LD - A - 1 by AI

Author:AI [AI]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-01-16T23:31:36.050000+00:00

gut…those two were a lot harder to convince.

I pulled onto Frances Street and found a rare parking spot off street. The bar, actually more of a tavern, opened at eleven for lunch. It was five after. My timing was perfect. I went in and sat at the counter. A bartender, female and somewhere in her fifties, took my order—fried cheese curds and a burger. Major benefit of being an Amazon, no need to watch calorie intake.

When she brought my water, I added a local microbrew they had on tap to my order. It would take a lot of alcohol to affect me, but maybe it would take the edge off my nerves. Besides, it gave me another chance to chat with the bartender.

When she came back, I already had a twenty lying on the bar in front of me. I motioned to the bill.

“You can ring me out if you like.”

She cocked a brow. “You in a hurry?”

I took a sip of the ale. “No, but I thought you might get busy. Might as well settle up now.”

She shrugged and went to the cash register.

A few seconds later she was back, my change in hand. “You need anything else, just holler.” She started to turn, but I held up a hand.

“Actually, I was hoping to run into someone here. A boy my niece used to date. Great kid.”

She waited, a noncommittal look on her face. “What’s his name?”

“Tim.” It was all Dana had told me, because it was all she knew—I had asked for a last name.

“Works part-time, I think, bartending?”

“Common name.” The woman’s eyes drifted to the door, then jerked back to me. “But we don’t have anyone by it on the payroll.”

“Really?” Dana hadn’t lied to me. She’d had no reason to. “I was pretty sure she said he worked here.”

“A lot of bars around here. She must have been confused.”

“Could be.” I held her gaze. She was lying to me. I didn’t know why, but she was. I wasn’t one to play polite and just let her walk away. “But I don’t think so.”

The door to the bar opened and a group of state workers, easily identifiable by badges and practical shoes, filed in. She made a move to grab a stack of menus. I placed my hand over hers to stop her.

“What gives?”

She sighed, the wrinkles around her eyes relaxing with the breath. “He comes in sometimes.

Works a few hours when we’re busy and he needs the cash. I’m a small business owner, trying to eke out a living. Someone’s willing to work for tips—who am I to send him away? You know?”

I did know. I removed my hand and finished my beer.

A man willing to work for just tips—even a young man. That was odd—Amazon-like, even.

Cash-only jobs were our mainstay. Anyone’s mainstay who wanted to fly under the radar.

What was up with Dana’s Tim? What was he hiding or hiding from?

He, just like this bar, was a common thread connecting the dead girls and life outside the Amazon camp.

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