Karen Olson: Ink Flamingos

“Is that why you encouraged him to quit? You wanted a job?” I didn’t point out that I had four rooms total, and even with Ace, only three tattooists, leaving one open. He didn’t need anyone to quit.

“It’s good for him,” Harry said lightly. “He can concentrate on his art.”

I found myself looking past the fountain with the flamingos toward the building, wondering where everyone had gone.

Harry indicated the wedding chapel entrance. “We can go in through there and get to the casino. It’s a short cut, if you want to catch up with them. I’ll show you.”

The last time I’d been to a wedding chapel had been with Jeff under false pretenses. It felt like bad karma to go into another one with another guy I had no intentions of having a relationship with. But he looked so earnest, now that he’d stepped under the light from a lamppost.

I hated that I was missing something, so I nodded. “Sure, Harry. That would be fine.” I didn’t have my phone to check in with Jeff or Tim, but I saw Harry’s phone clipped to his belt. I could use that if we didn’t find them inside.

We crossed the lawn and went toward the chapel, but the door was locked. Great. Harry indicated we could go down to the pool and through the pool entrance just a little ways away.

“We could just go back through the gardens,” I suggested.

“We’re already over here,” he said, and he had a point. I allowed him to lead me down the steps and then through the doors inside.

The area was crowded with resort guests. I’d started to feel a little nervous with Harry-I wasn’t trusting much of anyone these days-but when the casino came into sight, I breathed a sigh of relief, even though I didn’t see anyone I recognized anywhere.

“Do you know that they tore down Bugsy Siegel’s suite when they did the renovations here?” Harry said, turning into tour guide.

I nodded.

“Do you know all the windows were bulletproof in his suite?”

Okay, that was semi-interesting.

“And that even though there was only one way in, there were five ways out?”

Even more interesting. “Too bad they tore it down,” I said. “It would be such a cool tourist thing now.”

“Too bad Bugsy didn’t do those things at his house in L.A., where he got gunned down,” Harry said. “He would’ve been safe here.” He turned to me. “You’re safe here, you know that?”

I nodded, even though I hadn’t felt safe in days. I just wanted to find Tim and Jeff and hope that they’d caught up with Ace and Terri.

“Who’s Terri?” I asked, trying to make lighter conversation. “How do you know her?”

“She’s my wife.”

Istopped short. This was not what I expected. “Your wife? What do you mean?”

Harry took my arm and pulled me along. “This way,” he said without answering my questions.

My head was spinning, and I felt my heart begin to pound. Something wasn’t right, and it didn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to figure that out. I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of Tim or Jeff or both, but I didn’t see either of them anywhere in the sea of the casino that spread out before us. I tried to shake off Harry’s hand, but he gripped me tighter as we sidestepped the gaming tables, the slot machines. The ding-ding of the machines rang in my head, the wheels turning to show no one was winning any jackpots. I certainly was a big loser today.

“What’s your angle?” I asked Harry, but either he didn’t hear me above the din or he chose not to answer. Probably the latter. I frantically tried to figure out how to get away.

As we went up the steps, that bronze flamingo in front of us, I yanked quickly on my arm, hoping to break free.

No dice. He merely gazed down at me, a smile on his face.

“Trust me,” he said. “I’m taking you somewhere safe.”

I screamed. At the top of my lungs. Harry’s hand was so tight I wondered if I would lose circulation.

“Shut up,” he hissed. “What is wrong with you?”

I continued to scream as I swung around with the arm he wasn’t holding, and my fist slammed into his face.

I hadn’t even noticed he’d let go of me.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” Harry asked as he turned around and ran down the hallway, past the little shops. I’d stopped screaming now but began hyperventilating. Out of nowhere, Tim and a security guard appeared, and then Tim’s arms were around me as I heard him explaining to the security guard that he was my brother.

I couldn’t speak to tell him to go after Harry; had he even seen Harry? I struggled to catch my breath, taking in air in large gulps and then hiccupping.

I was a total mess.

“What’s wrong, Brett?” Tim was asking over and over.

I willed myself to calm down, to take a few long, slow breaths until my heart began to settle down. Finally, I said, “Harry.”

Tim frowned. “What?”

“Harry Desmond. He had my arm. He wouldn’t let me go. I punched him, he took off, and then you showed up.”

“Where did he go?” Tim’s face was etched with concern.

I pointed down the hall. “Down there.”

He started in the direction I’d indicated, but I grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t leave me alone here.”

The security guard who was still standing mute must have felt as though he were the proverbial chopped liver, but I wasn’t trusting anyone I didn’t know right now. Heck, I knew Harry, and he’d been up to no good.

Hadn’t he?

Doubts began to settle in. Harry had said to trust him, but then he wouldn’t let go of me. He said he was taking me somewhere safe. But my instincts had screamed louder than I had.

He’d said the woman with Ace was his wife.

His wife. Right.

I told Tim what he’d said.

“Did you find her?” I asked. “And Ace? Where’s Jeff?”

“You shouldn’t worry about anything right now. You need to stay calm, and you need to go someplace safe.”

Again I was reminded of Harry, but I pushed the thought away. “Where?” I asked. “Can we go home?”

“I can’t go right now, but maybe Jeff can take you. He can stay until I get there.” Tim must have seen the look on my face, the one that was saying, I’m not sure I want to deal with Jeff alone right now , so he added, “Or Bitsy can come stay with you, or you can go back to Bitsy’s. It’s up to you.”

I wished Joel were there. Joel was a lot bigger than Bitsy, and while I loved Bitsy and she was one of my best friends, she was a little person, and I needed someone who might be able to protect me if I needed protecting. Although I had punched out Harry, hadn’t I?

I rubbed my knuckles, which were red and smarting from said punch. I hated it that I needed any sort of protecting at all. I’d always been able to take care of myself just fine, thank you very much, and this was so lame.

“How about your shop?” Tim suggested then. “I can pick you up there in an hour or two.”

That sounded like a plan. But I asked again, “What happened to Jeff?”

Tim shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Jeff had been following Terri and Ace, and now all three were missing. Great.

“Joel’s still hanging out at Ainsley’s apartment building, watching her sister, Ann,” I said. “At least I think so.”

“He called me,” Tim said. “I sent a cruiser over there. That’s where I’m heading, actually. To see exactly what her story is.”

“Let me come along,” I said. “I won’t be a bother.”

He didn’t give me an answer, and I realized he was still wet from the pool.

“You need some dry clothes,” I said, indicating one of the shops.

We found him a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt, both with the Flamingo logo on them. I made a mental note to throw them in the garbage after he was done with them. I didn’t want anything reminding me of any of this after it was all over.