No Such Thing as a Free Ride (12 page)

We were seated in a back booth at Mondo’s, an airless, roach-infested eatery that was, apparently, invisible to health inspectors. There was a slightly used napkin sitting on the table when we sat down. The server glanced at the napkin and threw a fork on top of it, handing me a greasy menu. It was filled with color photos of plastic-looking food that looked about as appetizing as fake dog poop.

“Um,” I said, looking first at the napkin and then back at the server. He stared at me, daring me to complain. “Gee, everything looks so delicious I hardly know what to order.” I put down the menu and flicked a roach off the table while Harmony decided between the egg salad on rye and chicken fried steak.

She settled on the steak and then with sudden ferocity reached under the table and yanked up her pant leg, demanding I take a look at Little Red’s handiwork.

“Sonuvacocksuckingbitch put me in the hospital. Said I hadn’t shown him the proper respect. My leg got infected so bad they thought they was gonna have to cut it off.”

She sneezed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, leaving some goop on the tip of one nostril. I stifled the urge to heave and slid a napkin across the table, hoping she’d take the hint. She didn’t.

“So, Harmony, Octavio said you had some information about Star.”

“Who?”

Unh! This was not going well.
“Star,” I repeated, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. “Remember, that’s why we’re here. You’re going to tell me what you know.”

“You gonna pay me?”

“Yes. I’m going to pay you. But first you have to give me some information.”

“It’s like I told Octavio. I saw her last week or somethin’ gettin’ in a van with a funny license plate, and I ain’t seen her since.”

“Why’d you think the license plate was funny?”

“Cuz it spelled out SLIMEY 1. Now why would anyone want to brag about that?”

“Do you remember the date or what day of the week it was?”

“Now how would I know that? Do I look like I carry around a calendar with me? All I know is all the nuts were out that night. Must’ve been the full moon.”

She leaned across the table, dropping her voice to a whisper. “That Star ho was Little Red’s favorite. But she start talking like she gonna quit him and he say he gonna take her outta the box.”

“Outta the box?” I asked, hoping it was just a colorful way of saying he accepted her resignation.

To illustrate her meaning she sliced her index finger across her throat. “I’m gettin’ out of this muthafuckin’ town soon as I get enough money to get on a airplane.”

Her eyes strayed to the dessert case. “I want some pie,” she announced, as if we’d been discussing dessert all along. “They got any blueberry?”

I tried to keep her focused but it was like trying to catch bits of Styrofoam in a strong wind. “Listen,” I said, motioning the server over. “Did you personally ever see Little Red get rough with Star? Or threaten to kill her?”

Harmony thought for a minute. “I don’t remember. Like I said, she was his favorite, so maybe she got away with shit none of the other girls could get away with. But Star brought in a lot of money, and he told everybody that she’d be needing a lesson in loyalty if she even thought about leaving.”

She grabbed a menu off the table next to us and read aloud. “Says here they got babble pie. What the fuck kind of pie is that?”

“Um, I think they meant
apple.”
She shrugged and ordered a slice.

Harmony’s revelation put Little Red at the top of my “to do” list. The thing is I didn’t know what that list entailed. Did I go to the cops with this alleged threat on Star’s life—a girl who hasn’t even been officially declared missing? I could try the direct approach—find the guy and ask him myself, but that didn’t seem the most prudent choice.

Hey, maybe I could pretend to interview him for a segment on Pimp Fashion Wear. “My, what a lovely fedora, and by the way, did you happen to axe your employee, in the most literal sense of the word?”

“Harmony,” I began, but her attention was elsewhere. She probably saw a squirrel.

Abruptly, she stood and slid out of the booth. “I got to get back to work,” she announced and stumbled toward the door. The server brought the pie and set it down in front of me. It didn’t look half bad so I ate it.

I was parked halfway down the block in a
No Parking
zone. I figured in a town where “double parking” is a celebrated local custom, the sign was more of a suggestion rather than a hard and fast rule.

I left the restaurant and spotted Harmony standing on the sidewalk next to my car, talking to a tall, slender white guy. With his baby face, perma-press jeans and western hat he looked like something straight out of
Midnight Cowboy
.

