American Crow (9 page)

I turned to speak and was met with
Jessica’s tattooed waist. Now she was stretching her arms backwards as if
attempting some erotic yoga position. I wondered if it was solely for my
benefit...

‘When was this taken?’ I pushed, wanting
to keep focused.

‘Just over four of weeks ago, after we
showed the first film,’ she said bending forwards to touch her toes.

‘You’re sure?’ I pressed.

She came back up and raised an eyebrow.

‘Okay, okay...Do you know roughly where
they were headed, so that I can give Olivia’s father a rough idea of where
she’s hanging out?’

‘Err...no.’

She offered a curt smile, though her body
language remained engaging.

‘I’m just doing him a favour that’s all,’
I said, innocently.

She placed both hands on the back of my
chair, stretched like a cat, then leaned forward as if to whisper directly into
my ear.

‘Sure you are...So now can I ask
you
a question, Blake?’

‘Go for it,’ I said, feeling the warmth
of her rhythmic breath on my neck.

‘Why is there blood on your sleeve and
your collar? And why do you look and smell like you’ve been sleeping rough? You
sure don’t look like a man who’s just passing through and doing a friend a
favour. You look like a man who’s got himself into trouble, and who attracts
trouble...’

She bit my earlobe playfully and inched
away.

‘Look, I’m not a cop, and I’m certainly
not some tiresome investigator. Not my scene...’ I said, enjoying her earthy
tones.

‘But you’re hiding something, Blake,
aren’t you? You’re not some stiff accountant type, of that I’m sure.’

‘No. I used to be in the army and now
work as a mechanic in London. I come over to the U.S occasionally to check out
the monster-truck shows.’

‘Mechanic huh...’ she said, eyeing me
suspiciously. ‘Your fingernails look far too clean for that...’

‘Look, I’ve known Olivia since she was
young, okay. I know her friends, Ben and Izzy, back home too. You might have
heard her speak of them? 

‘No, I haven’t.’

Jessica sat down on the edge of some
drawers and started to roll a cigarette, eyeing me warily as she did so.

‘I knew you weren’t some white-collar
worker in town on business. You look far too streetwise and rugged for that...’

I ignored the compliment.

‘Look, if it helps, I think Olivia’s
father is a bit of a dildo, and I don’t care if she never goes back to him,
okay. I was more of a friend of his wife’s really.’

‘So why are you helping him out then?’

‘Because I can…and at this very moment,
I’m not so sure if it is a good idea, as I had to fight off a gang of bikers
last night on the outskirts of the city. They ended up torching the truck I was
sleeping in this morning, along with the rest of my money and my clothes in it.
Hence my garment situation…’

Her eyes widened with surprise.

‘Shit, I heard about that on the radio
earlier. That was your truck?’

‘No, it kinda came into my possession…’

She laughed then offered me the newly-lit
cigarette, which from its resinous smell I gathered wasn’t a regular one. I
took a couple of quick drags to be polite then handed it back, wanting to keep
a clear head.

‘You need to let you hair down, Blake, do
you know that? You look so uptight...’

‘I like uptight?’ I said playfully.

‘And uptight could end up killing you through
stress,’ she said, tweaking a smile.

‘I’m uptight because all I’ve got is
seven dollars to my name, because I stupidly left my wallet in the truck, and
because I was so wrapped up in taking some Somalian guy to hospital who’d got
ruffed up by that same band of bikers.’

Jessica inhaled deeply looking concerned.

‘Did you see their colours?’

‘One had a jacket with a lightning bolt
and a horse rearing up on it…I think.’

The girl shook her head slowly.

‘You were lucky they didn’t kill you,
Blake. That was the Mustangs you were fucking with. They are notorious in this
area. They deal in heavy drugs, guns, human trafficking…child prostitution. A
friend of mine was left in a wheelchair by them nearly five years ago for
trying to score from the wrong dealer, in the wrong neighbourhood. They’re
fucking insane...’

‘I’m sorry to hear that.’

She raised a hand as if to stifle my
sympathy at source.

‘Look, do you want to stay for some food?
We’re having a benefit supper for the mountain activists tonight and there’s plenty
to go around.’

I shook my head.

‘I’d love to, but I have to get on. More
importantly I haven’t got any money to pay you guys.’

‘You won’t survive very long out there
without any cash, Blake. This is America. You need a dime just to take a piss
these days. But hey, you can eat for free here if you want. Anyone who is a
friend of a friend is welcome in this house. You won’t be required to pay
anything. That’s the way we work...’

‘Thanks, but I really need to get going.
I don’t think a photo will be enough to pacify Olivia’s father.’

She looked at me quizzically then
shrugged her shoulders.

‘Okay, He-Man, but if you want some money
I can lend you some. I’ve got around thirty bucks on me now. It won’t get you
very far, but it’s something. You can pay me back another time…or now if you
like?’

There was an awkward silence for a
second. It felt as loaded as the one in the tattoo shop...

‘Do you have a phone I could use?’ I said
changing the subject, thinking about Lenny suddenly, and how he’d appreciate a
call.

‘Not for phoning England, sorry.’

She turned and strolled over to the
printer and picked up the photo from the tray.

‘So, you’ve got what you wanted, Blake
from England. One photo of your missing girl...’ 

‘Yes I have.’ I said taking it from her
outstretched hand. ‘Do you have internet here?’

‘Sorry it’s down at the moment.’

She stepped closer and eyed me intently
again.

‘You’re an interesting guy, you know
that, Blake? Someone with a lot of secrets I think...’

‘A-lot,’ I said, taking in her voluptuous
brown eyes.

