Chapter 1 #2
I turn to stare at my captain, who is standing behind me, holding his vape. “Yeah, sure,” he agrees. “For five bucks.”
“What?” Melissa scoffs. “Do I look like I have any money on me?” she adds as she picks at the neck of her hospital gown.
“Sorry, babe.” Trenton grins at her. “No one gets high off me for free. You don’t pay; you don’t play.”
I pull my money clip out of my jacket pocket and sift through the large bills until I find a five-dollar note folded inside.
I peel it free and flick it back at Trenton, who deftly catches it in the air.
“This one is on me,” I tell Melissa as I walk around her bed and pull a chair over to her to sit down.
“Trenton, give her the vape so she’ll start talking. ”
“Yes, sir,” Trenton grins as he passes it over to her.
“As long as someone pays the toll, you get to ride along. I’ll let you two talk.
If you need me, I’ll be just outside. Oh, and I want that back before I leave.
You don’t get to keep it for a fiver,” he says as he walks over to the door, then pulls it closed behind him.
“Don’t let any of the staff see you with that,” I warn her as she takes a long draw from the vape and exhales slowly, closing her bruised and swollen eyes. “They have better drugs here they might withhold from you.”
“They already gave me something,” she replies as she raises her arm to show me the IV taped to her. “This isn’t for pain; this is for my nerves.”
“Am I making you nervous?” I ask her as I lean back in the stiff vinyl chair. It makes an unpleasant creak as I cross my legs and try to find a comfortable position.
“After everything Constance told me about the last few weeks? And then having some gangster smash my face? Yeah, I’m a little fucking jumpy with you being here, Maximo.”
“Then tell me what I need to know, and I’ll be on my way. I’m only here trying to find a lead on where Constance might be.”
“Then you’re out of luck.” She sighs. “I don’t know anything other than what she told me about the time you’ve been spending together.
I didn’t even see the men who attacked us come in; they were just suddenly there at our table.
One of them grabbed Constance and dragged her from her seat, and when I stood up to try and intervene the other one smashed my face with the butt of his gun.
I didn’t even see that he had a weapon until he broke my nose! ”
“They didn’t say anything?”
“No, nothing,” she confirms as she takes another hit from the vape.
“I wish I could tell you something. I’m as worried about Constance as you are,” she adds before suddenly raising a hand to her forehead.
“Ugh, I just got dizzy…wait, this isn’t nicotine,” she says, staring at the vape as she licks her lips. “What exactly am I smoking?”
“Goddammit,” I mutter as I get to my feet and walk over to the door. I open it and motion Trenton to come back inside. “What did you give her?” I demand, pointing at Melissa.
“Oh, does she like it?” Trenton grins. “That’s my own special recipe they make for me at this head shop over in the Bronx. It’s good, right?”
“I think I’m going to puke,” Melissa replies as she rolls to her side, gripping her stomach.
“Lightweight,” Trenton snorts as he walks over to the bed and takes the vape from her limp grasp.
Melissa’s eyes close and she rocks back and forth in the bed.
“Hey, stay with us,” I tell her. “I’m not done talking to you.”
The woman lets out only a tortured moan in response. I turn to glare at Trenton, but he just holds up his hands and says, “You can’t blame that on me. It’s not my fault the girl can’t handle her drugs.”
“She thought it was just a damned cigarette, or nicotine, not…whatever the fuck you gave her!” I berate him. I feel my phone vibrate in my jacket pocket and dig into my coat to fish it out. “Keep an eye on her, I have to take this,” I order him with a disgusted shake of my head.
The caller ID says that the call is from Luciani Financial, so I assume it’s just some day-to-day business bullshit that needs my approval. “This is Maximo,” I answer.
“Mr. Luciani, I have a call for you from a Detective Tillman with the New York City Police Department,” our receptionist Nancy says. “May I transfer it over to you?”
“Did they say what it’s in regard to?” I try to clarify. I have a very firm policy of not talking to the police about anything…ever.
“No, sir, they just asked to speak with you directly.”
I consider having her just take a message, but only for a moment. Constance is in danger, and the timing of this call is too suspicious. It has to be related to her. “Put him through.”
I hear a beep as the receptionist connects the line. I repeat, “This is Maximo speaking,” to see if the detective is now on the line.
“Mr. Luciani, my name is Detective Ron Tillman with the NYPD, Thirty-Fourth Precinct.”
“How can I help you today, Detective?” I cautiously greet him.
“I have a woman here at the station named Constance Monroe, who appears to have been the victim of a kidnapping this afternoon. She asked me to get in contact with you…”
“Is she all right?” I interrupt him. My voice comes out sharper than I intend. “Let me speak to her!” I demand before he can reply.
“She’s fine, Mr. Luciani. Well, physically, I’ve been told that she’s fine.
You’re welcome to speak to her once she returns.
One of my associates has taken her to the restroom to try and clean herself up while I tried to find a way to reach out to you.
She was very eager to speak to you and refused to answer any of the questions we tried to pose to her about her abduction. ”
“How did you find her?” I ask him. My mind instantly wonders if the detective is somehow involved in the plot to abduct Constance.
“Well, Mr. Luciani, that’s why I’m calling. It’s a wild story, and there are a lot of gaps that we need help filling in. Here’s what we know so far…”