I didn’t want to interfere in case Harmony was conducting business, so I tried to sidestep around them. Immediately, a muscled arm shot out and grabbed me hard by the wrist.

“Yo, jerk-off, let go.” I reached over with my other hand, grabbed his pinky and bent it back until he howled like a stuck pig. Cowboy Bob let go of my wrist and I yanked my arm away.

Ignoring me for the moment he turned to Harmony. His voice was perfectly controlled, but it couldn’t have been more frightening if he’d come right out and smacked her one.

“I thought you said she was looking for a job. Were you lying to me, bitch?”

“I ain’t lyin’ to you, Little Red. She’s new here. Tha’s why I was talkin’ to her.”

Little Red? Acid-pouring, throat-slicing Little Red?

Harmony stared at me, sweat pouring off her brow. “Ain’t that right, honey? Didn’t you say you was lookin’ for work?”

I cast my eyes around the deserted street and calculated how many steps to the driver’s side of my car. Too many. I decided to play along.

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m new here and I need a job. Guess I’d better start pounding the ol’ pavement.” I smiled and inched my way out onto the street, but the scuzzball planted himself in front of me, blocking my way.

He eyed me up and down, his gaze lingering between my thighs. “I could use some young white chicken,” he mused aloud. “You’re in luck, bitch, because I’m hiring. Only I’m gonna need a little demonstration of your talent first.”

He gave a sharp nod to Harmony and she took off running down the block. I tried to run too, but he caught me around the waist and dragged me into the alleyway.

Holy shit!

“Listen, Mr. Red, I would love to audition for you, only I’m late for band practice. I’m—a Mummer. The parade doesn’t get put on by itself, you know.”

He shoved me up against the side of the building and began unbuckling his pants. “You’re going to love working for me, baby. All my girls do.”

“Yeah, only I don’t think I’m cut out for streetwalking. I don’t even own a pair of ‘Fuck Me Pumps.’ Listen,” I told him, reaching into my jeans. “I’ve got some money that’s just burning a hole in my pocket. How about I give it to you and we call it a day?”

I pulled out the wad of cash that had been Harmony’s ticket home. My legs were beginning to buckle and I couldn’t catch my breath. And then my ears started ringing and I knew I was going to pass out. The ringing got louder, only it sounded more like a siren, and then a male voice shouted, “Put your hands up and turn and face the wall.”

Little Red shoved the money back into my hands and turned toward the wall, his pants slowly slipping down around his knees.

A uniformed officer approached us. “You too, little girl. Up against the wall.”

“Me? What did
I
do?” I asked, holding a fistful of cash.

The cop looked at me. “Last time I checked prostitution was illegal in this state. You have the right to remain silent.”

It took two hours and a phone call to my friend, Vince Giancola, in the D.A.’s office to get me sprung. I cried all the way to the precinct. Between the heat and the tears, my face blew up to unnatural proportions. As if being booked on prostitution charges wasn’t humiliating enough, my mug shot looked like the Sta Puff Marshmallow Man.

“Don’t even tell me. I don’t want to know,” Vince said when I tried to explain the series of unfortunate events that led up to my arrest. “I’ve made it go away, but I couldn’t do anything about your car being impounded. Those signs are there for a reason, Brandy. You’ve got to stop acting like the rules don’t apply to you.”

I knew he was scared which is why he was yelling at me about the parking violation. The truth is I was scared too. I’d thought I’d played it smart this time. I’d had no intention of tracking down Little Red on my own (whose nickname became apparent the moment he’d dropped his drawers). But things just happen sometimes, and it reminded me that I needed to be better prepared.

I’d managed to keep my identity safe from the person who counted the most. As far as Little Red knew, I was just some middle class suburban, college student looking for a walk on the wild side. But that still didn’t solve my problem. I was no closer to finding out what happened to Star than I was when I started out in the morning.

“I think this kid could be in real trouble, Vince. Nobody’s seen her in weeks.”

“I understand that, kiddo. Believe me, there isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not plagued by shit like this. We’ve got a city full of throw-away kids. Their parents don’t want them, the authorities don’t know what the hell to do with them, and then they get preyed on by the dregs of society. But my hands are tied. Unless someone files a Missing Persons Report, we can’t spend the funds to go looking for her. Life sucks, sometimes, don’t it?”

