I placed a gasper in the corner of my mouth and casually lit it, shaking my head as I exhaled a cloud of poison his direction.
“Why the shocked look on your mug, Pan? Thought you’d live forever?”
“I… lived forever. So many years, so many… lives.” Pan’s cough was a rough explosion. Black liquid spilled between his teeth and dripped down his chin. “I’ve… seen things you people wouldn’t—”
“Hold that thought, kid.” I leveled the Mean Ol’ Broad directly between his eyes. “I’m not in the mood for some poetic soliloquy on the meaning of life. You’re a murderous scumbag whose clock is just waiting to get punched. So save me the trouble of punching it, and just die.”
He obliged.
A couple of days after all the commotion finally died down, I found myself at a hazy, smoke-filled little dive in the West Docks called The Jolly Roger. It was decent enough as dives go: the booze was cheap but strong, the dames easy on the eyes. I didn’t frequent there often because of the location, but in that case I was there to call on a lady.
“Hello, Tiger Lily.”
She had on one of those cute little black cocktail waitress dresses with a low cut bodice made for a man to appreciate the view. She traced her fingers across my shoulders as she set my Bulleit Neat on the tabletop. Her long, inky hair was pulled back, her skin practically glistening from working the tables. She was a natural dish, all right.
She favored me with a sultry smile. “I see you survived the fall.”
I nodded. “I get that from a lot of dames.”
She took a seat opposite of me and placed a hand on her chin in exaggerated fashion while giving me a demure gaze. “Is that so? You saying you fell for me, Mick? Pretty quick, considering we barely know each other.”
I sipped the bourbon. “Well, there’s plenty of time yet. After all, I know where you work.”
She smiled even as her dark brown eyes grew serious. “I’m glad you made it, Mick. I heard what happened to Pan. Can’t say that he didn’t deserve it. I had no idea what he was really up to, I swear.”
“I believe you, sweetheart. That’s why I never brought your name up when gabbing with the button boys. Figured there was no need to get you all tangled up.”
“I appreciate it. I was an idiot, caught up in the fun. The adventure.” She shook her head. “Pan was so unpredictable. I guess I didn’t really want to see what drove him to act that way.”
I finished my drink and set the glass on the table. “No harm, no foul. We all make mistakes, kid.”
“It’s been all over the news. I’m glad the Mannerings got their daughter back safe and sound. It must have been terrifying for the little girl.”
“Yeah, it was. But she’s back at home now. This will fade like a bad dream eventually. In time she’ll forget all about Pan and his rotten little experiments.”
“Did he… did he really believe he could live forever? It all sounds so insane when I think about it.”
I shrugged. “He wasn’t playing with a full deck, that’s for sure. Had a head full of bad wiring. If he hadn’t gone and killed those boys, there might have been a way to salvage the situation. But he crossed the line, and had to be put down.”
Tiger Lily’s eyes drifted to the floor. “I guess that’s why they call you the Troubleshooter, right?”
“That’s right, and I got no reason to apologize for it. But I’m not the one who rubbed Pan out. He did that to himself even before I plugged him. The DNA cocktail he stewed up was nothing but poison that ate him from the inside out. Whatever data he thought he found was pure bunk. There’s no cure for death, no way to cheat the Reaper when your time is up. The clock keeps on ticking, and time chases after all of us.”
“I guess so.” Tiger Lily’s smile was melancholy. “Speaking of the clock, I’m still on it. A gal makes no tips standing around.” She stood and gave me a soft peck on the cheek. “Thanks for saving my life, Mick. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“I’m always around, sweetheart.” I watched her glide away. She had one of those swaying strides that looked just as good walking away from you as she did walking toward you.
Gotta love those trouble dames.
I put my Bogart on my head and tilted it just the way I liked it. Left a generous tip for Tiger Lily via a tap on my holoband. Picked up my flogger at the coat check and flirted with the dame behind the counter. After that I turned my collar up and stepped outside.
It was raining.
“Hello, Mr. Trubble.”
I almost had the Mean Ol’ Broad out of her slip before I recognized Hooke. I shook a scolding finger at him. “Gotta take loud steps, Ace. I just about smoked you before I could haul my killer instinct back in.”
“Yes, well that would make the second time you nearly shot me. Perhaps I’m getting used to it.”
“How’d you find me?”
Hooke’s gentlemanly mustache curved with his smile. “I figure things out, Mr. Trubble. Not too hard to guess you’d check in on the girl.”
“Hope you don’t mean to cause her trouble, Hooke. That would put the two of us at odds. I don’t think you’d like that.”
“No need to get gutted over it, Mr. Trubble. I’m here to wax with you, not Ms. Lily. I’m pretty sure she won’t be in too much trouble without Pan around. Same thing goes for those Lost Boys. I’m already pulling strings to get caseworkers for them. Maybe they can get a foot up in the world, make something out of themselves.” He shrugged. “Or not.”
I paused to light a gasper as we stood beneath the building’s awning to avoid being soaked. “Guess congratulations are in order.” I tapped my holoband and scrolled through the holographic screens until I came to the news article in big flashing letters: HERO COP SAVES MISSING GIRL. “Seems like you might be looking at getting your badge back.”
Hooke tried not to smile, but couldn’t help himself. “With all the attention, the DA’s office opened the case again and found all sorts of inconsistencies in the charges against me. I told them as much many times over. Guess it takes a lot of flashing cameras to get them to take a bloody second look. One second I’m dodgy, the next I’m the dog’s bollocks.”
“Well that’s New Haven justice at its finest.” I exhaled fumes into the rainy night.
“I did give you full credit for solving the case, you know,” Hooke said. “For some reason that didn’t make the final cut in print.”
I gave a wry grin. “Like I said. I’m not exactly on the greatest terms with the brass. Makes sense they’d rather shine the spotlight on one of their own. Not to worry Ace. If I was doing this job for the glitz, I’d have quit a long time ago.”
“Well, I just want to say I appreciate it greatly.” Hooke extended his gloved hand. “Good form, mate.”
I shook the offered hand, which vibrated as gears ground against each other from within the damaged member. “So that’s how you survived that shot.”
He nodded. “I was lucky. The bullet struck me in the very hand I lost because of Pan. The alloy was dense enough to absorb most of the impact.”
“Well, life is full of little ironies.” I flicked the gasper into the rain. “I’ll see you around, Hooke.”
“Will you be seeing the Mannerings? Mrs. Mannering in particular expressed the desire to thank you for all you did for them.”
I shook my head. “I did what I do best. Nothing special about that.”
I could have gone back to my pad, but I didn’t feel up to it. I pulled Maxine up to the office and parked her in the garage. The rain played like soft music as I walked under the covered sidewalk to the door. I was glad Angel had already clocked out because I didn’t feel much like conversation. I just needed to spend a little time with the darkness of my office, the ghosts that drifted from the end of a gasper, and my good friend Jack.