Hotel.
When Stu got to the Motel 6, Zig was waiting for him. Roscoe was handcuffed once again to the bathroom sink. Well, they could let the guy go now; they wouldn’t be needing him anymore.
“Where you been?” Zig said. “I’m starving. Sitting here listening to the
“Wait’ll you hear,” Stu said. “I got some real interesting news.”
“Fine. Let’s go eat. There’s an A amp;W down the road. I got a sudden yearning for a root beer.”
“Great idea,” Stu said. “A little root beer sounds good about now.” Thinking,
A voice called from the bathroom: “Hey, bring me something back too, okay? No onions.”
“She ripped off the whole thing?” Zig said, wiping mustard off his mouth. They were sitting at a table in the A amp;W. Place was pretty deserted this time of night. “This girl totally wiped him out?”
“Totally.”
“Man, that guy should retire.”
“Exactly what I said,” Stu said.
“You sure he wasn’t playing you?”
“No way.”
“Because if Max figured out you were following him, he coulda invented this whole scenario just to put us off the scent. He’s old, but he’s no idiot.”
Stu took a slug of root beer. It was a lot sweeter than he remembered it. “No way, boss. He was completely hammered, crying in his beer. Had the kid with him, and the kid was smart enough to try and shut him up, but he wouldn’t listen. Poor bastard’s got no clue where the girl is.”
“Yeah, but we do,” Zig said, and pulled out his cellphone. “Lemme call Clem.”
Before he could dial, the phone rang in his hand.
“We’re at the A amp;W just down from the motel,” Zig said into the phone. “Where the fuck are you?” He shook his head, listening. “Tell me you haven’t lost the girl.”
Stu watched the corners of Zig’s mouth turn white.
“Well, that’s just great, Clem. Nice one … I don’t give a shit. Come to the fucking A amp;W.” Zig put the phone back in his pocket. “I don’t believe it. Asshole lost the girl.”
“We’ll find her again,” Stu said. “Let’s see what he has to say.”
Clem came in a few minutes later and ordered a burger from the counter. He brought it over to the table, in a surprisingly good mood considering the shit he was in with Zig. Zig hadn’t said a word since the phone call, replying to Stu’s attempts to cheer him up with grunts and sneers.
“There’s something weird going on with this chick,” Clem said as he sat down with a burger and a Coke the size of a bucket.
“Exactly,” Zig said. “So why the fuck aren’t you on her tail like I told you?”
“I hadda make a choice,” Clem said, taking a huge bite out of his burger. His words came out garbled and smelling of dill. “There’s some guy following her. Big guy in a green Chevy Blazer.”
“Really?” Zig said. “Green, huh. That’s fascinating.”
“No, listen. She leaves the trailer park in a cab, no one following her except me. I tail her to some dame’s place in a fancy neighbourhood: wraparound porch, driveway a mile long-you know those kinds of places? Anyways, I tail them while they shop in practically every store in Dallas. I tail them back to the fucking mansion. Couple of minutes later, this guy rolls into the driveway in the green Chev. I didn’t think anything of it at the time-figured he’s married to the older dame, big deal.
“Okay. Cab arrives and picks up the girl. I follow her to the trailer park, then to a Ford dealership. By now I’m thinking no way she’s connected to Max and the kid, ’cause she’s got her suitcases with her and she’s buying a car. Then this guy pulls up behind me and he’s watching her. There’s no other customers in the dealership. Same big guy, same green Blazer-Nevada plates, too, I notice.”
“So what?” Zig said. “What do we care where he’s from?”
“Lemme finish.” Clem took a chomp out of his burger, sucked some Coke from his straw, and chewed his way through the story. “Guy drives away, right? I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, except for what happened later. Chick buys a bright red Mustang. I follow her. She drives outta town, not far, and checks in at the Red Roof out on 80. Ugliest part of Dallas you ever saw.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just tell the fucking story.”
“So I’m parked in the gas station across the highway, I’m wondering how long I’m gonna be sitting there, when the guy shows up again. Third time.”
“The guy in the Blazer?” Stu said.
“Same guy.” Clem nodded, wiping his mouth. “So, way I figure it, I got two choices: stick with the girl, or follow this guy and find out who the fuck he is.”
“What do I care who he is?” Zig said.
“He could be a cop,” Stu pointed out. “Or he could be working with Max, maybe. Somebody we missed.”
“I don’t think so,” Clem said. “I followed him to the Hyatt Regency. Room 3114. I don’t think any cop is gonna be staying at the Hyatt Regency while he’s on the job.”
“And the girl’s still at the Red Roof?”
“Okay.” Here Clem swallowed a huge bolus of burger and washed it down. “There we got a problem. I went straight back from the Hyatt, but when I get to the Red Roof the Mustang’s gone.”
“That doesn’t mean she checked out,” Stu said.
“I went into the office, asked around. I made it look like I just had the hots for the chick. Not hard to believe. Guy behind the counter gives me a smirk and says, ‘You’re too late, pal. She checked out.’”
“You lost her,” Zig said, very quiet.
“Well, yeah, but who the fuck expects her to check into a motel and check out an hour later? I mean, what is that about?”
“Maybe she saw the Blazer guy,” Stu said. “Recognized his car and got spooked.”
“Whatever,” Clem said. “Anyways, why’s it such a problem? It’s Max and the kid we care about, right?”
“As it turns out,” Zig said, “we care about the girl. Deeply. Why don’t we finish this conversation in the car, I’m a little sick of these A amp;W colours.”
The three of them headed out to Zig’s car, Clem still clutching his gigantic Coke, and Stu with a burger wrapped in foil.
“Christ,” Zig said. “I can’t believe you bought a burger for Mister Wizard.”
“Guy hasn’t eaten all day. Don’t see why he should starve.”
“Hate to see food go to waste, though,” Zig said. “We ain’t gonna be needing him anymore.”
Clem got in the back seat. “So why are we interested in the girl all of a sudden?”
“Because she’s got the score,” Zig said, still very quiet. “She ripped off the old man.”
Clem let the straw drop out of his mouth. Coke descended slowly down the tube.
“You’re shitting me.”
Zig eased his automatic out of his jacket. “Why, no, Clem, I’m not.”
“Maybe it’s not so bad, boss,” Stu put in, eyeing the gun. “This Blazer guy seems to know exactly where the chick is all the time. He’s right on her. We should have a talk with him.”
“Did I ask your opinion?”
“No, just let’s think this through.”
“I already have.”
Zig turned, and the noise in the confined space of the car was deafening. The bullet went through Clem’s Coke, exploding it, and into his chest. He slumped to one side, and Zig put another one into his head.
“Jesus Christ,” Stu said. “The fuck you doing, boss?”
“You want some too? Is that it?” Zig pressed the automatic into his rib cage.
“No, I’m just a little fucking nonplussed is all.”
“I knew I should’ve never worked with a loser like that. The fucker.” Zig put his gun away.
