He smiled. “I was. I hope it was worth it?”
“It was,” she hastened to add, along with a smile.
“I wish you were still taking lessons. It paid some bills.” He held a hand out toward the door. “My car is right outside.”
Nate didn’t know where she lived, so Angela had to give him directions as they drove out of town and toward her house. When they finally reached her driveway, she had him pull off the road and stop just before the cable. He was surprised to see that she lived outside Milford Falls in such a remote place.
“Thanks for the ride, Nate. You’re a lifesaver.”
“Stop seeing jerks and you won’t need rides home.”
Angela couldn’t help smiling.
“I’m glad that at least I was able to teach you how to handle trouble if you end up in a bad situation.” Nate gestured at her drive. “How about … I don’t know. How about you show me your place?”
“It’s been a long day. Maybe some other time.”
“Oh. Okay. Sure.”
He seemed deflated. She didn’t want to leave it like that.
“You know the place I tend bar?”
“Yea, Barry’s Place.”
“Well, some guys tortured him and beat him really bad.”
“My god, that’s terrible. Why would they do that?”
“I don’t know.” She waved off the question to get back on topic. “He’s in the hospital and right now we don’t know if he’s going to make it.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. If they wanted to rob him, why didn’t they just rob him? Why would they torture him?”
She couldn’t tell him that he was tortured to find out where the driveway was where they were sitting at that moment.
She couldn’t help feeling guilty about Barry.
“I don’t know,” she lied again as she ran her finger back and forth over a piece of chrome on the center console. “Listen, Barry is in bad shape. Even if he makes it, it’s going to be quite a while until he is back on his feet. I don’t want him to lose his bar in the meantime. Me and some of the other girls are going to open the bar tomorrow and keep it up and running for him. You know, until he gets better. We’re hoping to get people to come in and support his business.”
“That sounds like a great idea.”
“So, I need to get some sleep—”
“Oh, sure. I understand. Maybe some other time.”
She nodded without committing. “We’re going in early tomorrow to see about keeping his place afloat.”
“Okay. Well, I think that’s a great idea. I guess I better let you get some sleep, then. It was great getting to see you again, Angela.”
She popped open the door, but then paused.
“Hey, listen. I just had an idea.” She hoped not to make a habit of lying to him, but it seemed the most expedient solution. “Us girls could use a guy there to kind of watch over things while we’re working.”
“You mean, you need a bouncer?”
“Yeah, I guess. Check IDs, that kind of thing. Make sure none of the guys get grabby with us since Barry isn’t there watching over things. He used to look out for the girls that work for him.” She looked up into his eyes. “It would be great if you could do that for us.”
“I don’t know…. I have my own business to run.”
“You said your business is really slow right now. If you would do this, we’d pay you. I’d share my tips with you. I’m sure the other girls would appreciate having you watch over them and they’d chip in as well. I bet you’d make more money than you do teaching martial arts. And it would only be until Barry gets better, so maybe you could put a ‘gone on vacation’ sign on your door, or something? It might make you enough money to get ahead on your bills.”
Nate tapped a thumb on the steering wheel as he considered. “Business has been pretty slow….”
“I’d feel better if it was a face I knew who was watching over the girls, rather than a stranger.”
“What about you?”
She flicked a hand, dismissing the thought. “Nah. Some guy taught me to take care of myself. I’m good.”
He chuckled at that before turning serious again. “You really want me to do it?”
She turned back to meet his gaze. “Yes. I really would like it if you would.”
He gave her a single nod. “Then I’ll do it. When do we start?”
“I’m hoping we can get the place open tomorrow evening by around five. After that, afternoons until closing. All of us will be there working to start to make sure we have things running smoothly.”
“Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”
Angela kissed her finger and then pressed the kiss to his cheek. “Thanks, Nate. See you then.”
He stayed and watched her walk up her drive until she got to the trees. She turned and waved and he finally drove off.
FORTY-FIVE
Jack parked his rental car in the crowded parking lot of the bar called Barry’s Place, where he knew Angela Constantine worked as a bartender. He didn’t know if she was working that night, but it was the easiest place to start looking for her.
The bar was a squat concrete block building that looked like it hadn’t been painted in several decades. At night, under the light of the single streetlight, it was hard telling what the original color had been. He thought it might be a faded pink, but there was no telling for sure.
A colorful, brightly lit beer sign glowed in the only window. On the gloomy road no one would be able to miss it.
The place gave him the impression of a despairing outpost at the edge of civilization, where the great, trackless forest began, a place where people stopped for good cheer and liquid bravery before facing the dark and dangerous unknown just beyond.
That was an illusion, of course, but Jack had learned over the years to take account of such impressions, along with the vague connections he tracked. They often had meaning and purpose that could only be understood in the context of unfolding events. Those connections helped keep him alive while hunting savages that did not belong among civilized men.
Hung above the window of the bar there was a hand-painted canvas banner that said GET WELL SOON, BARRY! Jack wondered what that was about.
Another hand-painted sign said that ladies would get their first drink for free. It appeared to be working, as Jack saw three women in short dresses going into the place. They looked overdressed for the kind of dive bar it looked to be, but on the other hand dive bars seemed to be coming into vogue.
Some people were drawn to places that were fashionably dangerous. Much like a roller coaster ride, it let them have taste of peril without the high risk that peril usually entailed. Occasionally those flitting moths got burned in the flame they were drawn to.
By the kinds of lowered cars and jacked-up trucks he saw in the lot, he guessed that the free drinks that drew women had in turn drawn a lot of men as well. Which in turn drew more women.
It was a witch’s brew of trouble.
Jack stood outside for a time, leaning against his car, arms folded, watching. Every time the door opened, rock music spilled out into the parking lot, seeming out of place in the surrounding forest setting.
Two men protested loudly as they were escorted out by a bouncer. When the bouncer went back in and the door closed, it muted the music to a muffled bass beat. The drunk pair got in their car and spun their tires all the way out of the parking lot. It was only luck, not skill, that kept them from hitting anything.
Jack continued to wait, watching the activity going in and out. Or maybe he was just hesitating. It was always hard for him to know how to approach someone he suspected of having the rare ability to recognize killers.