‘I mean, you know how to handle yourself,
don’t you?’

‘When my sleep is being interrupted I get
very upset, yes.’

She took the last few drags on the joint
and blew it in my face. I tried not to blink then stared back at her blankly.

‘Well, are you going then?’ she said
stubbing the cigarette out in the ashtray slowly, a flicker of a smile tugging
at the corner of her generous lips, ‘or are you going to stay for a little bit
longer and try and relax?’

I contemplated the offer for a moment
then thought better of it. Minutes turned into hours and hours into days on a
case like this, and time was beginning to slip away in the hunt for Olivia
Deacon.

‘If you’re not going to give me any
inkling of where she may have gone, then no…’ I said eventually.

‘You know I can’t do that...’

I tapped her foot playfully with mine,
trying to work her some more.

‘What about roughly?’

She hesitated, as if deciding how much
she was going to reveal.

‘Sorry.’

‘What about the state?’

‘They seemed quite happy when they left,
yes,’ she said smirking.

I prodded her outstretched foot again.

‘Come on, seriously…’

‘Seriously, I can’t tell you as the poor
girl wanted to be left alone. We’ve already had some private investigator
snooping around, as well as a cop looking for his wife who decided she’d had
enough of him…The only reason you got in the door was because you looked such a
mess. The guys outside must have felt sorry for you, or thought you a genuine
activist.’

‘Actually, they were quite helpful, even
the Mohican man.’

She laughed then moistened her lower lip.

‘Well you’re quite the charmer, aren’t
you?’

‘Look, you can at least tell me the state
she’s in, can’t you?’

‘I can’t actually, Blake, as I don’t
know. And if I did, I still wouldn’t say.’

‘Okay…then I’ve another favour to ask. I
was told Ethan lives here. Does he have a room I could check out?’

‘You mean snoop around in, to find out
where he may have gone?’

‘Pretty much, but then it would save you
breaking your code and telling me where he might have gone. No guilty conscience…’

‘Apart from the fact I was letting you do
it, you mean.’

‘But what if I found it of my own accord,
if you didn’t know anything about it?’

‘But I do. And I have a conscience. Are
you familiar with that word, Blake?’

‘Can you pretend you didn’t?’ I said,
running my foot up the back of her calf.

‘No…’ she snapped, anger flashing in her
eyes, ‘and anyway, he doesn’t live here anymore, just stays here sometimes like
everyone does occasionally.’

I felt deflated suddenly. Walter’s
information was out of date, just like Henry Deacon’s photos had been.

‘Look, Ethan lives over on Cedar Avenue
now, in one of the tower blocks with some drug nut called Spike. He’s a
low-level hash dealer, but hangs out with some pretty scary people. That’s all
I’m prepared to tell you. If you want to risk going over there and getting your
head caved in, then that’s up to you.’

‘I’ve got one last question...’

She looked at me warily.

‘You want me to drive us both to some
nice café so you can buy me lunch after all the help I’ve given you?’

I pulled out my pocket inners and
shrugged my shoulders.

‘If I had the money I’d buy you
breakfast, lunch and dinner, Jess.’

She shook her head slowly in mock
disgust.

‘So what else do you need?’

‘Can you take me to this dealer’s place,
now?’ I said, standing up.

‘You’re the sort who’s always looking for
a favour, aren’t you?’ she said sharply. ‘I mean, what do you do when you’re
not fixing up cars?’ she said inching towards me again.

I eyed the faint outline of her labia
pressing through her skin-tight leggings and felt a twinge of arousal.

‘Getting myself into trouble...’ I said,
with a carefully crafted smile wanting to work the lift.

She pressed herself close, so that I
could feel her heat against my thigh.

‘Now that
is
something
worthwhile…’ she said softly.

I felt a tentative finger run its way up
the seam of my jeans and hover at my hip.

‘You sure you want to go, now?’ she said,
reaching for my belt buckle.

I offered a lingering kiss to her open
mouth, then pulled back slowly so as to remain diplomatic. 

‘Maybe we could spend some more time
together after I’ve checked out this dealer’s place? I’d be far more relaxed
then...’

‘If you come out of there alive, that
is?’ she said, raising an eyebrow.

‘I’ll be fine.’

‘You’re one of those types who enjoys
danger, aren’t you, Blake?’ she said running her hand over my shaved head.

‘Sometimes you have to fight fire with
fire,’ I said eventually.

‘Only if there’s a devil inside of
you...’

‘We all have demons,’ I replied, as her
lips hovered close to mine again.

‘Yeah...and some people like having
demons to fight.’

‘I reckon they do.’

‘Drink?’ she said pulling away to pick up
a cheap bottle of vodka from a side table.

I stared at it for a second and fought
the temptation. I’d forgotten about drink for a few days...

‘I’m okay thanks,’ I said after a painful
few seconds of indecision.

She turned away and hovered in the
doorway as if resigned that I couldn’t be cajoled into staying any longer.

‘Come on, I’ll drop you over there,’ she
said heading for the door, keys swinging from an upturned finger. ‘I’ll put the
vodka on ice.’

‘Thanks,’ I said, pleased at procuring a
photo, more information on Ethan, and now transportation to the next lead as well.
It was more than I’d hoped for, even if I had to turn down some heady fruits...

I followed her out to a rusting pink
moped parked up in a side alley, then jumped on behind her and grabbed her
waist tightly; wishing I’d had more time to get to know her better. She was a
cool chick after all. 

‘You know how to ride this thing in the
snow, with the extra weight?’ I said hearing the suspension creak. ‘I don’t
mind being the front man...’