“Okay, are we ready to go?” Eric asked.
“Yep,” I said. “Why don’t you guys follow us?”
I’d Googled directions to the first place on my list, a small seedy bar called Chucky’s. The freestanding building sat on the outer road of the highway. We weren’t quite downtown, but the clientele was definitely downscale.
Chucky’s was filled to capacity with people who took their drinking seriously, hunched around their glasses as if protecting them from booze bandits. The scattered tables were full and the two pool tables were in use. Nearly everyone looked up when we entered. Gazes lingered on Roxy and her Catholic-skirt-slash-goth-boots ensemble before returning to their treasured drinks.
“Okay,” I said, “what’s next? How do we find out if Axton was here?”
“Maybe we should ask the bartender,” said Steve.
Roxy rolled her eyes. “Where’s a picture of Axton?”
I pulled out the photo I stuck in my purse when we stopped at my place. It was much better than the one on my phone. Roxy took it on my birthday, and both Axton and I wore stupid party hats and had big margarita-fueled grins on our faces.
Roxy grabbed my arm and dragged me behind her as she walked toward the bar. “Hey,” she said to the bartender, “what’s your name?”
“Who wants to know?”
“She does.” Roxy tipped her head in my direction.
He gave me a once over. “Brad.” Brad reminded me of a squirrel. Bald with a severe overbite.
Roxy shoved the picture under his nose. “This guy. He look familiar, Brad?”
“What’s in it for me?”
“I’m trying to quit smoking and you do not want to piss me off.” She slammed the photo down on the bar. “Now look at the damn picture.”
I nudged her aside. “Hi, Brad. Sorry about her. She’s having nicotine withdrawal.”
He filled an empty bowl with pretzels. “Uh-huh.”
“The thing is, my friend here is missing. His name is Axton.”
He popped a pretzel in his mouth and chewed it. With his mouth open. “Uh-huh.”
“So does he look familiar?”
He picked up the photo. “Nope.”
“You’re sure?”
“Look lady, what do you want from me? I haven’t seen this guy, okay?”
My shoulders slouched as Roxy and I walked back to the guys. “Nope, nothing.”
“That guy was a jerk.” Roxy gave him the stink eye.
“You know, there are over two dozen places on that list,” Steve said. “It may take some time.”
“You’re right,” I said. “Should we move on to the next one?”
Roxy flew out the door like a shot, then slowly strolled through the smokers out front who puffed away in the chilly air. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Smell that, Rose. Doesn’t that smell fantastic?”
“It smells like lung cancer. Come on.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the car.
We stopped at the next bar, which occupied the corner of a brick building in a scary part of town where shootings occurred with regularity. Steve parked behind me, but I didn’t turn off the ignition.
“Are we getting out?” Roxy asked.
Before I could decide, Eric and Steve ran up to my car and Steve tapped on my window.
“You guys, I really don’t see Axton coming here,” I said.
Everyone spoke at once.
“No you’re right…”
“I don’t either…”
“Not Axton’s type of place…”
“Should we hit the next bar?”
I glanced at Roxy and she nodded. “Let’s get out of here. This place scares me.” I didn’t know anything scared Roxy.
“Next place,” I said to the boys.
They ran back to their car and followed me out of the lot. We backtracked and took a two lane highway just outside Huntingford city limits to a two-story steel building called Honky Tonk Heaven.
The large parking lot was packed, but I finally found a spot around back next to the dumpsters. The guys parked near us and we all made the long trek around the building to the front entrance. The music was loud. Even through the gravel I could feel the bass thumping beneath my feet.
The temperature had dropped about ten degrees and as I rubbed my arms against the cold, I wished I had worn something warmer than my black blazer. Steve noticed and took off his fleece jacket, settling it over my shoulders.
I looked up at him. “Thanks.”
He smiled and continued walking.
There was a short line to get in. The girls in the queue dressed in either tight jeans and cowboy boots or tiny skirts and cowboy boots. The guys skipped the skirts. Roxy received her usual warm welcome. The girls eyed her suspiciously, then whispered about her amongst themselves while the guys seemed a little turned on and scared at the same time.
When we finally made our way to the front of the line, we had to pay a cover charge of ten bucks. If we didn’t find Ax soon, I was going to have to get a second job.
I flashed Axton’s picture at the bouncer. “Have you seen this man?” I asked.
He scratched his dark buzz cut and shrugged.
After curling my lip at him, I trudged inside.
Like most clubs, the lighting was low. A long wooden bar took up the left side of the building and two dance floors stretched out before us. On the upper floor, people were line dancing and the lower, larger dance floor held a mass of people moving in a circle.
I grabbed Roxy’s hand and we jostled our way to the bar. I figured the guys would follow.
The wait at the bar was three people deep, but Roxy just shoved her way forward, edging people aside. She got several dirty looks and so did I. I think I was the only one bothered by it.
“Hey,” the bartender, a woman in a Honky Tonk Heaven t-shirt, yelled over the music. “Wait your turn.”
Roxy snapped her fingers in my face. “Picture.”
I handed it over.
“Have you seen this guy?” she asked.
“You have to wait your turn,” the bartender yelled again.
Taking over for Roxy, who was obviously at the end of her patience, I said, “This is my brother. He’s been missing for over a week.” I gave her a very sad, yet worried face that mainly involved furrowing my eyebrows. “He loves line dancing. It’s his passion in life. Please, take a look at the picture. Have you seen him?”
That wiped the scowl off her face. “Oh, honey, you must be worried sick.”
I nodded. At least that part was true.
She took the picture from me and held it closer to her face and squinted. Shaking her head, she frowned. “I’m sorry. I haven’t seen him.”
I nodded and mustered up a brave smile. “Thanks anyway.”
We spent the next three hours winding our way around the place, flashing Axton’s photo to waitresses, bouncers, and people in cowboy hats, but no one recognized him. “I think this place is a bust,” I said. “I just want to go home.”
“Me, too.” She tugged at her skirt. “I’ve had enough of this shit for one night.”
We made our way through the crowd and found the guys exactly where we had left them, standing against a wall by the door. Frankly, they’d been pretty useless.
We all headed out to the parking lot and I handed Steve his jacket, then climbed into my car. I dropped Roxy off at her apartment and even though it was only ten-thirty, I looked forward to crawling into bed. The past few sleepless nights had left me exhausted.
