Chapter 21

Tristan made the little dog leg to the left bend from Oak Lawn onto Preston Road. He called Ruth.

Ruth answered the phone. “Where are you?”

“I just turned onto Preston. I’ll be there in five minutes,” Tristan answered. “Can you wait outside? I don’t want any flak from Hobson or Phillip.”

Ruth laughed. “Afraid of them are you?”

“Just don’t want to waste the time,” Tristan explained. “We’re already behind schedule.”

Ruth laughed again. “That’s your fault, not mine.”

“I know, I know. You know how my Uncle Joe is,” Tristan replied.

“Yes, I do know. I’m lucky you got away at all,” Ruth said. “I’ll be outside.”

“Almost there,” Tristan answered.

The electric cars’ silence magnified the crunching gravel noise it made as it rolled up the driveway. Ruth, in a sleeveless dress and sandals, was waiting outside. When the car stopped, she ran around to the passenger’s side and slid into the car. She leaned over the console and gave Tristan a kiss. He let off the brake and circled around the driveway.

“You’re all dressed up,” Ruth said. “I mean, I’ve always liked the suit; but you didn’t tell me I needed to dress.”

Tristan smiled at her as he stopped at Preston. “You look beautiful, Hon. No reason for you get dressy.” Tristan pressed on the accelerator and the car jumped out into the street.

“Hon? Now I’m Hon?” Ruth asked.

“Sorry, talking with Uncle Joe always lowers my vocabulary,” Tristan answered.

“How is your Uncle?”

“Up to no good, as usual. Trying to glom onto everything I do,” Tristan replied.

“Glom?” Ruth asked.

Tristan reached over and took Ruth’s left hand in his right. “Just trying to get my vocabulary working again.”

They both laughed. Ruth moved her right hand over on top of Tristan’s hand. “Where are we going?”

“Pleasant Grove,” Tristan answered.

“I’ve heard of Pleasant Grove,” Ruth replied. “But I don’t recall ever being there.”

Tristan squeezed Ruth’s hand. “There is a good reason for you never to have gone there,” Tristan answered. “It’s not the best part of town. It might even be the worst part of town. But you said you wanted to see real LDs. And the Grove has them. Sit back and relax.”

The nine-mile drive took thirty minutes. Tristan pulled into a working yard that backed a large sheet metal building. He stopped the car near the overhead garage door and honked the horn. The rolling dock door went up and Tristan pulled the car inside the partially lit interior and turned the car off.

“What is this place?” Ruth asked.

“It’s kind of a half-way house slash factory. LD’s run it. They live here and work here. I thought it fit what you wanted to see.” Tristan stated. “Let’s get out.”

Ruth stepped out of the car. The dock door lowered. Tristan stood up beside the car and called out, “Jeffery, my man. How are you?”

“Doing well, Mr. Martin,” a gravelly voice from near the dock door answered.

Ruth turned around and looked over the car at the sound’s direction. A tall, thin man moved away from the dock door and into the light. He was an LD. He wore a lab coat, jeans and sneakers. His left arm moved stiffly at his side as he slightly dragged his left leg when he walked. When he was closer, she saw his left eye was missing and the left side of his mouth drooped down.

“Ruth, this is Jeffery. Jeffery, Ms. Ruth Davies,” Tristan introduced the pair.

“Nice to meet you, Jeffery,” Ruth said.

Jeffery nodded his head slightly. “My pleasure ma’am. I apologize for my looks ma’am,” he said moving slowly closer. “I was in the midst of a stroke when the Change came. It cured the stroke,” he laughed a deep, harsh noise.

“I’m sorry,” Ruth answered. “You look fine.”

Jeffery repeated the laughing noise. “Thank you for saying so, ma’am. I have a mirror.” He grinned with the right side of his mouth. “Worse things happened to better people.” He stopped walking near the rear of the car on Tristan’s side.

“Ruth wanted to get out and meet some people. I thought this would be the perfect place to start,” Tristan interjected.

“Yes,” Ruth joined in. “What do you do here? How many people do you employ?”

Jeffery laughed the sound again. “You mean LD’s? We don’t employ any.”

