Where the Rain Gets In (14 page)

“Are you serious?” asked Bruno. “I mean
– ”

“Of course,” said Katie. “Do you really
think it hadn’t crossed my mind? Out alone in the desert with you? Of course
I’d thought about it – that’s why I was so irritable this morning. But I want
it to be right – we still have to get out of here; we still have to do our
leaving act together. Everything we can do to distract them from Mike, the
safer it is for all of us. I’d say he’s pretty lonely right now.”

“You’re right,” said Bruno, “you’re
right. We’ve got to be professional about this.”

As though being professional included
the promise of a fuck in the desert, thought Katie, but it worked.

Bruno grabbed their cases – they hadn’t
unpacked because they knew they wouldn’t be staying the night. Katie kicked off
the dress shoes she’d worn down at the casino, and changed back into the
comfortable driving shoes from earlier in the day.

The desk clerk at reception wasn’t
surprised when Katie and Bruno asked to check out the hotel; he was too busy to
care.

“I’ll have to charge you for the full
night’s stay though, ma’am,” he said to Katie.

“I’ll bet you do,” said Bruno. “As if
you haven’t taken enough of our money already. And stop calling her ma’am,
can’t you? Does she look like your ma’am?”

Katie paid the bill in cash.

“Can we offer you this memento of your
stay with us?” the clerk asked Katie. He held up a metal replica of the hotel.
“It’s a model of the MGM Grand.”

“Is it worth anything?” asked Bruno.

“Well,” said the clerk, “we are moving
to a brand new building, so who knows – maybe in a year or two?”

“No thanks,” said Katie, but Bruno
reached across her.

“We’ll take it,” he said. “You fucking
owe us big time, man. Come on, let’s get out of here.” He grabbed the model and
picked up the bags. “Where’s our fucking car? You! Yeah you, ya little prick!
Go and fetch our car!”

Katie had to admit Bruno was good, and
she was relieved to be getting out of here.

When they met up with Mike, Katie
relaxed a little, though she knew she still had to get to Phoenix.

“The roulette wasn’t part of the plan,”
she said to Mike.

“Oh, you saw that, did you?”

“It was stupid,” said Katie.

“What was stupid?” asked Bruno.

“Mike placing all his chips on the
roulette table.”

“I won, didn’t I?” said Mike. “That
doubled our winnings in one stroke.”

“But you could have lost everything,”
said Katie, “including our stake money.”

“But I didn’t,” said Mike, “and now we
stand to make a fortune. I’ve paid off the Chinese, so we’re in the clear –
everything from here on in is pure profit.”

“But what if you’d lost?”

“But I didn’t,” repeated Mike. “Besides,
it helped me get out of there. They can’t be seen to have a problem with
someone winning at the roulette table, and it took their attention away from
the cards. They cashed in my chips without blinking. Come on, let’s order some
drinks and food – I’m starving.”

“I don’t know why we can’t just leave
now,” said Bruno. “I mean, forget about the second part of the plan.”

Bruno knew why Mike was staying in the
States and he understood the potential of what Mike had in mind. He also knew
it was illegal, but this wasn’t what was bothering Bruno – now they had some
money, Bruno would have settled for less and the chance of seeing Mike again.

“Fuck it!” he said. “I’m going to powder
my nose. I don’t want any food – would you order me a beer? Several beers,
actually.” He picked up the metal model of the MGM Grand; it was tacky but
Bruno had taken a liking to it.

“Is he okay?” Mike asked Katie, once
Bruno had left the table. “How the hell did he get hold of drugs? I didn’t know
he had any money on him.”

“Is he okay?” asked Katie. “Yes and no;
I wish we were all going home together.”

“So do I,” said Mike, “but this next
thing will take at least a couple of weeks to happen. And you should be
thousands of miles away; even this dinner is risky.”

“You’ve a hell of a way of dumping a
girl,” said Katie. She rested her hand on Mike’s arm. Katie knew it was she who
had made the choice.

Bruno returned to the table and Katie
pulled away from Mike. They ordered beer and food and sat silently while their
table was laid. The waitress went to move Bruno’s model to one side of his
place setting, but he stopped her.

“Just leave the knives and forks, can’t
you?” he said rudely.

“That thing sure is heavy,” said the
waitress. She brought the beers and then left them alone.

“Fucking hell, Bruno,” said Katie.
“What’s wrong with you?”

Bruno seemed morose, which was worrying
given the amount of cocaine he’d just snorted. Mike tried to make small talk,
but it was turning very much into their last supper together.

“You think I’m pretty stupid, don’t
you?” Bruno said to Mike. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing here?
Hiding behind some scam when it’s obvious you just don’t want to see me any
more.”

“Bruno, that’s not – ”

 “I wish you had the honesty to at
least admit it. And you – ” He turned to Katie. “You with your talk of a fuck in
the desert – you were pretty fucking smart to get me out that hotel bedroom.”

“No, I – ”

“Well, fuck you both is what I say.”

 He picked up a fork from the table
and stabbed it into his cheekbone, just below his eye.

“Bruno!” said Mike.

“Oh Jesus,” said Katie.

Bruno dragged the fork down his cheek
and stared, first at Katie and then at Mike. He threw the fork down on the
table and pushed away his chair. He picked up the model of the MGM Grand.

“Enjoy your meal,” he said, and left the
room.

“Now what?” asked Katie, as the waitress
brought their food.

“Do you think I should go after him?”
asked Mike.

“You can do whatever the fuck you think
is best,” said Katie, “but I’ve had it with him. I’m going to eat my meal and
then drive to Phoenix. He’s an adult; he can look after himself.”

“But that’s just it, isn’t it?” said
Mike. “He can’t look after himself.”

