marched inside. She never looked back.
I considered the newly risen moon with misdirected animosity. I muttered, “Sometimes you have nothing at all in common.” Not even a language where the words mean the same things.
I turned toward home and almost fell over Maya.
14
She’d come out of nowhere. I hadn’t heard a sound. She laughed.
“What were you doing with that woman, Garrett?” She sounded like Tinnie asking the same question. What was this?
“We had dinner. You object?”
“I might. You never took me to dinner.”
I grinned. “I didn’t take her, either. She came to the house.” I’d call her bluff. “You want me to take you someplace classy? The Iron Liar? You got it. But get yourself a bath, comb your hair, put on something a little more formal.” I chuckled. I could just picture the Liar if Maya walked in. They’d scatter like roaches in sudden light.
“You’re making fun of me.”
“No. Maybe going at it the long way around, telling you to think about growing up.” I hoped she wouldn’t be one chuko who fought that.
She sat down on somebody’s steps. The moonlight was in her face. She was pretty under the grime. She could even be a heart stopper if she wanted to be. First she’d have to come to terms with her past and decide she wanted to attack the future. If she kept drifting she’d be another burned-out whore living off garbage in fifteen years, brutalized by anyone who wanted to bother, protected by no one.
I sat down beside her. She seemed to want to talk. I didn’t say anything. I’d said enough to make her defensive.
“Nobody watching your place anymore, Garrett. Vampires or anybody else.”
“Probably pulled out when they heard about Snowball and Doc.”
“Uhm?”
“The kingpin had them put to sleep.”
She didn’t say anything while that sank in. Then, “Why?”
“Chodo doesn’t like people who don’t listen. He put it out to lay off me and they didn’t.”
“Why would he look out for you?”
“He thinks he owes me.”
“You get to meet a lot of people, don’t you?”
“Sometimes. Usually they turn out to be the kind I wish I didn’t know. There are some bad people in this world.”
She was quiet for a while. She had something on her mind. “I met some of those today, Garrett.”
“Oh?”
“Those guys you said to run a Murphy on. I used Clea because she can get a statue excited. They almost killed her.” She got graphic with her account of the torture of a thirteen-year-old.
“I’m sorry, Maya. I had no idea they were... What can I do?”
“Nothing. We take care of our own.”
I had a bad feeling. “And the two Smiths?” The Doom wouldn’t have been kind.
She mulled over how much to admit. “We were going to cut them, Garrett.” That was a mark of the Doom. “Only somebody already did it.”
“What?”
“Both of them. Somebody took all their business oaf. They’ll have to squat like women.”
This was getting weird. They don’t make eunuchs anymore, even as a criminal punishment.
“So we just broke their legs.”
“Remind me not to get on the bad side of the Doom. Did you find out anything?”
“Garrett, if those guys weren’t walking around they wouldn’t exist. They didn’t have anything but their clothes. You should see the woman at the Blue Bottle. A cow.”
“Weirder and weirder, Maya. What do you think?”
“I don’t, Garrett. You do that.” “Eh?”
“You said do a Murphy on two guys watching that place. Tonight you go strolling over there with Tawny Dawn Gill, she gives you a peck on the cheek, I figure you’re working for her and you know what’s doing.”
“I didn’t even know that name. She told me it was Jill Craight. You know her?”
“She was in the Doom when they took me in. Never told the truth when a lie would do. Had a different name every week. Toni Baccarat. Willi Gold. Brandy Diamond. Cinnamon Steele. Hester Podegill. That’s the only one that sounded dumb
I considered the newly risen moon with misdirected animosity. I muttered, “Sometimes you have nothing at all in common.” Not even a language where the words mean the same things.
I turned toward home and almost fell over Maya.
14
She’d come out of nowhere. I hadn’t heard a sound. She laughed.
“What were you doing with that woman, Garrett?” She sounded like Tinnie asking the same question. What was this?
“We had dinner. You object?”
“I might. You never took me to dinner.”
I grinned. “I didn’t take her, either. She came to the house.” I’d call her bluff. “You want me to take you someplace classy? The Iron Liar? You got it. But get yourself a bath, comb your hair, put on something a little more formal.” I chuckled. I could just picture the Liar if Maya walked in. They’d scatter like roaches in sudden light.
“You’re making fun of me.”
“No. Maybe going at it the long way around, telling you to think about growing up.” I hoped she wouldn’t be one chuko who fought that.
She sat down on somebody’s steps. The moonlight was in her face. She was pretty under the grime. She could even be a heart stopper if she wanted to be. First she’d have to come to terms with her past and decide she wanted to attack the future. If she kept drifting she’d be another burned-out whore living off garbage in fifteen years, brutalized by anyone who wanted to bother, protected by no one.
I sat down beside her. She seemed to want to talk. I didn’t say anything. I’d said enough to make her defensive.
“Nobody watching your place anymore, Garrett. Vampires or anybody else.”
“Probably pulled out when they heard about Snowball and Doc.”
“Uhm?”
“The kingpin had them put to sleep.”
She didn’t say anything while that sank in. Then, “Why?”
“Chodo doesn’t like people who don’t listen. He put it out to lay off me and they didn’t.”
“Why would he look out for you?”
“He thinks he owes me.”
“You get to meet a lot of people, don’t you?”
“Sometimes. Usually they turn out to be the kind I wish I didn’t know. There are some bad people in this world.”
She was quiet for a while. She had something on her mind. “I met some of those today, Garrett.”
“Oh?”
“Those guys you said to run a Murphy on. I used Clea because she can get a statue excited. They almost killed her.” She got graphic with her account of the torture of a thirteen-year-old.
“I’m sorry, Maya. I had no idea they were... What can I do?”
“Nothing. We take care of our own.”
I had a bad feeling. “And the two Smiths?” The Doom wouldn’t have been kind.
She mulled over how much to admit. “We were going to cut them, Garrett.” That was a mark of the Doom. “Only somebody already did it.”
“What?”
“Both of them. Somebody took all their business oaf. They’ll have to squat like women.”
This was getting weird. They don’t make eunuchs anymore, even as a criminal punishment.
“So we just broke their legs.”
“Remind me not to get on the bad side of the Doom. Did you find out anything?”
“Garrett, if those guys weren’t walking around they wouldn’t exist. They didn’t have anything but their clothes. You should see the woman at the Blue Bottle. A cow.”
“Weirder and weirder, Maya. What do you think?”
“I don’t, Garrett. You do that.” “Eh?”
“You said do a Murphy on two guys watching that place. Tonight you go strolling over there with Tawny Dawn Gill, she gives you a peck on the cheek, I figure you’re working for her and you know what’s doing.”
“I didn’t even know that name. She told me it was Jill Craight. You know her?”
“She was in the Doom when they took me in. Never told the truth when a lie would do. Had a different name every week. Toni Baccarat. Willi Gold. Brandy Diamond. Cinnamon Steele. Hester Podegill. That’s the only one that sounded dumb
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