I went home. I had to see Kelly. Make sure she was all right.
She seemed to be all right.
I met Dorita at the White Stallion.
Where to from here? she asked.
The eternal question.
It may be eternal, but it still needs an answer.
The weak link. Where’s the next weak link?
Let’s think about it.
I’ll need a Scotch for that.
Why did I know you’d say that?
Because you’re brilliant.
True, true.
Almost as brilliant as me.
Hah. One lucky guess and suddenly you’re Albert Fucking Einstein
Winners make their own luck.
We’ll see.
It really all seems to revolve around the three brothers, doesn’t it? I said.
Can’t deny that. And Jules isn’t talking.
You are correct, ma’am.
Raul is too damn slick.
Right.
So that leaves Ramon.
Who never says a damn thing.
True enough. And you have to wonder why.
Because he’s too smart to say anything?
Contrary to the evidence.
Because he’s too damn stupid.
Correct. At least, an excellent working hypothesis.
Okay, and that buys us?
A weak link.
Waiting to be broken.
We toasted the stupid twin. We made a plan. We had another drink. We were oiled for battle.
Dorita called Ramon’s cell phone number.
Ramon, she said. Dorita Reed. So nice to hear your voice.
I rolled my eyes. Surely he wasn’t that stupid.
She glared me down.
We’ve been making some inquiries, she said into the phone. We’d like to talk with you about a couple more things. Any chance we could have a few minutes of your time?
I watched her listen.
I see, she said. I understand. But Ramon, I really think you should make the time.
She listened some more.
Ramon, she said. You need to think carefully. We’ve got some information. Something you really need to hear.
She listened.
She smiled a sneaky smile at me. She’d got the fish on the hook.
She hung up.
The Club at eleven, she said. The VIP room.
Wow. Can we get lap dances?
If you fancy a lap dance from a guy named Bruce.
I’ll consider that.
Hey, we have time for another drink.
Two, at least. Fancy that.