“He’s got a plane ticket and a passport
– if he’s not on the plane, then tough!”

“But how will he get to Phoenix if you
don’t take him in the car?”

“It’s time to start letting go,” said
Katie. “You knew he was going to be a disaster on his own – well, he’s just
started early is all.”

“This is all my fault,” said Mike. “I
should never have tried to include him in this trip.”

“You should never have tried to include
him – full stop!” said Katie. “The guy’s a total loser and has been since day
one. You don’t owe Bruno anything, Mike; you never have done, so stop taking
responsibility for his actions.”

This was where their every discussion
about Bruno had always ended. Katie concentrated on her food, but there was so
much on the plate, it was obscene. She lost her appetite.

“He won’t be able to cope,” said Mike
after a while. He pushed his plate to one side.

“You can’t help him Mike,” said Katie,
“just like you can’t help me. The best thing you can do is walk away, exactly
as you’d planned.”

“Is that really how you feel – about
us?” asked Mike.

“I think if you don’t let go then it
will end up driving you crazy and making you very, very unhappy. That goes for
Bruno too – we’re a pair of hopeless cases that you’re better off without. Go
back to Belfast, Mike, and marry your sweetheart; make her happy at least.”

Mike looked away, down to one side of
the table.

“I don’t want to live my life without
you,” he said.

“I know you don’t,” said Katie, “but
you’re going to have to – for your own good.” She stood up. “I’m leaving now,
Mike. I think you can pay for the meal, all things considered. And if Bruno
turns up, put him in a cab and take the fare out of his earnings.” She thought
this was for the best anyway – that way she avoided the journey through the
desert with Bruno. “Thank you,” she said, one last time. “For everything.”

Katie walked out the restaurant and
didn’t look back. It seemed like the best thing to do.

When she reached the car, she was
disappointed to see Bruno asleep in the passenger seat. He cradled the MGM
Grand in his arms. Katie could see where the blood had dried on his cheek.

“Bruno,” she said but he didn’t stir.
She considered going back to Mike at the restaurant and then decided against
it; she had to handle things on her own from now on and this was, after all,
part of the original plan. Bruno might sleep the whole way, and the journey to
Phoenix could pass off without incident. Once they reached the airport, Bruno
could do as he pleased. If he created a scene and they refused to allow him on
the plane, then that was nothing to Katie. At least this way she could do Mike
the favour of freeing him from Bruno.

Katie opened the car door. Bruno was leaning
heavily over towards her and she pushed him away, over to the other side of the
car. Bruno’s head rolled on to the passenger door with a thump, but he didn’t
wake up. Whatever it was Bruno thought he’d been taking, it certainly wasn’t
cocaine – he was out of it. The last thing Katie wanted was for Bruno to need
medical assistance, but he was breathing regularly enough and didn’t look to be
in any danger. She turned on the engine, put the car in drive and set off for
Phoenix. She drove too quickly over a ramp of some sort as she joined the
highway, and Bruno’s head jerked forward on to his chest. Katie reached across
with her right arm; she pulled at Bruno’s hair so his head rested back between
the headrest and the side of the car.

Katie felt easier once she was on the
highway. It was a smooth road and there was no reason for Bruno to be
disturbed. Although it was dark, the highway was busy enough with traffic, much
busier in fact than it had been during the day.  Katie felt relatively
secure. It was a beautiful car to drive and she could quite easily have
travelled much faster in comfort, but she kept to a level 55mph; she didn’t
want to attract the attention of the occasional patrol cars she saw pass her by
in the opposite direction. Although the air grew noticeably cooler as she drove
out into the desert, it was still warm enough to keep the top down. It was a
pleasant sensation to be in control of such a large, powerful car and to sense
the expanse of desert surrounding her. Earlier in the day, the desert was too
hot to enjoy, and Katie was nervous of what lay ahead in Vegas. Now, the job
was done and she had the measure of the car; she was unlikely ever to make this
journey again, so why not relax and enjoy the drive?

She travelled for two hours before Bruno
stirred. Katie looked over and she could see he was having difficulty breathing
in that position. She considered reaching over to adjust the way his head was
resting, but he opened his eyes. Bruno looked out at the roadside passing him
by, and then across at Katie.

“Where are we?”

“Just outside Phoenix,” said Katie. They
still had a good distance to go but she wanted Bruno sedate and quiet. “I’ll
give you a shout when we’re almost there, if you like.”

“Mike,” he said. Bruno seemed to be
having trouble coming round. He looked at the model that he cradled in his arms
and lifted it on to the top of the dashboard. He wiped some dribble from the
side of his mouth.

“Mike’s back in Vegas,” said Katie. “You
were asleep in the car when I came out the restaurant, and we couldn’t wake
you. What were you taking to knock you out like that?”

“Not what I thought I was taking,” said
Bruno, “that’s for sure. I feel like shit.”

“There’s a bottle of water behind your
seat. You might wash your face too, while you’re at it.”

Bruno adjusted the rear-view mirror to
look at his face, and closed his eyes when he saw what he’d done to himself.

“Fucking idiot,” he said, and shook his
head.

“You said it,” said Katie.

Bruno reached for the bottle of water,
took a few mouthfuls and then poured some into his cupped hand. He splashed it
across the side of his face and winced at the pain. The wound didn’t look much
better for being cleaned.

“I hope they let you on the plane
looking like that,” said Katie.

“I’m not getting on the plane,” said
Bruno.

“So what do you intend to do,” asked
Katie, “stay here forever?”

“There’s nothing back in Manchester for
me,” said Bruno. “Once the money comes through from Mike, I reckon I can start
a new life here.”

“They have immigration laws, Bruno. They
know you’re in the country and when they find you, they’ll throw you out the
country.”

“I’m not going back to Manchester,” said
Bruno.