Each man—they were all men—would enter the bar and sit alone at a table. After a while, a second man would join him. It was difficult to tell if they conversed at all. A few minutes would pass, then the second man would get up and disappear into the shadows at the edge of the room, where I could vaguely see the outline of a door through the haze of smoke. The original man changed each time, whereas the second was always one of three. The one left at the table would stay for a while longer, then he’d stand up and slip something into his jacket pocket. Then he, too, would vanish.
I couldn’t be certain what was being passed over, but it was starting to look like I’d walked right into the distribution point for the drug ring. The longer I observed the activity, the more afraid I felt. It was only my fear for Ford’s life that stopped me from dashing back to the staircase and preserving my own. And I needed to find out what lay behind the door across the room.
Just then, a man with blond hair sat down at my table.
I started as I recognised him as one of the providers I’d observed earlier. My heart raced. I didn’t know what to say to him, so I took a gulp from my glass and waited.
‘Que voulez-vous?’ he said after a while. He didn’t look at me.
‘Um…’ was all I could get out. I fumbled with my glass.
He gave me a brief look before once again fixing his gaze at a random point across the room. ‘This place is not a brothel,’ he said in English. ‘What is it that you want?’
I hid my uncertainty with another mouthful of Coke. What did I want? I wanted to find Ford, but I guessed this guy would be less than forthcoming. ‘My friend told me to meet him here tonight,’ I said. ‘He thought it’d be fun.’
‘You are wasting my time.’ His voice was flat, emotionless. ‘I know you are not a prostitute. So what are you doing here?’
I felt light-headed. This was it. He’d seen through my genius disguise and now he was going to kill me.
‘I’m looking for Chris Ford.’
His jaw was set in a hard line. ‘You will not find Chris Ford here tonight.’
My stomach churned. Something wasn’t right here. He was all but threatening me. I should’ve been hightailing it out of there, but instead I felt like I was melting into my chair. My face was fuzzy and hot and a foul taste filled my mouth.
I swallowed my queasiness. ‘Why? Is he leaving the country?’
‘No.’ He was looking right at me now. ‘But you are.’
A cold finger of fear curled around my heart. My limbs were heavy. My glass suddenly seemed to weigh a million kilos and I almost dropped it on the table. The bartender was staring at me, his elbows on the bar.
‘You drugged me!’
‘It is time for you to go now.’ The man took the glass from me, hauled me to my feet and steered me across the room towards the corner where the others had disappeared. The redness of the room swam before my eyes. I felt like I’d throw up if only my body had the energy.
How bloody stupid had I been to drink something brought to me by a stranger in a place like this? If Nick were here he’d never let me hear the end of it. Then again, if Nick were here I probably wouldn’t have made the mistake in the first place.
I tried to fight my captor’s grip, but couldn’t summon up the strength. In fact, I was leaning more heavily on him by the second as my body succumbed to whatever I’d been drugged with. He opened the door in the corner and pushed me into a dark hallway. Terror surged inside me as the door closed behind us, shutting out all but the muffled bass of the music. I knew the kinds of things men like this did to women who dared to enter their world, and there were several doors off the hallway where I could imagine those things playing out.
‘What are you going to do to me?’ My tongue felt thick in my mouth. My voice came out groggy.
The man guided me up the hallway and through another door that opened out into a narrow and gloomy laneway. ‘I am sending you far away from here.’
Relief suffused my limbs as I realised we were headed straight for the main road, where numerous normal people still walked in their safe, normal worlds. ‘What will people think when they see you carrying an unconscious woman around?’
‘You will only appear drunk. By the time you fall asleep, I will be long gone.’
‘I guess it’s too much to ask you to drop me back at my hotel?’ I tried as we reached the main road.
He ignored me and increased his pace. My body grew heavier and heavier until I could barely even move my legs. The man transferred his arm to my waist and held me up as he propelled me along the footpath.
I’d have to be quick if I was going to find out anything before I passed out. ‘Is Ford involved in the drugs trade too?’
‘You need to stop following him,’ he said. ‘He is not interested in you, and he does not want to be found.’
‘Was it him who told you to get rid of me?’
He didn’t answer.
I fought to keep my eyes open. ‘You obviously knew who I was or you wouldn’t have drugged me.’
‘I was just following the boss’s orders. If you stay away, we will not have a problem. If you do not, things may get… unpleasant.’
A shudder ran through my body. ‘William Grady’s your boss, isn’t he?’
‘You are foolish