“Come on, Jeffery. Don’t be mysterious,” Tristan stated.

Jeffery grinned again. “This is kind of a halfway house,” he explained. “We bring in locogs off the street. Give them a place to stay. Make sure they get something to eat. Most of the locogs you see around don’t know that they can get free government Synthmeat,” Jeffery explained. “They are locogs,” he laughed. “So we bring them in and try to educate them. Try to get them up to a sustainable level.”

“That’s wonderful,” Ruth replied.

“Can you show us the facility?” Tristan asked.

“The facility? Sure,” Jeffery answered. “Let me get the lights on.” He walked back towards the dock door. There was a steel door near it and a bank of switches. With the side of his right-hand Jeffery flipped all the switches. The building was filled with light.

Ruth covered her eyes with her right hand.

“Sorry,” Jeffery said watching from the light switches. “I should have warned you. We keep it plenty bright in here. Lot of us have ocular issues. And lot of us have learning disabilities. Let me show you what we have here.” Jeffery moved away from the wall and back out towards the car.

Ruth moved to the front of the car and motioned at Tristan to come closer to her. He moved up beside her and she grasped his right hand.

“It’s okay,” he whispered to her. “Jeffery is fine. You’ll see.”

Ruth did not answer but she did move along with Tristan and followed after Jeffery.

The majority of the interior of the building was empty. In the far back corner was a free-standing office. Near the office was a short conveyor line with several stainless-steel sinks spaced along its length. Within two steps of the sinks were several wire cages large enough for large dogs.

“Is Doug around?” Tristan asked.

“No,” Jeffery answered looking back over his right shoulder. “We have a shipment coming in late this afternoon, so he went home to get some rest.”

“Who’s Doug?” Ruth whispered.

“Good. It might be a long night,” Tristan responded.

“Who’s Doug?” Ruth asked speaking a little louder.

Jeffery stopped and turned around. “Doug is like the foreman around here. He is an LD but is in good shape. Not like me.”

“I assumed you were in charge,” Ruth said.

“No, ma’am. Numero two,” Jeffery answered and added the laughing noise.

Ruth asked again, “What do you all do here?”

“I am sorry. I assumed Mr. Martin had explained us to you. We are a small animal slaughterhouse,” Jeffery answered.

Chapter 22

Between Graham and Jacksboro, the traffic on US 380 got a little heavier, a car every now and then on the two-lane highway. Timmy checked his mirrors a little more often and watched his speed closer.

Just west of Decatur the highway changed to four lanes. East of Decatur Timmy was driving freeway speeds in the inside lanes with motorists flying past and around him. He sat up straight monitoring his speed and traffic. Something brushed up against the hair on his neck.

Timmy shrugged his shoulders.

Again, something brushed up against the hair on the back of his neck.

Timmy reached back with his right hand and swiped at the back of his neck. He hit finger.

His eyes went to the rear-view mirror.

A small LD female face was looking at him, smiling. Her fingers were laced through the wire cabin divider.

The LD said, “Daddy and Sissy are still asleep. Are we there yet?”

Timmy screamed. He cut the van to the right, slamming on his breaks and crossed over the outer lane of traffic. Car breaks screamed and smoked as the following traffic swerved and dogged and braked to miss each other. Car horns screamed at each other.

The van slid to a stop canted off the shoulder of the highway. Timmy leaped out of the van and sprinted around to the front. He stared at the LD’s face staring at him. Cars honked at him as they moved past him regaining their speed.

“Sweet Jesus,” Timmy said. “Sweet Jesus Christ. What am I going to do?” Timmy paced back and forth in front of the van a couple of times then ran to the passenger’s door. The LD watched his motions with a smile on her face.

Timmy opened the door and snatched up the phones laying there. He slammed the door shut and ran back to the front of the van watching the LD watch him. He called Tristan.

***

“We handle things like sheep and lambs mainly,” Jeffery explained. “We’re not kosher. To be kosher LDs can’t touch LA food. But our prices are good so we usually sale out pretty quickly when we have something.”

Tristan’s phone began to ring.

