The Man Who Forgot to Remember by Bill Garwin

Author:Bill Garwin [Garwin, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Dinner was abbreviated and quiet. Four minds with a single objective but diverging seriously as to what should happen after Jules had recovered the list.

They walked through the clean night air in pairs on the narrow sidewalks. Santa Fe slowly quieted through the evening until the only spots left open were a few bars catering to the omnipresent tourists. Foot traffic was minimal and within an hour or so would be non-existent.

Santa Fe is dominated by one-story shades of brown, flat-roofed structures. Even the department stores are single level. No ladies’ lingerie on three, or even two. Downtown is the exception. Second stories popped up periodically, for the most part providing, sometime in the past, residences or offices. The Lensic defied Santa Fe gravity, rising three generous stories. Being such and sitting on the first corner entering town from San Francisco Street, it was impossible to miss.

The architecture, described as pseudo-Moorish/Spanish Renaissance, was relatively plain until it reached the top of the building and the elaborate parapet. Atticus couldn’t tell if the pairs of dragons facing each other were at war or somehow protecting the well-preserved structure.

Atticus needed assurance, “That’s it?”

“The huge billboard screaming ‘Lensic’, give it away?” Skye was back.

Per Skye’s agreement, a security guard waited at the quadruple doored main entrance. He quickly disappeared, assuring Skye all the exits were locked. He would close up after they left, just shout out before exiting. The rather smallish lobby gave way to an interior far more ornate than the exterior. The mezzanine created an appearance of volume. While the Moorish influence was quiet on the outside, it screamed at you inside.

Even though the guard reported the place was empty, they conducted their own search. Moving in pairs, they swept the entire building. Everything from bathrooms to changing rooms to project area and rigging. They found no one. Jessica, Bobby, and Vito might be around, but they weren’t inside.

***

Vito anticipated security clearing the building. He was a bit surprised it was a single guy in a blue rent-a-cop uniform, but maybe a closed, small city theatre didn’t require a full police force. Vito sprung for a mezzanine ticket for the last performance and hid in a curtained area behind an upper-level façade. The space was narrow, but his wait was short. When he heard voices below, he knew Jules and his buddies had arrived. Vito slipped out of hiding, exited to the roof, and taped the tongue on the lock so it couldn’t engage, assuring his eventual exit.

He calculated the roof offered a perfect lookout. Jules apparently needed privacy. Las Vegas was in an empty theatre. Why else come here after closing? Somebody would be on the roof watching for Vito or the FBI. It didn’t matter whom they sent up. Vito needed to have a conversation. If it was Augie, he’d get whatever info he might have, then send him packing to Kansas City per Gino’s instructions. If it was Atticus, Vito would certainly have more fun, but the result would be the same.

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