“Farm workers? What do you hear from Caesar Chavez?”
Jack laughed. It was more of a giggle, high-pitched and quiet, an odd sound to come from such a power-fully built man but, Tyler thought, somewhat appropriate to his baby face.
A waitress came. Nora ordered a vodka martini, Tyler a margarita. Abe asked for a Dos Equiis, was told there was no Mexican beer in stock, and settled for a Michelob. Jack ordered the same.
“So,” Nora said, “you’re not on the lam?”
Smiling slightly, Abe shook his head. “Actually, we just got ourselves mustered out of the Marine Corps.”
“Ah-ha! Leathernecks.” She grinned at Tyler. “What’d I tell you? Tough guys.”
“You just got out?” Tyler asked.
“We’ve been civilians since Monday.”
“In since sixty-seven,” Jack added.
“Holy shit. That’s what, twelve years?”
“We liked it,” Jack said.
“But not enough to re-up again,” Abe added.
Jack wrinkled his nose, shook his head. “Gets to be a drag when you haven’t got a shooting war.”
“Are you kidding?” Nora asked.
“Not that we particularly enjoy combat,” Abe said.
“Speak for yourself,” Jack told him.
“But the peacetime corps is a lot of dull routine, and after the last fiasco we’re not going to see any real commitment of ground forces for some time. Not much point being a soldier without a war. So we thought we’d get out and see how the other half lives.”
“What’ll you do?” Tyler asked.
“As little as possible,” Jack smiled.
“Right now, we’re busy playing tourist. Left Camp Pendleton on Monday, took the Hearst Castle tour at San Simeon, came up through Monterey and Big Sur, stayed a few days in San Francisco. Just seeing the sights.”
“Hanging loose,” Jack said.
The waitress brought the drinks.
“To fortunate encounters,” Nora toasted.
“Hear, hear,” Jack said.
“And thanks for helping us,” Tyler said.
Abe smiled. “Our pleasure.”
They drank. After a few swallows, Jack sighed loudly. “Ah,” he said. “That do hit the spot.”
“You ladies are from Los Angeles,” Abe said. “What brings you up here?”
“Just…” Tyler started.
Nora broke in. “We’re hunting up one of Tyler’s old flames.”
Why did she have to say that? Tyler felt herself blushing. “Well, we were in the area anyway for a conference in San Francisco. We just thought we’d look him up, see how he’s doing.”
Abe looked at her. Was that disappointment in his eyes? Or just interest, curiosity?
Tyler shrugged. “We used to be…very good friends. I haven’t seen him in five years.”
“Hoping to rekindle things?”
She stared down at her margarita. “Something like that, I guess.”
“He’s supposed to be living up in Malcasa Point,” Nora said. “That’s about an hour more up the road. We’ll be spending the night there.”
“Now there’s a coincidence,” Jack said. “So are we.”
Abe looked at his friend and raised his eyebrows.
“Remember in the car? Not half an hour ago. I say, ‘How about stopping the night at that Malcasa Point?’ And you say, ‘Sounds good to me.’”
“That’s right,” Abe said.
“Maybe we’ll run into you gals up there.”
It was Abe’s turn to stare at his drink. He turned the bottle slowly, looking down its neck.
“Who knows?” Jack continued, grinning broadly. “It’s a small world.”
“And a very small town,” Nora added.
“If we just should happen, somehow, to run into you gals, maybe we might buy you dinner.”
“Maybe they’d rather we didn’t,” Abe said.
Tyler scooted down in her seat. “I don’t know,” she muttered. “I might…have other plans. I mean, if I find Dan.”
“If she finds Dan,” Nora said, “I’ll be all alone in a strange town with nothing to do.”
“We’ll take care of that,” Jack told her.
Nora squeezed his thick forearm. “You’ve got a deal. Look, why don’t you guys follow us up so you won’t get lost, and we’ll have us a fancy Marine escort if we run into more weirdos?”
“You bet,” Jack said.
CHAPTER SIX
Brian, sitting on the edge of a bed, saw Janice stride past the front of the rented Mercedes. She saw him watching through the window, and smiled. She had changed into a sleeveless yellow sundress, sashed at the waist, its breeze-blown skirt pressed to her thighs. She carried a stack of white towels. From the crook of her elbow hung a tote bag. “Here she comes,” he said, and took a sip of his martini.
Gorman rushed to open the door. With a slight bow, he said,
Janice stepped in. Balanced on one foot, she used the sole of a white sneaker to push the door shut behind her. Gorman lifted the towels from her arms. He set them on the dressing table, and smiled at her like a gracious host. “Pull up a bed, my dear.”
“Thanks,” she said in a thin voice. She sounded very nervous. She gave Brian a quick, tight-lipped smile, and sat on a corner of the other bed, her knees pointed away from him. After lowering her bag to the floor, she sat up straight and rigid. She smoothed the skirt against her thighs. She licked her lips. “Is…are the rooms okay?” she asked, glancing from Brian to Gorman.
“They’re charming,” Gorman said. “Would you care for a cocktail?”
She nodded, her bangs stirring against her forehead. “Sure, okay.”
“Should we card her?” Brian asked.
She let out a quiet, uneasy laugh. “I confess. I’m only eighteen.”
“Close enough,” Brian said. “Just don’t tell on us.”
This time her laughter was not so strained. She turned her head to watch Gorman pour two fingers of martini into one of the motel tumblers. He set down the glass shaker, skewered an olive with a cutlass toothpick, and plopped it into her drink. He handed the glass to Janice, freshened Brian’s drink and his own, then swung out a chair and sat facing her. He raised his glass to eye level. “Let me propose a toast. To Beast House, our partnership, and our imminent prosperity.”
They clinked the rims of their glasses, and drank. Janice took a small sip. She grimaced and smiled, then tried another sip and nodded as if this one was an improvement.
“Too much vermouth?” Gorman asked.
“No, it’s fine. Just fine.”
“Now shall we, as they say, talk turkey?”
“Fine.”
“I’ve given much thought to your proposal of a fifty-fifty split and while it does seem rather steep, there would, as you pointed out, be no book without your cooperation. It is, after all, your idea. And you
“That means I’ll go for it.”