Ruth looked at Tristan, “Who’s that? I don’t recognize that ring.”

Jeffery watched Ruth.

Tristan pulled out a phone. “It’s a phone Uncle Joe gave me. You know how paranoid he is,” he told Ruth.

He looked at Jeffery and added, “My uncle thinks the government is tapping his phone.

“You are not paranoid if it’s true,” Jeffery answered and added the laugh sound.

“I need to take this,” Tristan told Ruth and stepped away several meters from her and Jeffery. Tristan accepted the call.

“Mr. Martin, one of the LDs is loose in the back!” Timmy screamed.

Tristan looked back at Ruth and smiled. “I’m sorry. Who is this?” he replied.

“This is Timmy, Mr. Martin!” Timmy shouted.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know any Timmy. I believe you have the wrong number.”

“This is Perry! This is Perry!” Timmy pleaded.

“Oh, hello Perry. Mr. Martin is not at this number. Maybe if you calm down, I could help you?” Tristan stated.

Timmy took a deep breath, “One of the packages talked to me.”

“Packages can’t talk, Perry,” Tristan stated with a laugh. “Have you been drinking, again?”

“No, sir. Never. One of the packages came unwrapped and touched me. I almost had a wreck,” Timmy said rapidly. “What am I supposed to do?”

“The back is partitioned from the cabin, isn’t it?” Tristan asked.

“Yes, sir,” Timmy answered.

“Then I suggest you get back in the van and finish your route before you have problems with the other packages,” ordered Tristan.

“But it touched me!” Timmy exclaimed.

“All our vehicles have tracking features on them, Perry. We know where you are. If you walk away from the van, we will pick up the van and we will find you wherever you choose to hide. Do you understand me?” Tristan asked.

“Yes, sir,” Timmy answered quietly.

“So, get back in the van, Perry. Drive carefully home, okay. Your packages are valuable. And if they don’t arrive in a timely fashion someone will be sent out looking for them. Okay?” Tristan explained.

“Yes, sir,” Timmy answered.

“Perry, when I hang up, this phone will not be answered again. Do you understand?” Tristan explained.

“Yes, sir,” Timmy responded.

“Great,” Tristan said, and he ended the call. He slipped the phone back in his pocket and walked back towards Ruth and Jeffery.

“Who is Perry?” Ruth asked when Tristan was near.

“Delivery driver,” Tristan said and smiled. “Freaking out because he’s running late.”

Tristan looked at Jeffery, “That’s the delivery you have coming in late this afternoon, Jeffery. Unless he runs into more trouble with the van.”

“Should I have someone start out after him, just in case?” Jeffery asked.

Tristan nodded, “That’s probably a good idea. It didn’t sound like we can trust that van to make it here.

“But before you do that let’s go have a seat in the office,” Tristan said. He smiled at Ruth and took her hand. They, and Jeffery, headed to the back corner and the office.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Timmy put the phone in his right rear pocket. He clutched his phone and wallet in his left hand. He looked at the LD watching him. He looked down and up the busy highway. His head sagged and he shook it slowly. He walked around to the driver’s door and waited for a break in the traffic then he quickly opened the door and climbed in closing the door behind him.

The LD had its face close to the wire cage. Its fingers still laced in it. The LD said, “Daddy and Sissy are still asleep. Are we there yet?”

“No,” Timmy answered sharply. He sat in the driver’s seat and adjusted it forward as far away as it would move from the wire cage. Timmy’s knees bumped into the searing wheel. The motor was still running. He checked the gas level and put the van in gear, checked his mirrors, turned on the signal and waiting to pull out onto the highway.

Chapter 23

Tristan opened the office door for Ruth. She stepped inside and was followed by Tristan. Jeffery stayed outside.

The office was a wood framed, sheet rocked building with drop ceilings. There was indoor/outdoor carpet throughout the space on top of the warehouses’ concrete flooring. The back right corner of the office held a full bathroom with shower. The back left was a kitchen with cooktop, microwave, dishwasher and refrigerator. There was a metal desk, chairs and couch in the front room.

“This is like a little condo,” Ruth said looking around. “It needs windows though.”

