Forty-Five
Cole parked a block off Sixth Street, Austin’s famous bar and entertainment district. The plan was for him to go alone to try to find and talk to the tattoo artist. There was no reason for all three of them to expose themselves out on the sidewalks of Austin. Especially in a wild place like Sixth Street, where there was a heavy police presence. As soon as he got out of the vehicle, Cole could hear live music booming out of a host of venues. Jazz. Pop. Rap. Country. Classic Rock. It could all be found on Sixth Street. He hadn’t been there in more than fifteen years, but it looked like nothing had really changed. Many of the same bars were still going strong. The entire street was still blocked off at night and the crowds of people were still packed in tight. It was Sunday night and the last chance for Austin’s party crowd to get their groove on before college classes and the professional workweek took back over.
Cole put on a pair of nearly transparent sunglasses he’d purchased at a gas station and kept the hood of his new black sweatshirt up over his head. He wasn’t going to take any chances on being recognized. Thankfully, people wore all kinds of weird clothes, glasses, and hats on this street. He peeked at the mapping app on his phone. BlindSide Tattoo & Piercing was a block up ahead of him on his left. He began quickly threading through the dense crowd. As expected, the police were everywhere. Arrests were made every night on Sixth. Cole already spotted two uniformed officers sitting up on police horses. He could see the same kind of grouping only a block away. He made sure to stay as far away from them as possible.
He spotted Voodoo Doughnut up ahead and knew the tattoo parlor was directly across the street. More weaving in and out of the crowd, passing by Darwin’s Pub and the Soho Lounge, before finally stepping up to the bright-blue and black front of BlindSide Tattoo & Piercing. The lettering on the outside of the glass door said the shop was open until two thirty every morning of the week. He opened the door, moved inside, and climbed a set of stairs. BlindSide was on the second level. He entered a cool and spacious lobby with black leather sofas, chairs, mirrors, hardwood floors. Most of the seating was currently occupied. The place was busy. Heavy metal music was pumping.
Cole approached a glass counter, where a young woman with pink hair, several nose piercings, and full sets of tattoos covering both of her arms looked up at him.
“Hey,” she said. “What can we do for you?”
“Is Jack Harlen working tonight?”
“You bet. Every night. You got an appointment?”
“No, I’m a walk-in.”
“Can I get your name?”
“Seth Rutter.”
“You done this before?”
“Get a tattoo? No, first time.”
There was no reason to lie. His eyes scanned the room, looking for the guy they’d already identified from looking up his Instagram account.
“Well, Jack’s currently finishing up a job. But Cliff is open right now, if you want to get started right away.”
“No, it really needs to be Jack. My friend says he’s the man.”
She smiled. “He is the man. He did this whole arm.”
She held up her left arm, twisted it to show him all angles. It looked like a fiery Dungeons & Dragons scene.
“It’s beautiful,” he said, engaging the best he could.
“Thanks. All right, let me go see how much time he has left. Be right back.”
“Okay, thanks.”
The young woman slipped away from the counter and followed a hallway. Cole exhaled and his shoulders dropped a bit. He really hadn’t wanted to have to try to track down Candace’s old high school friend if he wasn’t at the tattoo parlor tonight. He pulled his phone out, quickly typed a text message to Lisa: He’s here. About to speak with him. She immediately hearted his message. He sent another text: You guys okay? She responded: Yes. No issues. Just anxious. He hearted her message. Cole then spotted the tattooed girl returning from the back hallway.
“Jack is actually about to wrap up,” she said. “So you won’t have to wait too long.”
“Great.”
“Can I get you something to drink? Whiskey? Tequila? Believe me, a shot of either can really help first-timers like you.”
He grinned. “I bet. But I should be good.”
“All right, I’ll take a shot for you. Have a seat. He’ll be right out.”