Oscar’s funeral took place that afternoon. Ari didn’t go. Making out in a smoky, dingy club was one thing, but attending the funeral for a boy she didn’t know because she was mixed up with his mentor seemed to push the boundaries of their teetering relationship. She wasn’t really in the mood to see him, anyway. Well, she was, if only to feel some heat on her skin, but not emotionally. Everything had become so confusing.
She’d worked out a plan for the night. Devon gave her just enough information to finally do something for her girls. Ari found Oliver sitting by himself in the living room. For once, Veronica wasn’t over.
Ari blocked Oliver’s view of the television and said, “So, no work tonight? Or Veronica?
“No,” he said. “I thought I’d chill a little.” He craned his neck to see the screen. “Umm … I can’t watch crappy reality TV though your ass, Ari. Could you move a little?”
She stood her ground and took a deep breath. “I’m about to do something reckless and possibly stupid. Do you want to come with me?”
Oliver furrowed his eyebrows for a moment. “Scale of one to 10, 10 being the highest, how reckless and stupid?
“Seven.”
After a moment of consideration he smiled. “I’m in. Let me get my coat.”
Ari drove since she had a vague idea of their destination. Oliver sat in the passenger seat dressed in full black. He fiddled with the heat and buttons on the front panel, trying to warm up the car. The car’s windshield wipers scraped against the barely wet window. It wasn’t exactly raining. More like an obnoxious spitting from the sky.
“You picked a great night to go out and...what are we doing? Something risky?”
“I’m spying on my clients.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
“It means I’m going to spy on them and see what they’re doing. Or if I notice anything strange. My girls keep going missing and I want to know why.”
“You’re going to confront a pimp? Yeah, that does sound risky.”
“Ugh, I keep telling you. S-p-y-i-n-g. Just spying. It’s just the park we’re going to is kind of in a dangerous part of town.”
“Well, whatever. Just let me know what to look out for.” Oliver reached under his jacket. “I came prepared.”
“What are those?”
“Binoculars. I figured we may need them.”
“You didn’t even know what we were doing, but you brought binoculars anyway?”
He shrugged and began cleaning the glass with a small, white cloth. “I had a hunch. Mostly because you’re so freaking nosy.”
Ari ignored him and drove across town toward Glory Park. The park itself sprawled over several miles. Biking and running trails crisscrossed the area, and a popular dog park used a large fenced-in section. Ari drove past the well-lit areas toward the section with the basketball courts. This was the only part of the park that was used after dark.
“Do you think they’ll be out tonight? The weather is miserable,” Oliver asked when he realized where they were headed
“The courts are covered. Half the people out here are doing business. They don’t care about the rain.”
Sure enough, the basketball courts were hopping. “So we just sit here?” Oliver asked. He double-checked the door lock.
“For now. I just want to get an idea of what’s going on. And to see if my girls are telling me the truth.”
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Oliver broke the quiet. “See anything?”
“Honestly? Not much. I think a couple of those boys actually playing basketball come to my office but they’re not on my caseload. There aren’t many girls out tonight, though, and I haven’t seen Shanna or Hope. But that car has been idling over there for a while.” Two or three guys had walked over to the car’s window since they’d been there.
Oliver nodded. “I noticed that, too. Drug dealer?”
“Possibly. Devon said Shanna’s sugar daddy drove a black car.”
“That one looks gray to me.”
“Me, too,” she admitted.
Ari searched the park again and frowned. “Do you see that guy over there? Behind the goalpost, in the blue sweatshirt? What is he doing?”
“No idea. But I noticed another guy up in the bleachers sitting by himself.” Oliver lifted his binoculars and adjusted the view. “Okay, so there’s a guy behind the goalpost, one on the bleachers and two others lurking around the edges. Who are these guys?”
Ari squinted, trying to see better. “Hand me those binoculars,” she said, holding out her hand. Ari held them to her eyes and searched for the men Oliver had seen. She spotted them all, including one more perched on top of a playground set. “Hold on,” she said. “How do you make this bigger? More magnified?”
Oliver spun the wheel that sat at the bridge of her nose with his thumb. “Try that.”
Ari looked through the binoculars and said, “Holy crud. I know that guy.” She looked at the other men closely and then gave the binoculars back to Oliver. “Look. Tell me who you see.”
He only looked for a second, passing over each person. He dropped the binoculars in his lap and stared at Ari. “Those are the guys from the GYC. From the fights! What are they doing here?” Boyd sat on top of the play set, which meant this was an approved outing.