“If you are in here you don’t want to see what goes on outside,” Tristan replied.

Ruth looked at him.

“It’s a slaughterhouse, Ruth. That’s not something to sit and watch. At least it shouldn’t be,” Tristan said. “Let’s sit down on the couch. I need to talk to you.”

Ruth looked hard at Tristan then answered. “Okay. Let’s sit down.” She moved away from Tristan and sat down at left end of the couch. Tristan sat down at the right.

“Corporations run this world, Ruth. You know that. And your father heads one of the biggest corporations in the world. He feeds both the LDs and the LAs. Without your father, and his businesses, there would be no world. There would just be the Change.

“LDs live in their slums and the LAs live in different slums. But they are still the same. When the government sends in subsidies, it is the same stuff. And it comes from your father’s businesses.”

Ruth asked. “What is your point?”

“My point is that your father is a very important person. And he is really interested in helping humanity. Both LA and LD,” Tristan said. “Civilization is all about disparate groups joining together to become a cohesive identity.”

“How long have you have been working on this speech?” Ruth asked.

“My whole life,” Tristan answered. “It’s something I believe in. It’s something your father believes in. It’s something we have been working towards. We want to merge the best of what the LDs have with the best of what the LAs have.”

“And how do you do that?” Ruth asked.

“A breeding program,” Tristan answered.

“Eugenics,” Ruth stated.

“Exactly,” Tristan grinned. “‘The Change’ created this great schism in humans. Locogs are less intelligent than even the least intelligent LA. Hicogs are smart but they’re weak physically. But they don’t die. But that is the one thing all LAs do; they die. We need to bring these things together, for everyone.”

Ruth asked, “What does all that mean?”

“It means we need to do something. Someone has to take the point on this problem. Someone has to make the hard decisions,” Tristan answered.

“And that someone is you?” Ruth asked.

“Oh no,” Tristan answered. “That someone is your father.”

“My father. Really?” Ruth laughed. “My father thinks the government’s job is to protect private property. Especially his. And he will do anything to manipulate people and governments to get what he wants.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Tristan answered.

“What do you mean?” Ruth asked.

“Ruth, you know I love you. Don’t you?” Tristan asked. He moved across the couch and put his left hand on her thigh.

“I thought I knew,” Ruth answered. She reached down and moved Tristan’s hand off her leg.

“I am a Harlequin,” he said.

“Like those things that tried to kidnap us?” Ruth demanded.

“Not exactly like them,” Tristan answered. “I’m still LA. But they took me into their group after my parents died.”

“And your Uncle Joe? He’s one?” Ruth asked.

“Uncle Joe doesn’t know anything about me. Harlequins helped get me through college. Your father was looking for someone and they steered him to me. I would not be alive without them.

“And they were only trying to kidnap you,” Tristan laughed. “I set the whole thing up. Phillip and that detective would have been fed to the group if he hadn’t messed everything up. You would have been carried off to someplace safe and I would have reported everything to the police.

“It was supposed to be like tossing a wrench into the works. Make pieces fly and see what happens.”

“What did you expect to happen?” Ruth asked.

Tristan stood up from the couch. “We expected, expect, to call the government out and have them put a lock down on every known LD in the United States. The LDs will revolt. Hicogs won’t be able to control the locogs. Your father will put a halt to Synthmeat distributions. The LDs with go after the LAs. The LAs are better prepared than the first time. It’ll be Armageddon.”

“But you are one of them,” Ruth said.

“Yes, I am,” Tristan grinned. “But I run the Harlequins. We’ll stay out of everyone’s way while the government gets everything back under control. Synthmeat will be even more valuable. Your father has a long list of friends and businesspeople and government agents waiting in line for the new treatment. And we new LDs will slide into positions of control.”

Tristan finished. He looked down at Ruth. “I think it’s about time for you to say, ‘You’re crazy.’”

Ruth looked at Tristan and shook her head slightly.

“Oh. Okay,” Tristan said. “I was sure you would say that.” He smiled, “But I’m not disappointed that you didn’t. I spent a lot of time on that speech.”

