Another officer called from the direction of the unconscious body. "Hey Wang. I got something over here."
Officer Wang gave us a last warning look. "I'm on my way." He trotted into the rain to join his partner.
Faye took my arm, leading me away from the scene. We barely rounded the corner before she pulled away, quickening her step.
"You should not have followed me, Mick. You don't know what you've gotten yourself into."
I caught up with her with a few swift strides. "I would if you told me."
"It's complicated."
"It's trouble. I may not be good at gambling or much else, but I can handle trouble."
She stopped and turned, looking up at me. Neon lights flickered across her face in exchanges of red and green. Stop, go; stop, go.
"Why do you care so much, Mick?"
"Whaddya mean, why?"
"I want to know."
I shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. Dames always want to have things explained, when men prefer to speak with their actions. Putting it into words made it sound so damned sappy.
"Look, I care about you, okay? Is that so hard to understand?"
She lifted an eyebrow. "Care…?"
I sighed. "Yeah. When you left the restaurant, you looked uneasy. I thought you might be in a jam, so I followed to make sure you were safe. I was worried about you."
Her eyes dropped, but a small smile touched her lips. "I…appreciate it, but you needn't have bothered. I have everything under control."
"Didn't look that way to me. Who was that guy? How is it you're tied up in Triad business?"
"It's a long story."
"I like long stories."
The familiar melancholy hit her eyes right on schedule. "I told you. I don't talk about my past."
"Fair enough. But at least let me give you a hand with this Triad situation. Just give me a name, and I'll take care of the rest."
She reached up and patted my cheek. "You're a good man, Mick Trubble. But like I told you, I have it under control."
"You sure about that?"
"I'm sure."
From the look on her face, I knew there was nothing I could say to change her mind. "Okay."
She gestured to the dilapidated apartment building. "This is my place. Good night, Mick."
"Sure you don't want me to walk you up? Check the place over just in case?"
"No need. I'm not as helpless as you assume, and I'm sure no hired thug is waiting in the dark for me. I'll call you when another game comes up. In the meantime, do me a favor."
"Anything."
"Please don't follow me again."
I pretended not to be hurt. "At least turn the light on and let me know everything's okay. You'll do that for me, won't you?"
She folded her arms with an exasperated sigh. "I suppose. You'll go home afterward, right?"
"Right."
I strolled across the street and stood under the streetlight, lighting a gasper while I waited. Her building was a towering mass of haphazardly stacked tenements that looked to be violating at least a dozen city codes, but the fact that she stayed at a complete dump wasn't surprising at all. It was all part of her game of deception.
After a few minutes, a light bloomed on the fifth floor. The blinds lifted, revealing Faye's elegant features. She waggled her fingers, mouthing the words go home, Mick.
I gave her thumbs up, tilted my Bogart the way I liked it, and strolled off. It was drizzly and getting cold, but the ghost of her kiss kept my lips warm the whole way back to the car.
Once I made it back to Maxine, I made a call. Frankie Newman's face fizzled onto the dash monitor*. He looked completely different than the last time I'd seen him. Normally he was styled sharp enough to cut someone, but things had changed. Instead of clean-shaven and dressed to the nines, he stared from the screen with a face peppered with thick stubble and hair wildly askew. His rags didn't look anything to brag about either; moth-eaten and careworn. His eyes were the same, though — cold and calculating.
I gave him my best playful grin. "You look like your better days are behind you, Newman."
"Just trying to blend in with the locals, Mick. Can't do that in a champagne suit and wingtips."
"Well, hopefully this won't last long. Just until I can stash you somewhere safe."
He barked a wry laugh. "Forgive me if I doubt your ability to keep me safe. It's because of you I'm in this situation in the first place."
"I don't recall being on terms with the particular wise guys you were rubbing elbows with, Newman. If they turned on you, how's that my fault?"
"The Red-Eyed Killer deal. And the mess you caused because of it. People saw us together right before you got bent and whacked Big Louie and Pike. Wasn't hard for word to get out that I'd been involved somehow. People got nervous; I got put on a hit list. If I wasn't always two steps ahead, I'd have been smoked. So yeah, you had something to do with that."
"Knowing too much is a double-edged sword, Ace. But I pulled through and got you outta there, right?"
His expression turned incredulous. "Yeah, you did. Now I'm dormy at a homeless shelter in New Haven's worst locale. That wasn't what I had in mind when I came to you."
I tried to hide my snigger and almost succeeded. "Gotta admit, it's the last place anyone would look for you."
He glared. "Is there something you want?"
"Yeah. Got a pic I'm sending to you. Lady calls herself Faye. I need to know who she really is."
"This for a case?"
"Does it matter? I'm sending it now."
He paused, looking at something off camera. "Okay, I got it. I can see why you're so interested. She's a looker."
"Nothing to do with it."
"Sure it doesn't." He frowned. "Nothing comes up on the public databases. Your moll is a ghost."
"She's not my moll."
"Sure she's not. Look, this is going to take a while. I'll get back to you when I hit pay dirt."
"Fine. Just be sure to call me back."
"I can tell you one thing without having to dig for it."
"What's that?"
"Walk away, Mick. A girl like this is guaranteed to be trouble."
"Thanks for the unwarranted advice, Newman. Get back with me when you get something warranted." I clicked the End button, terminating the conversation.
Leaning back in the leather cushioned seat, my mind drifted back to the moment in the alley. Rain sparkling in the light, Faye's mouth on mine, the rawness of her kiss. For a single moment, I felt like she let me in. Let me see what lay behind her sad smiles and cool façade. For the first time since I met her, I finally saw her for what she really was.
She was fire.
Part 3: Deuces Wild
I don't usually sleep, but when I do, I sleep like the dead. So when the buzzer sounded, it took a full minute for me to rouse myself from dreams of dark, churning waters and searing fire. I sat up, rubbing the images from my eyes. The blackout tint on the windows brightened with my movements, blinding me with slivers of morning sun that flashed between tenement silhouettes and morning air traffic.
I groaned, shielding my face. The java machine in the corner nook automatically dispersed a steaming cup of Joe, which slid my direction into my outstretched hand. I sipped it black while trying to figure out what awakened me in the first place. The buzzer repeated its irritating ring as a reminder. I staggered to the wall console and clicked it on.
Faye's composed face greeted me from the monitor. She was flawless as ever, her raven hair perfectly coiffed, and her dress without a single wrinkle. One of her eyebrows lifted in wry amusement. I imagined it was because I looked just the opposite. Bleary-eyed with a crop of fresh stubble on my chin, and with my hair disheveled like a drunken seagull's nest I was pretty sure I wasn't doing much to impress.