Wrong Ways Down (11 page)

And the way Archie looked back at him made him want to punch the fucker in the mouth. Smug, he guessed were the word for it. And Terrible knew exactly what Archie were thinking as he looked at him:
Big dumb ugly goon, I can lie to him easy and he ain’t know the difference.

Fine with him, Archie wanted to think that way. Causen one of two things was going to happen. Either Archie was going to learn Terrible weren’t so dumb by paying attention, or Archie was going to learn Terrible weren’t so dumb by getting his nose broken. And Terrible kinda hoped it was the second one. 

Past Archie Terrible could see his apartment. Nicer than most. Looked like Archie even put money into the place. His suspicions rose. Archie coulda made that money on cons, easy, but why live in Downside if he making that kinda cash? Anybody had the money to have stuff like that furniture, that stereo and big-ass TV … anybody had that kind of money, they didn’t live in Downside.

Except him, aye, but he had a reason for living there. 

Archie had lived in Downside long enough to know what to say when he opened the door, too. “I don’t want trouble with Bump.”

They all said that. Even when they’d gone and gotten themselves in trouble on purpose, they said it. “You answer me, you ain’t have trouble, dig?”

Archie nodded. He didn’t step back to let Terrible in. That didn’t matter. Terrible shoved him out of the way and walked in, scanning the place fast to make sure nobody were hiding in there.

He didn’t look back at Archie, though. Let Archie know he weren’t scared. He’d see Archie out the corner of his eye, iffen he tried to make a move.

The place was
way
too fucking nice for Downside. He had one a them big-ass wall units that held his TV and all, had glass doors on it. Couch and chair looked brand new.

Could have all been stolen. But still. “Nice place.”

He felt Archie hesitate behind him. Felt his surprise. Hadn’t expected him to talk first, had he? No, causen he was one of them assholes read books about business strategy or whatever, like dealing with people was nothing more than a set of ten rules. And none of those rules applied there anyway. Terrible had the “tactical advantage,” and he knew it, causen if Archie tried playing games with him he’d just beat him down. Made things real easy. 

Especially since Archie looked like a dude afraid to get hurt. Being afraid to get hurt meant he lost. Always. The key to winning was knowing that kind of pain ain’t last, and knowing how to take it. Knowing how to make it work, how to get used to it. Learning to accept it. Welcome it. Get so you wanted it.

Terrible was good at all of that. Feeling it outside beat feeling it inside.

Archie still hadn’t said anything. Terrible glanced back at him, still standing there by the door. “Goin out?”

Archie blinked. “No. Um, why are you here? It’s awfully late, isn’t it?”

“You knowing a dude name of Gav?”

“Why?” The word came out real curious, like Archie couldn’t think of any reason in the whole fucking world why he might get asked on Gav. But he obviously could. Tension sat in every line of his body, even though he was trying hard not to let it show. Like that weren’t suspicious. 

Terrible shrugged. “You name come up somebody knows he.”

He’d came there to see iffen Archie might have more knowledge on Gav. But he were real fast starting to wonder iffen Archie had some
serious
knowledge on Gav, like the kinda knowledge came from being involved. Something about him was off. Something wrong. Terrible’s instincts told him so, and instincts were what he had instead of smarts.

So he wandered around the room, checking things out. Couple of books. Only a couple, computer guides and business books—aye, he knew it. Guessing Archie weren’t as smart as he liked to think he was, he ain’t even read real books.

“Who said that?”

Terrible picked up one of the books, pretended to flip through it. “Been here long?”

“Two months or so. Who said I know Gav?”

“Where you lived before?”

“Fifty-sixth and Mercer. Why are you asking?”

“Just tryna be friendly, aye?” Terrible gave him a look he knew wasn’t friendly at all. “Gettin to know you.”

“I knew Gav.” Archie folded his arms. “Don’t really have any information for you. Didn’t know him well. Don’t know what he might have been doing that got him killed.”