“What happens next?” Ruth asked looking up at Tristan.

He answered, “Well, this is that safe place I mentioned. It was pretty easy getting you here. You’ll stay here for a while. There’s food in the kitchen. You can sleep on the couch if you’re tired. And then later I’ll show you our ‘breeding stock.’”

“I can’t wait,” Ruth answered.

Tristan laughed and turned to leave. He stopped and looked back at Ruth, “Jeffery will be outside watching. Being a LD, he doesn’t sleep. I’ll be back later.”

Jeffery left the office. The door was bolted from the outside. Ruth buried her head in her hands.

Chapter 24

Timmy cried.

The second LD had awakened an hour earlier. She was a twin of the first LD who helped get her free of her wrap. The male LD was still sedated. The twins called him ‘Daddy.’

The van inched forward in traffic. The Dallas downtown freeway was bumper to bumper. The two small LDs took turns asking, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Timmy did not answer. He cried.

Timmy worked his way through the mix master. When he reached I45S the traffic lightened up. Exiting onto Hawn Freeway the traffic was flying out of town. At Elam Road Timmy exited and made his way to the slaughterhouse. He stopped in front of the loading door, killed the engine and jumped out of the van. It was a quarter till five.

“Are we there?” the two voices in the back of the van asked.

Timmy hurried to the side door and entered. Towards the back of the building there were a half dozen figures seated around a makeshift table. They played dominoes.

Timmy hurried toward the men. “Is Doug here?” he asked.

Jeffery stood up, “Who’s asking?”

“I’m Perry,” Timmy answered stopping a few feet from the six LDs. “I’ve got three packages outside.” The other LDs turned to look at Timmy.

“You made good time,” Jeffery smiled. “We weren’t expecting you for a while.”

“I got a problem,” Timmy hurried. “Two of them are awake.”

“Two of them are awake?” Jeffery asked.

“Yes, sir,” Timmy answered. He ran his hands through his hair. “Two of them are awake. It’s the two little ones. One’s been awake for hours now.”

“Great. Let me take a look,” Jeffery said. He made his way around the domino table and walked toward Timmy.

“I thought they were going to kill me,” Timmy said.

“They were supposed to be sedated,” Jeffery answered.

“They were for a while. Then they weren’t,” Timmy answered. He followed Jeffery to the dock door.

Jeffery raised the door. The two small faces were visible through the windshield. “Keys in the van?” Jeffery asked.

“No. I got ‘em here,” Timmy answered. He held out the keys in his right hand.

“I’ll pull the van in,” Jeffery said. He took the van keys from Timmy.

“Thank you. I thought I was going to die,” Timmy said.

Jeffery headed to the van. “I set the van up for you. It’d take more than two little girls to get through that wire cage.”

“That’s easy to say when they aren’t pickin’ at your hair,” Timmy replied.

Jeffery started the van up and pulled it into the building far enough that there was a large open area behind the rear doors. He turned off the engine and exited the van.

“Guys,” he called out to the domino players., “bring three cages over here.”

One LD stood up and answered, “You’re pissed ’cause you’re losing.”

Jeffery made the laughing noise before he answered, “You got that right. Get that stuff over here.” He walked over to the dock door and closed it.

“There are seven of us,” Jeffery stated. “We should be able to corral two little girls. Bring two of the cages up close and we’ll make a shoulder to shoulder semi-circle from door edge to door edge,” he instructed.

Timmy wedged himself into the line.

Jeffery opened the right-side rear door. Nothing. He stepped up and looked inside. The two small LDs were crouched beside each other at the front of the cargo area.

“Hi girls,” Jeffery said. “My name is Jeffery. My friends call me Jeff. What are you your names?”

“Kayla.”

“Kaylie.”

“Identical twins,” Jeffery said. “That’s pretty cool. Come on out. This is your new home.”

“What about Daddy,” one of the LDs asked. “He’s still asleep.”

“Well, when your dad wakes up we’ll help get him out of the van,” Jeffery answered. “He looks like he’s sleeping good. We don’t need to wake him up yet.”

“Daddy says not to talk to strangers,” one of the LDs answered.

