Read Online Everywhere That Tommy Goes by Howard K. Pollack - Free Book Online Page B

she just came back from her last smoking break.
    “You got draft Heineken here?”
    “Coming up,” she says, as she turns and walks down the bar to the beer pulls. She fills a mug, returns, and drops it in front of me. There’s quite a bit of dinner activity, and the voices carry and mix into a noisy conversational buzz.
    A few sips later, Aurora bounces into the restaurant beaming a bright smile. She looks even better than before.
    “I see you started without me,” she says, pointing to the beer.
    “Just a habit. I can’t sit at a bar without something in front of me. You want one?”
    “What’re you drinking?”
    “Heineken draft.”
    “I’ll take a Coors Lite.”
    I motion to old orange hair and order the Coors.
    “Okay, Tommy, I’ve been wondering all day: what’s going on with you, and why do you think you’re being followed?”
    “Hold on. First, I need to know: did a guy in a suit come into the shop after I left?”
    “No. It was a slow day—just the usual tourists . . . and some locals.”
    “Really? I could swear I was being followed.”
    “Whatever—just tell me what’s going on. I don’t normally get involved in all this intrigue. I mean, who comes into my shop, buys all new clothes, asks me out, changes, and runs out the back claiming he’s being followed?”
    “That’d be me.”
    “No shit. So what’s this all about?”
    “I’ll tell you, but first, I’ve got to be sure I can trust you.”
    “Tommy, we knew each other when we were kids. That has to mean something. And didn’t I come here to meet you, even after that bizarre encounter today?”
    “I suppose, but this is much bigger than that.”
    “You promised me.”
    “Yeah, but this could be dangerous, and maybe even get you into trouble with the cops.”
    “I was born for trouble, so spill it,” Aurora says, all tough chick.
    “Okay, I’ll give you the short version for now.”
    “Fine—just get to it.”
    “All right, gimme a second.” I take a deep breath and, before I can change my mind, I just spill it fast. “It’s like this. I’ve got this friend who did some very bad things and left me holding the bag. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the cops suspect that I’m the one who committed the crimes. My friend—and I use the term loosely—has disappeared. What’s more, a detective tracked me down this morning. She wanted me to come back to New York to answer questions. They didn’t have a warrant for my arrest, so I refused.”
    “Well, that means they don’t have enough evidence to charge you. Maybe you can just tell them about your friend and get out of this mess now.”
    “It’s a little more complicated than that.”
    “Why? What did he do—rob a bank or something?”
    “Worse.”
    “Drugs?” she asks.
    “No—worse.”
    “Worse? Tell me.”
    “Murder.”
    “You mean your friend actually killed someone?”
    “More than one.”
    “No way!” she says, more excited than scared. “So how did you get involved?”
    “I witnessed one murder and can’t remember the second one. I blacked out and woke up after she was killed. I didn’t see the actual murder.”
    “You have to go to the cops with this.”
    “I can’t. There’s more.”
    “What more, Tommy?”
    “Hey, I can’t even believe I’m telling you this much.”
    “I promise I won’t tell anyone, but you have to go to the cops.”
    “It’s not so easy. I screwed up and hid the first girl he killed.”
    “You
what
?” she screams. “How could you be so stupid?”
    “I don’t know. I got caught up in it. Troyer cut out, and I put the girl in my trunk and drove off.”
    “Well, you can still go to the cops and tell them. Get a lawyer first. He can make them understand.”
    “No, you don’t get it. It’s worse than that. Troyer has been following me. He actually hid in the trunk of my car while I drove down here. When he showed himself, I stupidly let himcome with me to the motel, where he killed another