CHARLES

 

“Did you eat?”

“What?”

“Did you eat?”

Asia wrinkled her brow after she repeated the question. It was the same look you’d get from a concerned mother. I wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Um…”

“What have you been doing in Ivory all day?”

“What’s with all the fucking questions?” I responded.

“I just wanna make sure you’re doing okay. If you’re dealing with Walsh, you’re dealing with Blade. That means this is serious.”

“But what the fuck does that have to do with me eating?”

“Because people don’t think straight when they’re hungry. I’m sure you were running around Ivory causing trouble but please tell me you haven’t been getting into any more shit. You’ve only been here a day and the both of us are already in deep.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I shook my head and sighed at the worried look on her face.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ve got a full stomach.”

“Good.”

“You know, you’re cute when you care so much.”

Asia rolled her eyes at me. But it wasn’t enough to hide her reddened cheeks.

“Please,” she said. “I don’t need any flattery from you. Not right now.”

She grabbed her drink and took a sip from it.

Asia contacted me and told me to meet up with her because she had some of the information I was looking for. After sitting around in my hotel room the entire day, it was nice to finally get out of it.

“What is this place?” I said as I looked around.

The bar was completely different from Finn’s. There weren’t as many people. The music wasn’t loud. Even the lights seemed a little lower.

“It’s just a place I like to go to when I wanna get away,” Asia explained. “Most people go to Finn’s when they’re looking for a good time. Out here, people just wanna have a drink and mind their own business.”

“It seems like there’s plenty of places in Ivory to mind your own business.”

“That’s one of the nice things about living in a small town,” she sighed. “Not many people to bother you when you wanna be alone.”

Asia took another sip of her drink. I gulped my beer as I leaned back in my seat. I stared at her, my eyes wide, waiting for her to give me the information I was looking. But all she did was stare back at me.

The innocence on her face made it hard for me not to smile at her. It didn’t help that she was wearing an outfit that made it hard for me to focus.

“What?” she said with a shrug. “What are you looking at?”

“You wanted to tell me something?”

“Oh! Right…”

She looked around to make sure nobody was listening then leaned forward across the table.

“I talked to Blade,” she said. “He told me some of the men he was doing business with this weekend. He said one of them was a guy named Jamie Walsh.”

My eyes lit up when I heard the name.

“Then he really is here in Ivory,” I said. “Fred wasn’t lying…”

“Hold on a second. I don’t know what the guy looks like. It could be another Jamie Walsh. You said you’re gonna…”

She shifted her eyes back and forth again before she whispered.

“…You said you’re gonna kill this guy. I don’t want you killing the wrong man.”

“Well, what did Blade say about him?”

“Nothing. He just said he’s a dealer. Young. I think the word he used was ‘cutthroat’ or something.”

“That’s Walsh. I’m sure it is.”

“Okay then…”

She sighed as she leaned back in her seat. She took another gulp of her drink and signaled for the waitress to come to our table.

“I hope you’ve got a plan for this,” she said. “I’m not interested in being involved if you’re just gonna kill this guy and don’t care about getting locked up.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be a long time before anybody figures out what happened.”

The waitress arrived and took Asia’s drink order. She continued to look nervous despite how much she’d been drinking already.

“So… What’s the plan?”

She widened her eyes at me and held her hands out. I thought twice about giving her the details but having her work with me meant this wasn’t gonna be as messy as it could’ve been.

“The plan is you meet up with him,” I said. “Then I’ll show up and take care of him.”

I nonchalantly drank my beer as I looked around the bar. When I turned back to Asia, she gave me a blank stare.

“That’s it?” she said. “You’re just gonna show up and kill him?”

“I’ll strangle him until he stops breathing. Is there a problem? That’s what you agreed to.”

“That’s it? That’s your plan?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Are you kidding me? That’s a horrible plan! You can’t expect to get away with something like that.”

She leaned in close to me and whispered again even though nobody else in the bar gave a shit.

“You can’t expect to just choke a guy and walk away.”

“Why not?”

“Because… What about the body? What about the crime scene?”

“Before anybody shows up at the crime scene, I’ll be long gone.”

“And what about me?”

Asia had these deep green eyes. Even in the dim lighting of the bar, I could still see her staring back at me. And when I stared into her eyes, I finally realized why she was so concerned.

Stupid idiot…

“I guess that would put you in a difficult position,” I said. “You being last seen with the guy and then him disappearing.”

“I’m already in a difficult position now. After you do what you’re gonna do, I’m in even deeper shit.”

“You knew what I was planning on doing. Why would you agree to it?”

“Because… Because…”

She stuttered. She looked down at the ground as she hesitated.

“Because of the money,” she said.

“Money wouldn’t do you any good if the police are questioning you about some punk who’s gone missing.”

“I wasn’t planning on sticking around. I figure the 50-thousand would be enough for me to leave.”

“Leave? Where are you going?”

“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “Somewhere. Anywhere. I’ve lived in Ivory all my life. That’s more than enough money for me to get a new start somewhere. I… I was thinking about maybe going to school.”

“School?”

“Art school. I always enjoyed painting. But… I guess that’s out of the window considering I’m helping you get away with killing someone.”

I could see the hurt in her eyes. I didn’t know much about her. But for some reason, I wanted to do everything I could to make sure she got out of this all right.

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not gonna kill him.”

“What? But you just—”

“You’re right. You already gave me too much information. You’re already linked to me now. I’m sure more than enough people have seen me around town with you.”

“Then what are you gonna do?”

“Is this about the money?”