“And he’s right. You should not talk to strangers. But we’re not strangers. We’re like you. You’re like us. Except that guy there,” he said pointing at Timmy. “He is different. You can smell the difference can’t you?”

Both LDs nodded.

“Come on out. We’ll get you something to eat. I bet you’re hungry after such a long ride,” Jeffery said.

The two LDs stood up and walked slowly to the back of the van. Jeffery reached out and lifted each one out of the van and set it down beside him. He smiled and said, “Cage ’em.”

The LDs around the van door grabbed the little ones and forced them into separate cages before they even had time to scream. They wailed in anger, baring their teeth and shaking the cage doors with all their strength.

Timmy stood away.

Jeffery pointed at two LDs and ordered, “Bring up another cage and we’ll move Pop into it before he wakes up.” He looked at Timmy and said, “You guys grab Perry and we’ll get a little choice cut from him.”

Two LDs grabbed Timmy. One said, “Extra lean.” They laughed.

“No! You can’t. Mr. Martin’s my boss. He sent me here,” Timmy shouted.

Jeffery looked at Timmy. He answered, “Mr. Martin is my boss too. He told me to feed you to the kids. Do you want me to get fired?” Jeffery laughed his noise.

“Make sure you give the kids some good meat. Not any feet. You hear me?” Jeffery order. “And save some for Pop. He’ll be starving when he wakes up.”

Timmy screamed as he was dragged to the stainless-steel sinks.

Chapter 25

It was dark in the room. Some lights from the surrounding high rises were visible through the roman blinds. Keaton laid on the couch. His eyes were open. His cell phone rang.

Keaton swung his legs off the couch and sat up. He felt around him with his left hand for the ringing phone. He found it and held it up to check the caller.

“Good evening, Mr. Hobson. It’s late.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Keaton. I am sorry to bother you at this hour, but Ms. Ruth is missing,” Hobson stated.

“She is not answering her phone?”

“No, sir.”

“I told her not to go anywhere without me,” Keaton said.

“Yes, sir. Ms. Ruth told everyone what you said.”

“And you still let her out?” Keaton asked.

“She did not ask permission, sir.”

“Is Tristan there?”

“Yes, sir. He has been here since early afternoon, after his lunch with his uncle.”

“Joe Klein?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What does the Navy say?”

“They are not answering Mr. Davies’ calls.”

Keaton stood up. He rubbed his forehead back and forth with his right hand.

“What does Mr. Davies say?”

“He wants you to find her, sir,” Hobson answered.

“Okay. When was she last seen at the house?”

“I may have been the last to see her, sir. She had spoken to both Phillip and Mr. Martin before he left for his lunch meeting. She came into the pantry and talked about you.”

“She was angry with me for shooting the LDs.”

“Yes, sir. She was.”

“Did she tell you she came over here dressed in mourning for the dead and I didn’t notice?”

“Yes, sir,” Hobson answered.

“Any friends she may be with?”

“I have called them. They are not many.”

“I knew you had, but I had to ask,” Keaton stated.

“Yes, sir.”

“Okay, let me see what I can do,” Keaton answered.

“Thank you, sir. I will let Mr. Davies know,” Hobson said.

Keaton ended the call. “Kids, kids, kids,” he said quietly. He walked towards the light switch, scrolling through his recent calls. He stopped on one and dialed. It was picked up on the second ring.

Escobar said, “Shit, Keaton. Do you know what time it is?”

“Yes I do, Alicia. Ruth Davies is missing.”

“Kidnapped?”

“I assume so,” Keaton answered. “She disappeared from the house and no one saw her leave. The government is not interested, at this point, in finding her.”

“Shit,” Escobar said quietly.

“Yes,” Keaton agreed.

“Where do we start?”

Keaton flipped on the lights. He was in socks, suit pants and dress shirt with his knotted tie loose around his neck. “I am going to have some coffee,” he answered. “Go back to sleep and I’ll call you when I have something or when I need the cavalry.”

“Calling the cavalry only gets you me.”

“I bet that’ll be enough,” Keaton said, and he ended the call.