Terrible looked at him for a long moment. Long enough to make Archie fidget. “Killed? Ain’t said aught on he bein killed, or on wondering what he been doin. What you talking on?”

An eyelid flicker. “Just heard he got killed. I figured that’s why you’re here, because something he was doing made him get killed.”

“Then why you ain’t asked me on it when I get here, you think it’s why I came?”

Archie opened his mouth, but Terrible didn’t let him answer. “Thinkin you wanna gimme the tell now, what you know on it. You friends with Gav, you say.”

“I wouldn’t say friends.” Archie’d been standing by the door the whole time. Now he moved, walking real slow like he was some kinda badass and sitting down on the leather couch. “We knew each other. He was going to work with me. We met, he mentioned wanting a job, my work was hiring. That’s all.”

“He say any to you on other ways he getting lashers?”

“Money? Um, no, I don’t think so. We didn’t talk a lot. We were just acquaintances.”

“Where you work?”

“Why?”

This was bullshit. Terrible folded his arms and stared, letting I-could-just-kill-you show all over his face. 

“I work in Cross Town. Right on the border. The Peace Factory.”

The Peace Factory. “What the fuck kind of place is that?” 

“We make yoga supplies, meditation supplies. Some magic supplies.”

“And you got Gav work there.”

Archie shrugged, but his eyes and voice were defensive. And nervous. “Gav had some sales ability. We’re always launching new products and need salespeople to get them into stores. That’s all.”

“What you launching now?”

“Some new meditation discs, some new spells. Why do you care?”

Terrible stared at him for another minute without speaking, making sure Archie saw the threat, saw Terrible wasn’t done with him. But his mood lifted, even though it shouldn’t have. A company made magic supplies. Chess would know about that one. Might have some thoughts for him. He bet she would. And now he had an excuse to go see her and ask her on it—well, he’d had an excuse anyway, or he ain’t needed an excuse, but now he really did. And it’d be easy to ask her if she’d heard of the place without having to bring up anything might upset her. “The fuck you care why I care? Just askin. Gav gets he involved with you, now turning up dead. Awful suspicious, aye?”

“Look, I don’t know what he might have been doing in his own time. And this isn’t exactly the safest area in the world, is it? I’m sorry he’s dead but all I know is he was going to come work at the Peace Factory. I don’t know anything else.”

Bullshit. Bullshit he ain’t knew anything else.

Problem were, Terrible couldn’t do too much on it. His suspicions weren’t solid enough yet to start hitting; would be fun to beat on Archie, but it’d be pointless iffen Archie were just an asshole who got Gav a job. Specially since Callie’d made it sound like Gav were going legit with that job. Might not have shit to do with being a lookout.

More’n that, though, beating on Archie now would tip Archie off that he knew Gav had been the lookout. Would make Archie tip off whoever he worked for, if he were working for somebody. Would let Archie know exactly what Terrible was looking for.

Better to let him keep thinking they ain’t knew shit. Better to let him keep thinking Terrible were too dumb to know anything—or, better again, that Terrible were all threat and no action, that he were scared to just beat on anybody for any reason. 

Better to let him feel safe.

“Gav ever mentioning other names to you? Friends he got, like that?”

“Not really.”

“Hearing he were here on the last week. Why come?”

Archie looked surprised, for about as long as it took him to blink the expression away. “I gave him some forms to fill out, for work. He wasn’t starting for another few weeks, but he wanted to get everything going. He was real excited about it. I guess he had some chick he was going to live with.”

It all fit. It all made sense. But something in Terrible’s head kept telling him Archie weren’t what he seemed, that maybe there were more to it. “Why you living here, you work in Cross Town?”

Archie shrugged. “Why not? Cheaper here. Nobody bugs me—usually.”

He said that last with a pointed narrow-eye look at Terrible. Aye, Terrible were imposing on Archie’s precious time or whatany the fuck. Causen Archie were so busy and important. 

