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Authors: Jake Hinkson
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know?"
"Osotouy City is just a small town pretending to be a city, Miss Bennett. Word gets around. And I'm the sort of man that the word eventually gets around to."
"Okay," I said. "I'm looking for Alexis."
He nodded. "May I ask why?"
I didn't have time to consider my options or to ask myself what the hell this man wanted from me, but there was a sickness in my gut that told me to keep my mouth shut.
I just smiled politely.
When he wasn't talking, Kluge's mouth hung open a bit. As he thought, the tip of his gray tongue darted out between his dentures.
"May I speculate, then?" he asked.
"Sure."
"Someone hired you to find Miss Kravitz. You were chosen for the task because you were both a former guard and a former inmate of Eastgate Penitentiary. The person or persons who hired you for this job were connected, in some form or fashion, to Jerry Kingston. Am I chasing a wild goose here, or am I on to something?"
"What can I do for you, Mr. Kluge?"
He lowered his chin to his tie again and regarded his yellowed fingernails. "I am prepared to pay you to tell me where Alexis Kravitz is. I'm prepared to pay you even more to take me to her."
"Why do you want to find her?"
"That's my concern, and I don't propose to pay you to ask me questions. Do you know where she is?"
"No, sir, I don't."
"Do you know how to find her?"
"Maybe."
"You are looking for her, then?"
"You know I'm looking for her. I'm guessing it was either Mule or Hastings who contacted you. Your people had already been around to see them both, and when I showed up looking for Alexis, one of them probably called you up to see if you'd kick him a few dollars for the information."
Kluge's tongue darted out twice before he said, "How much is Kingston paying you?"
"Five thousand dollars."
He smiled at that. He probably knew I was lying, but I had the strong hunch that Kluge spent most of his time talking to liars about money.
"I'll give you ten thousand dollars to find this woman for me."
I felt a lightness in my chest. I don't know if it was greed or fear. Maybe both.
"Why do you want to find her, Mr. Kluge?"
He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and texted something as he asked, "What reason did Jerry Kingston give you?"
"I didn't talk to Jerry Kingston."
"Then what reason did some associate of Jerry Kingston give you?"
"They said she became a Christian and kicked drugs, but that she'd fallen back into her old life and run off."
He put his cell phone back in his pocket. "Did you believe that?"
"I believed the money."
He nodded. "Only a fool would believe anything else."
I stood up. "I'll need a retainer."
"I've just taken care of that. Vin in the hallway will see you down and give you five thousand."
I jerked my head at the doorway to indicate Vin in the hallway. "He cracked in the head or something?"
Kluge smiled. "Well, I reckon he's got his own particular perspective on the world. Don't we all. Good bye, Miss Bennett."
I left him sitting there flicking his tongue. Vin in the hallway saw me down. We didn't say anything until we got to the front door of the building. He pulled out hundred dollar bills in a roll as thick as toilet paper.
"Hold out your hands."
I held out my hands.
He counted off ten bills. "One." Another ten bills. "Two."
As he counted out the rest of the cash, I watched the stack get bigger in my hands. When Vin got to the last hundred, he waded up the bill and stuck it in his mouth. Then he chewed it into a wet ball, pulled it out, and dropped it on the stack.
"And a cherry on top," he said.
"What the fuck?"
I shook the ball off. Vin only smiled and walked back to the elevators. After he was gone, I stood there, just staring at the damp wad of money on the ground.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Outside, I turned up the sidewalk and walked a few streets over to the river. At the base of a bridge—an old railway bridge that had been repurposed into a pedestrian bridge during the last downtown beautification—there was a
"Osotouy City is just a small town pretending to be a city, Miss Bennett. Word gets around. And I'm the sort of man that the word eventually gets around to."
"Okay," I said. "I'm looking for Alexis."
He nodded. "May I ask why?"
I didn't have time to consider my options or to ask myself what the hell this man wanted from me, but there was a sickness in my gut that told me to keep my mouth shut.
I just smiled politely.
When he wasn't talking, Kluge's mouth hung open a bit. As he thought, the tip of his gray tongue darted out between his dentures.
"May I speculate, then?" he asked.
"Sure."
"Someone hired you to find Miss Kravitz. You were chosen for the task because you were both a former guard and a former inmate of Eastgate Penitentiary. The person or persons who hired you for this job were connected, in some form or fashion, to Jerry Kingston. Am I chasing a wild goose here, or am I on to something?"
"What can I do for you, Mr. Kluge?"
He lowered his chin to his tie again and regarded his yellowed fingernails. "I am prepared to pay you to tell me where Alexis Kravitz is. I'm prepared to pay you even more to take me to her."
"Why do you want to find her?"
"That's my concern, and I don't propose to pay you to ask me questions. Do you know where she is?"
"No, sir, I don't."
"Do you know how to find her?"
"Maybe."
"You are looking for her, then?"
"You know I'm looking for her. I'm guessing it was either Mule or Hastings who contacted you. Your people had already been around to see them both, and when I showed up looking for Alexis, one of them probably called you up to see if you'd kick him a few dollars for the information."
Kluge's tongue darted out twice before he said, "How much is Kingston paying you?"
"Five thousand dollars."
He smiled at that. He probably knew I was lying, but I had the strong hunch that Kluge spent most of his time talking to liars about money.
"I'll give you ten thousand dollars to find this woman for me."
I felt a lightness in my chest. I don't know if it was greed or fear. Maybe both.
"Why do you want to find her, Mr. Kluge?"
He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and texted something as he asked, "What reason did Jerry Kingston give you?"
"I didn't talk to Jerry Kingston."
"Then what reason did some associate of Jerry Kingston give you?"
"They said she became a Christian and kicked drugs, but that she'd fallen back into her old life and run off."
He put his cell phone back in his pocket. "Did you believe that?"
"I believed the money."
He nodded. "Only a fool would believe anything else."
I stood up. "I'll need a retainer."
"I've just taken care of that. Vin in the hallway will see you down and give you five thousand."
I jerked my head at the doorway to indicate Vin in the hallway. "He cracked in the head or something?"
Kluge smiled. "Well, I reckon he's got his own particular perspective on the world. Don't we all. Good bye, Miss Bennett."
I left him sitting there flicking his tongue. Vin in the hallway saw me down. We didn't say anything until we got to the front door of the building. He pulled out hundred dollar bills in a roll as thick as toilet paper.
"Hold out your hands."
I held out my hands.
He counted off ten bills. "One." Another ten bills. "Two."
As he counted out the rest of the cash, I watched the stack get bigger in my hands. When Vin got to the last hundred, he waded up the bill and stuck it in his mouth. Then he chewed it into a wet ball, pulled it out, and dropped it on the stack.
"And a cherry on top," he said.
"What the fuck?"
I shook the ball off. Vin only smiled and walked back to the elevators. After he was gone, I stood there, just staring at the damp wad of money on the ground.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Outside, I turned up the sidewalk and walked a few streets over to the river. At the base of a bridge—an old railway bridge that had been repurposed into a pedestrian bridge during the last downtown beautification—there was a
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