food, or maybe somethin’ to get high?”
“Not that hungry!” Marcie turned on her heel and walked away.
“You’ll be sorry, girl! Next time my offer won’t be so good!” he yelled, speeding off.
She watched the car drive out of sight. Then she waited, pacing back and forth. She tried to make eye contact with the drivers of various cars as they drove by. Some would slow down to gawk. One car with three young men pulled over to the curb. They laughed and quickly drove off when she approached. She wondered what other girls were doing on their thirteenth birthday. Danny watched Jack say goodbye to Red and slip out the back door of the Black Water. He ordered another beer. Jack would be meeting with Rex and Bart so there was no hurry. An hour later, he went to the car on the second level of the parking garage. Jack was peering through the binoculars as he arrived.
“How did it go?” Danny asked.
Jack put the binoculars down and said, “Good. Scored from Red again. Bart asked me if I would be willing to testify. Explained the witness protection program to me.”
“They’ll be pissed if they ever find out who you really are.”
“I played along. Bart said just one more small score and they’ll start funding larger transactions.”
“Great. The sooner we’re out of here the better I’ll feel,” said Danny, while unconsciously massaging his jaw. It ached from grinding his teeth in his sleep.
“I know,” said Jack. “You don’t like working in this den of snakes.”
“Who are you watching?”
Jack passed the binoculars to Danny and he saw Marcie on the sidewalk a short distance from the hotel. He heard someone yell from directly below where they were parked.
“Hey, Mouse!”
“Cyrstal!” Marcie yelled back, then crossed the street.
Jack and Danny got out of their car and peeked over the edge at Marcie and Crystal.
Marcie was pleased that Crystal gave her a hug.
“So, Red has got ya back out on the street,” observed Crystal.
“Just started.”
“How much ya usin’ now?”
“I sort of did what you told me.”
“Sort of?”
“I only used twice this last week.”
“Twice is twice too much! Damn it, Mouse, if you can’t quit now, you won’t be able to by next week. Then you’ll be here until ya die! Which won’t take long.”
“Yeah. I gotta get to work. I need to make some money.” Marcie started to walk away.
“Hold it! Don’t go yet. I got somethin’ for ya!”
Danny watched Crystal reach in her purse as Marcie walked back to her. He couldn’t hide his sarcasm when he whispered, “Bet the bitch is giving her some dope just to help her out a bit!”
Marcie examined what Crystal gave her and said, “Oh, Crystal! It’s beautiful! A little glass mouse! Look! It’s got little beady eyes and black whiskers! It’s really cute!”
“Yeah, well, I wanted to give ya somethin’ for your birthday. It’s made out of crystal, just like my name, so you’ll think of me.”
Danny was shocked. “A birthday present?” he whispered.
“A real den of snakes,” commented Jack, as they quietly got back in the car.
Danny sat quietly.
“They should all be shot,” added Jack.
“Up yours. I get the point.”
“Good. We’ll soon be out of this neighbourhood. You can take a crack at her then. Doubt that she’ll listen to you, though.”
Wigmore received a call back from Vital Statistics. He wasn’t surprised. Yes, they had a record for Edward Trimble. He died of a drug overdose two years ago.
Wigmore reached for a file he had marked “Project Hotshot.”
It was Friday night when Jack paged Red and arranged to meet inside the Black Water within the hour. It was to be the last small purchase. Red said her connection didn’t trust her enough to handle large quantities yet. If Jack wanted a larger amount, she would have to bring in her connection. It was what he had hoped for. Bart and Rex assured him that they would have the authority next week to provide the money to make bigger purchases.
Jack and Danny parked in the parking garage and Jack went to the hotel. Danny waited a discreet amount of time before walking down the ramp toward the street. He had reached the ground level of the parking lot when a voice spoke behind him.
“Good evening, officer!”
Danny spun around as Crystal walked up to him.
“I’m not a cop!”
Crystal laughed and said, “Damn right, you are! I’ve been watching. The way you swing your arms says you’re a Mountie. City cops don’t take that much drill marching, or whatever it’s called. Not to mention,” she clicked her teeth before continuing, “you’re on a dental plan.”
“You’re mistaken. I used to sell cars.”
“Yeah, right! Don’t worry about it. I’m not going to tell. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Taking your yearly holiday to the Mediterranean?”
“Don’t I wish. Naw, I’m goin’ back east. I finally saved up enough to do it. I’m gonna go back to school. I want to be a social worker. Bet that surprises the shit out of ya, huh?”
Danny was momentarily stunned.
“Told ya it would shock the shit out of you!”
“Crystal, to tell you the truth, I think that’s great. I wish you all the best, I really mean it.”
“Thanks.”
“Why spend your last night down here?”
“Just hoping to convince someone to come with me.”
“Marcie?”
“Yeah.” Crystal looked at Danny and smiled before continuing. “I saw you spyin’ on us that day when you were pretendin’ to tie your shoelace. That was the same day that Lenny got whacked. You should have been in the alley catchin’ them instead of spyin’ on me and Marcie.”
Danny didn’t know how to respond and said nothing.
“It still pisses me off that you don’t arrest kids like her and get their sorry little asses off this street. Nobody seems to give a