And maybe he were, at least maybe he were as far as what was happening. Maybe Terrible oughta give him he alone time back and go see what else he could find out on Archie, too. 

He gave Archie one last glare to let him know he weren’t done with him, and headed for the Chevelle.

Next morning he sat outside Chess’s building, waiting for her. Early, causen it were Holy Day so she’d be heading to her Church soon. He wanted to catch her before she left; needed to ask her on something, and ain’t wanted to ask on the phone. 

Ain’t wanted to stop by the night before, neither, cause by the time he woke up Archie’s landlord to get what knowledge he had on Archie, and put out the word that he wanted everything any else could give him on Archie, and finished telling Bump’s brain men to get him what they could on the Peace Factory, it were after three and he ain’t wanted to bother her, even though her lights were on. She had to be up early on Saturdays; he weren’t real clear on why it were so important she be there for they services or whatany it was they did, but it seemed like it were. So he tried not to give her the ring-up or stop by later on Fridays. She ain’t slept enough as it was.

Meant he’d only got himself about four hours of sleep, but that ain’t mattered. He could go back home to bed iffen he wanted to. She probably couldn’t.

He leaned against the Chevelle and felt the cold air around him, watched how it made everything look sharp at the edges. He kinda liked mornings, leastaways when he woke up early to see em instead of being up all night. When morning came after being up all night it were like being shooed home when the bar closed. But waking up early, felt like the day could be anything. Fresh. No shit left over from the night before. 

That feeling wouldn’t last more’n an hour or two, but it were still nice when he had it.

The big front doors of Chess’s building opened and she appeared, glancing around to make certain nobody were there before she stepped all the way out. She saw him. Even at a distance—her building had steps out front, and a patch of dirt between them and the street—he saw her smile, felt himself smiling back. For a second it were like they were the only people in the world. At least it were until a dog started barking in the distance, and somebody yelled at it, and the street sounds that were always there even early in the morning came back. They’d been there the whole time. He just ain’t heard em.

“Hey,” she said when she got close to him. Still smiling, but confusion touched her eyes. Confusion or concern, maybe. “What’s up? Everything okay?”

He nodded. “You heading you Church now, aye?”

“Yeah, it’s Holy Day, and it’s the New Year service, so … ”

“Aye.” He offered her a smoke, which she took, and lit one for himself too. “Got an ask for you. Ever hear on a place called the Peace Factory?”

She thought for a second. The sun hit the back of her head and made her hair glow. Fuck, she was so pretty. “They make magic supplies, right?”

“Aye, guessing so.”

“Yeah, I think I know who they are. Why?”

“Heared something on em, wondered iffen you had any knowledge. You buy from they, or any at you Church do?”

She smiled a little, rolled her eyes. He wanted to kiss her when she did that. Course he always wanted to kiss her, so …  “Ha, no. They make stuff for amateurs. Generic shit.”

“Shit that ain’t work.”

Her smile widened. “Right. The stuff you see at convenience stores, you know? Ready-made sleep spells, that kind of thing, for people who aren’t witches.”

“You got any knowledge on em?”

“The name is really familiar.” She bit her lip. Aye, he’d do the same iffen she’d let him. “It sounds like I should know it, if you know what I mean. You want me to check it out? I can’t get any business records or anything, I’d need an Elder to get that stuff, but I can look at their basic file, if you want.”

“Be a help, aye, iffen you ain’t minding.” 

“Sure. I’ll call you if I find anything, okay?”

“Aye, thanks.” He stepped aside so she could unlock her car door. “Oughta get you gone now, aye? Ain’t wanting make you late or aught.”

“Oh, yeah. Right.” 

He grabbed the door as she opened it, letting her know he’d close it for her. Got him another smile. Pretty cool way to start his day; maybe that were why he was thinking this were a good morning. Causen he were seeing her first thing, and he ain’t usually done that.