Vince dropped me off at the impound lot. “Uh, listen,” I said, climbing out of the car, “Let’s just keep this between the two of us, okay? I mean there’s no reason to mention anything to DiCarlo or Frankie, right?” Some things are just better left unsaid.

*****

Just as I pulled into the South Street Boxing Gym’s parking lot, my cell phone rang. I’d forgotten my Bluetooth, so I’d stuck the phone in between my legs for easy access while driving. It was set on vibrate which gave me a little thrill, all the more appropriate because the caller was Nick.

“I just got off the phone with Sal,” he began. “He said he’s got a spot for Crystal at one of his safe houses. She can come and go as she pleases, but I think she’s going to like it there.”

“Hard to tell what she’ll like. She’s a
little
on the moody side.”

Nick laughed softly and another thrill went through me. “Sal’s coming by my apartment in a bit. Why don’t you drop by with Crystal? It will give them a chance to meet. If she’s comfortable with him, he can take her back with him. If not, we’ll move on to Plan B.”

“There’s a Plan B?”

“There’s always a Plan B, darlin’.”

*****

Uncle Frankie was in his office talking to a guy in grey sweats. Crystal was slumped in a chair, tension crawling out of her pores.

“She
bit
me, man!” he growled at Frankie. “I didn’t say nuthin’ to her and she bit me.” He rolled up his sleeve, shoving a massive arm in front of my uncle’s face. There was a definite bruise, but it didn’t look like it broke skin, so I really couldn’t see what all the fuss was about.

“I need a Tetanus shot!”

Crystal stood, glaring at the guy, and I scrambled to wedge myself between them. “Oh, come on, man. She’s just a kid. Quit being such a baby.”

Frankie shot me a look and turned to the guy, giving him a friendly slap on the back. “Listen, Ray, it’s just a little misunderstanding.
You
said hello to her and
she
thought you’d dissed her. It was a natural mistake. How about we just let it go and I throw in free workouts for the next month?”

Ray nodded a begrudging assent. “Yeah, awright.”

“So we’re cool?” Uncle Frankie asked, guiding him out the door. “Great.”

He turned back to Crystal and me and sighed deeply.

“So,” I said, brightly. “If you can just pay Crystal for helping you out today, we’ll be on our way.”

*****

With a “fighter’s” nose and muscular frame Father Sal appeared more at home in a boxing ring than behind a pulpit. In fact, Nick once told me that when Sal was a kid he had trained to become a professional boxer, until one day he “got religion” and never looked back. He sat, now, on Nick’s couch, patiently fielding questions from Crystal.

“So if I hate it there, I don’t have to stay?”

Sal gave a nod toward Nick. “Nicky says you’re smart and capable of taking care of yourself. He also told me you need to lay low for a while, so my offer is good for however long you want it. You’re free to stay or go. It’s entirely up to you.”

Nick handed her a cell phone. “Just say the word and I’ll come and get you.”

Crystal turned to me. “What do you think?” I was touched by the show of vulnerability in her question.

“I would trust these guys with my life,” I said. “
Have
trusted them,” I amended quietly.

She gave a short shrug. “Okay. I’ll go.” That settled, she added, “Can I use the bathroom?”

“Down the hall, first door on your left,” Nick directed her.

While she was gone I filled Nick in on my encounter with Little Red. “All I can say is, thank God for overzealous meter maids. If the cops hadn’t come along and seen my car parked illegally, I’d be part of his street harem by now.”

Nick was quiet for a moment. “Where did you say this low-life hangs out?”

“As of this afternoon the city jail. Look, Nick, I appreciate you wanting to avenge my honor and all, but really, I’m fine. What I need to do now is to construct some sort of plausible timeline to pinpoint just when Star disappeared. Only everyone’s recollections as to the last time they saw her are so vague. And who are my sources anyway? A kid who doesn’t know where her next meal’s coming from, let alone what day it is, and a drug-addicted prostitute named Harmony Valentine.”

I was trying to stay calm, but from everything I’ve seen on
Law and Order, Criminal Intent
, the longer someone goes missing, the less chance for a happy ending.