***

Keaton had on a fresh suit. He pushed on the rotating door and entered Alice’s. There was one man waiting with menus in his hands.

“Just one, sir?” he asked.

“Is Paul still here?” Keaton asked.

The man grinned, “Paul is always here, sir. Follow me please.” The host turned his back on Keaton and started toward the booths beside the windows. Keaton followed at his own speed.

A few late, late night diners were scattered about the tables. Two mixed couples were seated at the bar. They sounded like one hundred people across the nearly empty restaurant.

The host set a menu on the table and asked, “Is this alright, sir?”

Keaton caught up and said, “Yes,” as he slid into the seat looking out over the other tables. He pulled the menu over to his side of the table.

“Paul will be right with you, sir.”

“Thank you.”

The host nodded and moved back to the front of the restaurant.

Paul came up with the napkin rolled flatware, a cup and a pot of coffee. “Late night, sir?”

“Very early morning, Paul. Coffee is all I need.”

“Yes, sir.” Paul poured the coffee and picked up the menu.

“I need to talk with the cook.”

“Sir?”

“I need to talk with the cook. Especially if it’s the cook with the nephew we talked about the other day. Don’t worry. It’s nothing to do with this place.”

“Of course, sir. That would be Juanita. She is working. She works almost as often as I.”

“She is not as wealthy then?”

“Smaller family,” Paul laughed. “Please follow me, sir. Jefe up at the bar is busy with the drinkers, friends. He will not notice us peons.”

Keaton got up from the table and followed Paul through the swinging doors into the kitchen.

The kitchen was big, stainless steel and nearly empty. Two LDs were scrubbing on a sink full of pots and pans. There was a tall woman, nearly two meters tall, in a white, double-breasted jacket and chef’s hat standing at a stove. The hat was pulled down flat with an edge swept down toward her right shoulder. She had three eggs in one hand and an empty skillet with a leaping flame under it before her.

“Juanita, this is my friend Keaton. He needs some advice,” Paul announced as he and Keaton walked up to the cook.

Juanita looked Keaton up and down. “Talk fast. I will need to turn these eggs in a minute.” She cracked each egg on the stove top and opened their contents into the skillet.

“Where do you get your choice cut?” Keaton asked.

“We get our beef from lots of places.”

“The other choice cut,” Keaton said. “Your nephew is a Harlequin, an LD.”

“We don’t serve that kind of meat,” Juanita answered.

“This isn’t about him and it’s not about you. It’s not about this place. Someone is missing and I need a starting place.”

“Mr. Keaton has eaten here for years, Juanita,” Paul added.

Juanita took the skillet handle, lifted the pan and tossed the eggs into the air, turning them over as they fell back into the pan.

“No one will know we talked,” Keaton stated.

“Because Paul brought you back here,” Juanita said adding some salt to the eggs. “Places change. They move often. We are using a place in the Grove right now.” She gave Keaton the address. She lifted the pan and slid the eggs out onto a plate.

“Thank you, Chef.”

“Thank you, Juanita.”

“You didn’t hear anything from me.”

“Of course,” Keaton answered. He turned to Paul and said, “Can you have Rafie pick me up right now?”

“Yes, sir,” Paul answered. “He needs the money.”

“Great. Thanks. I’m going to go sit down and drink that coffee and call the cavalry.”

“You will need help,” Paul said as they both moved toward the kitchen door. Juanita added some bacon and fried potatoes to the eggs on the plate.

“Paul, order up.”

Paul grinned and said, “Let me get that. Jefe’s breakfast.”

Keaton walked on through the swinging doors and back to his booth and his cup of coffee. He pulled out his phone and called Escobar.

She answered on the second ring. “What do you have against sleep, Keaton?”

“Nothing, Alicia. But nothing good happens after midnight. It is after midnight.”

“Damn near dawn,” Escobar answered.

“I’ve got an address for a chop shop in the Grove. I am heading there in a couple of minutes. Do you want to meet me there?”

“Hell, yes,” Escobar stated. “But like I said, it’ll just be me.”

“I think that will be enough, Alicia.” Keaton gave the address to Escobar and drank more of his coffee.