It was a relief to see the smile come back to her face.

“That’s part of it, yeah. But I’m still supposed to meet up with this Walsh guy eventually. It’d be nice to know if you’re gonna do something crazy.”

“I’ll find him before your meeting with him. I’ll have a talk with him.”

“A talk?”

She raised an eyebrow at me.

“Yes, I’ll have a talk with him,” I said. “Once he realizes what he did, he’ll understand his mistake and I’m sure things will work out.”

“Why do I think it won’t be as simple as that?”

She sighed a deep breath then pounded the rest of her drink. She kept her eyes locked on me, giving me a blank stare as I looked back at her.

“There’s more to it than what you’re telling me,” she said, shaking her head. “You didn’t come all the way to Ivory to deal with some guy just because he killed your cat. There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“What do you want me to tell you? Do you want the rest of my life story?”

“If that’ll help me figure out what the fuck is going on, sure. You paid for my company for the night.”

I chuckled softly.

“It’s good to hear you laugh,” she said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you always look so fucking serious. You look like you’re constantly looking over your shoulder, like somebody is following you. Being paranoid is never a good look for anybody.”

“Some people call it being paranoid. I call it being smart.”

“How is being paranoid smart?”

“Life is always out to get you,” I said. “There’s always someone out there watching you. Maybe not all the time but eventually, the things you don’t notice are the things that fuck everything up.”

She nodded and looked over my shoulder.

“I think I’ve had a little too much to drink for you to try and wax philosophical with me.”

“…I’ll deal with Walsh. You don’t have anything to worry about, okay?”

“Sorry, but your words don’t give me any reassurances. If Blade found out that I even told you Walsh was coming to Ivory—”

“What’s the deal with Blade? Why would you work for a guy like that?”

I said it bluntly because it was the first thing that popped into my head. But Asia shifted in her seat as soon as I said it. I could tell she was uncomfortable just from her reluctance to give me an answer.

“You don’t have to—”

“It’s all right,” she cut me off. “I don’t blind myself to the obvious. I don’t enjoy being employed by a man like Blade. It’s just a working relationship we have together. That’s it.”

“So, you two don’t have anything else going on?”

“I already told you he’s not my boyfriend. He’s just… He’s just my boss.”

“Are you sleeping with him?”

She narrowed her eyes at me. I would have thought she was offended but a sly little smirk formed on her lips.

“What business is it of yours who I sleep with?” she asked.

“Male curiosity.”

“I bet. They say women are gossipy but guys are even worse apparently, always wanting to know who’s sleeping with whom. You want to know the last time I sucked his dick—”

“And when was that?”

I didn’t hesitate. The smirk on her lips told me she was comfortable. She kept her guys locked on me.

“I don’t remember,” she said. “I haven’t kept track. But it’s been a long time. I can assure you.”

“Too bad for him. You know what you’re doing.”

Even with the dim lighting of the bar, I could see her pale cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“Is that right?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Did you like my technique?”

“I sure did. Maybe you and I can…”

I looked over her shoulder.

Is that…

It was so dark I could barely see the man standing in the corner. I squinted my eyes to try and make him out.

“…Charles?”

“It can’t be…”

“Charles, what the fuck are you looking at?”

She turned around and stared at the corner of the bar.

“That guy,” I said.

“What about him?”

“It’s him. It’s Walsh.”

“What?” she exclaimed. “Are you sure?”

It was him. I’d seen his picture every day for the past month. His hair was a little longer. He was trying to grow a beard to cover his face. But I knew that it was him.

I popped up from my seat. Asia jumped up and put a hand on my chest.

“Charles—”

“Get out of here,” I said. “Don’t worry. You’ll get your money. I’m gonna settle this shit right now.”

“Charles, I don’t think you should—”

“Get outta here!”

“Okay, okay.”

She put her hands up and started backing away.

Walsh was standing alone at the corner of the bar. He didn’t notice me walking up to him, his attention taken by the cell phone up to his ear. But as soon as I got near him, he turned his head and his eyes widened.

“Oh, shit…”

He muttered then immediately started running.

“Motherfucker!”

I shouted then raced after him as he started running through the bar. He moved out the back of the place and rushed through the back alleys. I chased after him. The dark alleyways weren’t going to stop me.

I could hear him huffing and puffing as he continued running in the darkness. I knew it was only a matter of time until I caught him.

He kept ducking through the alleys until he ran back out onto the streets. The asshole was moving so fast that he ran into a parked car. That was just enough time for me to catch up to him.

I grabbed the back of his collar and tossed him to the ground.

“Listen,” he said as he put his hands up. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry—”

A hard fist across his temple shut him up for a second.

“Fuck!” he yelled out. “I’m sorry!”

I gave him another punch to think about.

“I’m sorry!” he pleaded with me. “Please! Don’t hurt me!”

“It’s too late to say sorry, motherfucker!”

I’d been waiting for this moment for too long. I raised my fist up to shut him up for good but as soon as I did, I was interrupted.

“Freeze! Hands up!”

I looked up and saw the police cruiser parked right in front of me. I was so distracted by Walsh that I didn’t even hear the sirens or see the flashing lights.

Fucking idiot…

“Don’t move, asshole!”

Two cops kept their pistols pointed at me. I sighed as they shoved me to the ground and put my hands behind my back. I didn’t fight it when they cuffed me and stuffed me into the back of their cruiser.

I looked out the window and saw Asia standing in front of the bar I just ran out of. She stared back at me, that damn innocent look on her face as the cruiser moved in the opposite direction.