Stacia Kane - Wrong Ways Down

Archie blinked. “No. Um, why are you here? It’s awfully late, isn’t it?”

“You knowing a dude name of Gav?”

“Why?” The word came out real curious, like Archie couldn’t think of any reason in the whole fucking world why he might get asked on Gav. But he obviously could. Tension sat in every line of his body, even though he was trying hard not to let it show. Like that weren’t suspicious.

Terrible shrugged. “You name come up somebody knows he.”

He’d came there to see iffen Archie might have more knowledge on Gav. But he were real fast starting to wonder iffen Archie had some serious knowledge on Gav, like the kinda knowledge came from being involved. Something about him was off. Something wrong. Terrible’s instincts told him so, and instincts were what he had instead of smarts.

So he wandered around the room, checking things out. Couple of books. Only a couple, computer guides and business books—aye, he knew it. Guessing Archie weren’t as smart as he liked to think he was, he ain’t even read real books.

“Who said that?”

Terrible picked up one of the books, pretended to flip through it. “Been here long?”

“Two months or so. Who said I know Gav?”

“Where you lived before?”

“Fifty-sixth and Mercer. Why are you asking?”

“Just tryna be friendly, aye?” Terrible gave him a look he knew wasn’t friendly at all. “Gettin to know you.”

“I knew Gav.” Archie folded his arms. “Don’t really have any information for you. Didn’t know him well. Don’t know what he might have been doing that got him killed.”

Terrible looked at him for a long moment. Long enough to make Archie fidget. “Killed? Ain’t said aught on he bein killed, or on wondering what he been doin. What you talking on?”

An eyelid flicker. “Just heard he got killed. I figured that’s why you’re here, because something he was doing made him get killed.”

“Then why you ain’t asked me on it when I get here, you think it’s why I came?”

Archie opened his mouth, but Terrible didn’t let him answer. “Thinkin you wanna gimme the tell now, what you know on it. You friends with Gav, you say.”

“I wouldn’t say friends.” Archie’d been standing by the door the whole time. Now he moved, walking real slow like he was some kinda badass and sitting down on the leather couch. “We knew each other. He was going to work with me. We met, he mentioned wanting a job, my work was hiring. That’s all.”

“He say any to you on other ways he getting lashers?”

“Money? Um, no, I don’t think so. We didn’t talk a lot. We were just acquaintances.”

“Where you work?”

“Why?”

This was bullshit. Terrible folded his arms and stared, letting I-could-just-kill-you show all over his face.

“I work in Cross Town. Right on the border. The Peace Factory.”

The Peace Factory. “What the fuck kind of place is that?”

“We make yoga supplies, meditation supplies. Some magic supplies.”

“And you got Gav work there.”

Archie shrugged, but his eyes and voice were defensive. And nervous. “Gav had some sales ability. We’re always launching new products and need salespeople to get them into stores. That’s all.”

“What you launching now?”

“Some new meditation discs, some new spells. Why do you care?”

Terrible stared at him for another minute without speaking, making sure Archie saw the threat, saw Terrible wasn’t done with him. But his mood lifted, even though it shouldn’t have. A company made magic supplies. Chess would know about that one. Might have some thoughts for him. He bet she would. And now he had an excuse to go see her and ask her on it—well, he’d had an excuse anyway, or he ain’t needed an excuse, but now he really did. And it’d be easy to ask her if she’d heard of the place without having to bring up anything might upset her. “The fuck you care why I care? Just askin. Gav gets he involved with you, now turning up dead. Awful suspicious, aye?”

“Look, I don’t know what he might have been doing in his own time. And this isn’t exactly the safest area in the world, is it? I’m sorry he’s dead but all I know is he was going to come work at the Peace Factory. I don’t know anything else.”

Bullshit. Bullshit he ain’t knew anything else.

Problem were, Terrible couldn’t do too much on it. His suspicions weren’t solid enough yet to start hitting; would be fun to beat on Archie, but it’d be pointless iffen Archie were just an asshole who got Gav a job. Specially since Callie’d made it sound like Gav were going legit with that job. Might not have shit to do with being a lookout.

More’n that, though, beating on Archie now would tip Archie off that he knew Gav had been the lookout. Would make Archie tip off whoever he worked for, if he were working for somebody. Would let Archie know exactly what Terrible was looking for.

Better to let him keep thinking they ain’t knew shit. Better to let him keep thinking Terrible were too dumb to know anything—or, better again, that Terrible were all threat and no action, that he were scared to just beat on anybody for any reason.

Better to let him feel safe.

“Gav ever mentioning other names to you? Friends he got, like that?”

“Not really.”

“Hearing he were here on the last week. Why come?”

Archie looked surprised, for about as long as it took him to blink the expression away. “I gave him some forms to fill out, for work. He wasn’t starting for another few weeks, but he wanted to get everything going. He was real excited about it. I guess he had some chick he was going to live with.”

It all fit. It all made sense. But something in Terrible’s head kept telling him Archie weren’t what he seemed, that maybe there were more to it. “Why you living here, you work in Cross Town?”

Archie shrugged. “Why not? Cheaper here. Nobody bugs me—usually.”

He said that last with a pointed narrow-eye look at Terrible. Aye, Terrible were imposing on Archie’s precious time or whatany the fuck. Causen Archie were so busy and important.

And maybe he were, at least maybe he were as far as what was happening. Maybe Terrible oughta give him he alone time back and go see what else he could find out on Archie, too.

He gave Archie one last glare to let him know he weren’t done with him, and headed for the Chevelle.

Next morning he sat outside Chess’s building, waiting for her. Early, causen it were Holy Day so she’d be heading to her Church soon. He wanted to catch her before she left; needed to ask her on something, and ain’t wanted to ask on the phone.

Ain’t wanted to stop by the night before, neither, cause by the time he woke up Archie’s landlord to get what knowledge he had on Archie, and put out the word that he wanted everything any else could give him on Archie, and finished telling Bump’s brain men to get him what they could on the Peace Factory, it were after three and he ain’t wanted to bother her, even though her lights were on. She had to be up early on Saturdays; he weren’t real clear on why it were so important she be there for they services or whatany it was they did, but it seemed like it were. So he tried not to give her the ring-up or stop by later on Fridays. She ain’t slept enough as it was.

Meant he’d only got himself about four hours of sleep, but that ain’t mattered. He could go back home to bed iffen he wanted to. She probably couldn’t.

He leaned against the Chevelle and felt the cold air around him, watched how it made everything look sharp at the edges. He kinda liked mornings, leastaways when he woke up early to see em instead of being up all night. When morning came after being up all night it were like being shooed home when the bar closed. But waking up early, felt like the day could be anything. Fresh. No shit left over from the night before.