and me to keep the back of my head to the bar crowd while I watched them, focusing on a forty-something dark- haired bearded man in a black suede cowboy hat and matching shirt. Cooper.
I’d been here long enough now to establish Cooper’s sales pattern. Customer walks up. Customer engages in requisite two minutes of small talk. Customer leaves out the front door. Two minutes later, Cooper heads for the bathroom, located next to the rear exit. Five minutes later, Cooper would be back in his seat, his stash lighter and his wallet heavier.
We’d been waiting for the right kind of customer, and this one looked like it: a middle-aged man in pressed blue jeans and a cowboy hat that probably saw the outside of his closet only when he needed his fix.
While Cooper’s customer went through the small-talk portion of the ritual, Jack headed out the front door. I could swear I heard a round of cheers as he escaped the living Chatty Cathy doll.
A minute later, the middle-aged customer left, and so did I, but I veered toward the bathrooms as he hurried to the front.
Moving slower, I crept to the back door, then stepped out into the night. The middle-aged customer hovered at the edge of the parking lot, near the alley, casting anxious glances into its dark depths, unwilling to enter until Cooper was there to protect him.
Keeping in the shadows to hide my face, I strolled toward him, humming a Cowboy Junkies tune, which I don’t think qualified as country, but it seemed suitable, under the circumstances.
Hearing me, the man started. I looked over at him, smiled and slid my jean jacket open, giving him a peek at my holstered Glock.
He bolted.
I took his place.
I held myself still and silent in the shadows. Every dry leaf skimming over the pavement sounded as loud as crumpling newspaper. Water plinked into a puddle nearby. No, not water, antifreeze, dripping from a parked car, the sweet smell wafting past. Somewhere to my left, a street-lamp flickered and buzzed. Yet none of this distracted me, only brought the world into sharper focus.
The rear exit cracked open, then stopped. A voice. Cooper’s. I listened, unable to make out words, but memorizing the sound. A woman laughed. I strained forward, gaze glued to the dark rectangle of the opening door. Then he stepped out.
Cooper walked into the parking lot and looked around. As he glanced toward the alley, I gave a small wave, staying in the shadows. He stopped, head tilting, as if thinking I didn’t
As he approached, I slowly backed into the alley. He followed. When he reached the alley mouth, I gestured to the alcove with the unlocked door. Then I stepped into it, out of his sight, and opened the door. He rounded the alcove and saw the open door, but didn’t backpedal, just frowned at me.
“What-?”
I grabbed his arm and twisted it, bringing him to his knees.
“Jay-sus!” Cooper’s twang turned the oath into a southern revival shout.
I switched holds, getting his arm behind his back, and twisting again. Then I shoved him into the room and knocked the door shut behind me. When he tried to pull free, I gave a warning twist, then kicked the back of his kneecap. As he buckled, I used the momentum to drop him face-first to the floor, still holding his arm.
“Scream, and I’ll snap your wrist,” I said.
The door opened, and Jack slipped in. A click as he locked it behind him.
He glanced at Cooper, then moved alongside the wall, gun drawn. He took up position out of Cooper’s sight, but where he could cover both us and the door.
“The money’s in my back pocket,” Cooper said through his teeth. “Some product there, too.”
“I wouldn’t touch your ‘product’ or the money from it.” I leaned over him, letting more of my weight fall on his back. “A guy came to you, looking for-”
“Lost of people come to me. Looking for lots of things.”
A small twist on his arm. Just enough for him to let out a hiss.
“That wasn’t a question,” I said. “Pay attention, and we’ll get through this a whole lot faster. This guy goes by the name Baron. Wanted to ‘prove’ himself to you. Offered to do a random hit…”
Cooper audibly swallowed. “I want a lawyer.”
I leaned down to his ear, still staying behind where he couldn’t get a look at me. “Is this how cops usually roust you, Cooper? You have a pocket full of something that would get you in very big trouble…if I was a cop. But that’s complicated. So this is how it works. I’m not a cop. You’re not a drug-dealing death broker. I’m a concerned citizen. You’re a concerned citizen. We’re going to share our concerns about Mr. Baron. He isn’t a client of yours, is he?”
“Shee-it, no. He’s lost it. Right over the fucking edge. I’m staying clear.”
“Good plan. And as a concerned citizen, you want to make sure he isn’t a danger to anyone else, so-without admitting to any association with the man-you’ll tell me how I can get in touch with him.”
A moment of silence passed. I knew Cooper was weighing his options. He could claim he hadn’t taken any contact information from Baron. Or he could provide false information. But after about twenty seconds, he said, “He gave me his number. It’s on my cell phone.”
He directed me to the phone in his pocket. I took it out, then slid it back to Jack. As Jack checked it, I waited, gun to Cooper’s head. He’d know then that I had a partner, but showed no sign of surprise. Cops always had partners, and he thought that’s what I was, no matter what I said to the contrary. It was a fair game-cops pretending to be civilians so they don’t have to follow the rules, which meant he didn’t need to worry about getting busted.
Jack nodded, telling me the number was in there. He punched it into the address book on his prepaid throw- away phone, then erased it from Cooper’s, and slid it back across the floor.
I put it into Cooper’s pocket. Then I took out the bills Jack had given me to pay for the information. I didn’t see the point, but Jack insisted, and it was his money, so paid Cooper would be.
Yet even as I stood, bills held out, I found myself hesitating. I expected Jack to grunt or give me some sign to pay the guy and get on with it. When he didn’t, I looked over and saw him there, expressionless and patient. Waiting.
His gaze met mine. I looked away and let the bills flutter down beside Cooper.
THIRTEEN
On the drive back to Evelyn’s, Jack stopped at a desolate rest area pay phone to try the number Cooper gave us. I sat in the rental car, sipping bitter coffee and watching him at the booth, hunched against the cold night air, his back to me, breath streaming like smoke signals. I rolled down my window, but was too far to overhear him. A night bird squawked. I turned to gaze at the woods surrounding the rest area and thought of home.
When he came back, he was frowning, gaze distant in that way that I’d learned meant I had to be patient.
We were on the highway before he spoke. “Someone answered. Wasn’t him.”
“Cooper gave us the wrong number?” I shook my head before Jack could answer. “No, I guess that’s not very likely. He’d have no reason to keep a false number and if it was in some kind of code, he’d have said so. He didn’t seem to be holding out. So either Baron gave him the wrong number-which doesn’t make sense-or Baron’s changed it.” I glanced over at Jack, reading his expression. “Or none of the above.”
“Was Baron’s number. Just not him.”
I considered venting my frustration in a comment about Jack’s own code, and the mental gymnastics required to crack it, but he didn’t seem in the mood for jibes. He’d gone quiet again, probably thinking about Baron.
“The person who answered, did he seem to
He blinked, then shook it off, glancing over to give me his full attention. “Hard to say. Guy started spitting questions. Who’s calling? What’s this about? Where’d you get that name?”
“And it definitely wasn’t Baron?”
