roxy. Then I turned and hightailed it to the bathroom.
“Where the hell you going?” Janelle hissed as she followed me.
Roxy trailed behind. “She’s trying to see if she can hear anything.” She glanced up above the stalls. “There.” She pointed at a vent.
“Janelle, you’re the tallest. Get up on a toilet and see if you can hear anything.”
Janelle walked into the stall and hoisted herself up on the toilet seat, trying to steady herself in the high-heeled boots she wore. Roxy and I crowded around her.
“Well?” Roxy asked.
“Shh,” Janelle said and waved her hand.
After a couple of minutes, she looked down from her perch and shook her head. “Can’t hear a thing.”
Damn. We helped her down and I told the girls I’d meet them at the car. I wanted to see if I could find Jess and ask her a few questions while I was here.
I stepped out of the bathroom, turned right, and walked to the dressing room. The ladies inside were in various states of undress. I’d never seen so many bare breasts and free-wheeling vaginas in my life. I wasn’t sure where to look. Plus, the whole room reeked of different perfumes, mingling to combine a truly overwhelming floral, musky, peppery stench. Made me sneeze.
“Hi, ladies. I’m looking for Jess.” I addressed my comment toward the ceiling.
“She’s on the floor, sweetie, what do you need?”
I lowered my gaze slightly to a tanned blonde who wore lots of eyeliner and not much else. “Oh, hi.” I kept my gaze on hers. Naked women flowed around me. One ran into my shoulder. “Did you see Crystal Waters earlier?”
She grabbed a bottle of oil and poured a generous portion into her palm. “God, her. Yeah, I saw her. She and Freddy were having it out. Don’t know what the fight was about, but Crystal was pissed.” She began oiling herself up like she was turkey getting ready for the oven.
I cast my eyes back to the ceiling. “Nobody overheard anything?”
“Hey,” she yelled. The strippers stopped yakking. “Does anybody know why Crystal was fighting with Freddy earlier?”
“Who cares?” a voice asked.
“She probably wanted to see who had the bigger dick, her or Freddy.” That garnered quite a few laughs.
“Sorry, sweetie,” said Oily McGee.
“Well, thanks.” I backed out of the room and shut the door.
Look, I’m fine with nudity. Really. Just not so much of it all at once. Finally, I lowered my eyes from the acoustic ceiling tiles and took a deep breath, my eyes stinging from the perfume cloud.
I walked down the hall and stopped by Freddy’s office. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one was coming, then I put my ear to the door.
I heard muted male voices, but nothing distinctive over the loud music. The door suddenly opened and the bald man faced me.
“Who are you?” He had hard blue eyes and a bulby nose with huge pores.
