Read Online Kiss of Noir by Clara Nipper - Free Book Online Page A

you just took off your shirt and dove in, moaning like someone in a porn flick and slathering sauce or salsa or mole or curry all over yourself. Each thing you tasted was better than the last. The delicate crispness, the blend of sweet and spicy, the pungent marinade, the heavenly juice, the sticky rice, the healing soup, the buttery fish, the crunch, the silky sauces, the chiles. When finally, there was nothing left but debris, the only thing to do was shower and go to sleep. My belly grumbled at the memory of my pet places to which I would be forever loyal. The family-run shops who knew me when I came and in exchange for cash, gave me the gift of their phenomenal food. The places with real food, true food, not fussy food, not chain food, not salad, none of which satisfied anyone, but home food and while you ate it that was your home too. The tiny places know that food was a sacred love. That was their secret.
    “Here we are.” Payne pulled into a bare dirt parking lot riddled with deep ruts and mud berms and puddles. There were lots of cars, each parked carefully straddling a puddle or a rut and pointed in any direction. It was a bumper car jigsaw puzzle of vehicles.
    The building was a one-story concrete block structure painted hot pink with a flat roof and lots of big windows. In the window next to the door was a hand-painted sign—Fat Mammy’s. That was it, no slogans, no open or closed, no hours of operation, no welcome, come in! Just the surrounding forest and the crowd of cars and the splendid smell of frying chicken.
    “You can stay here. I’ll be right back. Can I get you something?”
    “Yeah, get me some of what they do best.” I held out cash.
    Payne waved me away and winked. “Forget it. I can buy lunch for a hero.”
    I watched her, lanky and lean where I carried muscle. Payne was loose-limbed as if she were a marionette barely held aloft. I was strong and swift and hard and heavy like a panther walking upright. Payne was swivelly and dippy and light and utterly relaxed. I snorted. A boy, I thought.
    I waited, watching people come and go. I was surprised to see it was divided equally between black and white customers. My stomach growled. I hoped there would be flaky butter-soaked biscuits, steaming fresh mashed potatoes with thick gravy, crisp, tangy coleslaw, and tender, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth chicken hidden under a scalding, crunchy crust. I rolled a cigarette, smiling and thinking of slick thighs, kinky pubic hair, big round asses, and jutting, chewy nipples. I lit up, hoping Payne didn’t allow smoking in her car. I opened the glove compartment to pass the time. The gun looked to be a .38. I stared at it until I finished my cigarette and then closed the compartment as Payne sauntered out of the restaurant with several plastic bags. She put the food in the backseat and started the car.
    “You know, the leprosarium is not too far from here,” Payne finally said.
    “No.”
    “Yeah, in Carville.”
    “Hmm.”
    We rode in silence most of the way. As we neared the pawn shop neighborhood, Payne, staring straight ahead, said, “The gun is for my job.”
    “Don’t even care. I’m sure a chemical company requires you to do a lot of assassinations.”
    “Don’t joke about it.”
    Payne parked in front of the pawn, but left the engine idling. “Listen, I’ve gotta take care of some business, so you take lunch in and tell Johnny I’ll catch him later. Just leave me a sack.”
    I gathered the food. “Uh-huh, some new bump-bump.”
    “I’ll pick you up tonight. Here or at Ellis’s?” Payne answered.
    “For what?”
    “The bar. Let me buy you a drink.”
    I held up the bags. “It’s my turn to buy.”
    “Sure, okay, say about ten?”
    “Yeah, fine. But I’m gonna score and sharing a car won’t work. I’ll meet you here and follow you.”
    “Thought your car was in the shop.”
    “So? I can borrow a ride.”
    Payne’s lip curled. “Okay, later.” She sped away in a cloud of