Chapter 20 – Ink #2
I honestly didn’t know if the man was serious about something getting them, but I knew he was serious about watching over Ariel. So, I left him to it. “Night, Fletcher.”
“Night, dumbass.”
“Dumbass?”
“Everyone knows it but you, dumbass.”
“How about a bowling tournament,” I suggested after dinner Thursday evening. I knew I wouldn’t be able to think about anything other than what was happening at the party, but I didn’t want to put a damper on anyone’s fun.
When I mentioned it to Presley, she suggested bowling, since we still hadn’t used the bowling alley. It sounded good to me, so we mentioned it to Dice and Daphne.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Presley said dutifully.
“Me too,” Daphne said.
“I love bowling!” Dice said with too much enthusiasm.
Yeah, that fucker was getting acting lessons for Christmas.
“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea,” Alice said.
“I smell a setup,” Buck said. “But I’ll go along with it.”
“Wanna bet?” I asked.
“Now we know you’re up to something,” Walter added.
“There’s only one way to find out,” I said. “After you.”
Bowling turned out to be a better distraction than I thought. Between Alice trying to figure out what was going on and Walter and Buck thinking everything was a prank, I didn’t realize we’d bowled the last game of the tournament until Alice said it was time to announce the winner.
“No need to make a fuss,” Fletcher said and headed for the door. “You can congratulate me tomorrow. I’m tired, and I need to rub some alcohol on my knees. Night.”
“There’s no way,” Buck said.
“Just a moment,” Alice said as Eugene tallied the final scores.
Eugene tossed the pencil onto the table and crossed his arms as he laughed. “Your dad won. By a lot.”
Alice laughed. “By how much?”
“Let me put it this way. We bowled three games, and he was the only one with a score over six hundred.”
“Who came in second?” Buck asked.
“It wasn’t you,” Walter said.
“It could’ve been.”
“It was Ariel,” Eugene said.
“Either they’re cheating, or we’ve been hustled,” Buck said.
Ariel laughed. “I wasn’t cheating. I promise. Pop taught me how to bowl. He used to be in a league or something like that.”
“That would’ve been good to know before the tournament.”
Ariel shrugged. “No one asked.”
Presley leaned against me and rested her head on my chest. “It’s almost time for Phoenix to call. You should probably go.”
“Okay, I’m not sure how long I’ll be.”
“It doesn’t matter. Just go, I want to know what happened as much as you do,” she said. “I doubt I’ll be asleep when you get back, but wake me if I am.”
“I will,” I said and dropped a kiss on her lips before heading upstairs with Dice.
When I turned on the phone, it rang almost immediately.
“Shit didn’t happen like we discussed,” Phoenix sighed. “Not sure if it’s good or bad.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’d still like to know what happened,” I said, struggling to contain my impatience.
“I wish I could tell you, but I don’t even fucking know,” he said, clearly frustrated. “I was about to give the signal when we heard sirens. A lot of fucking sirens. Like I said, I don’t know the details, but the party house is actively burning to the ground.”
“That can’t be a coincidence,” I said.
“It’s not. At least I don’t think it is. But is it a good or bad thing? I’m not sure,” he said.
“Do we know if the three tit zits were in the house?” I asked hopefully.
“Not yet. We know people were there and injuries have been reported, but we don’t have any names yet.”
“Fuck,” I breathed. “What’s the plan going forward?” I hadn’t considered what would happen if things didn’t go according to plan.
“If the fuckers are still around to be a problem, we’ll assign security details until the problems have been resolved. We’ve got a handle on things for now. Try to enjoy the last of your vacation.”
“Thanks, Prez,” I said and ended the call. “Fuck!”
Dice leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “I think they knew about the fire and weren’t there. Hell, maybe they’re the ones who did it.”
“Yeah, or they could’ve known we were coming,” I suggested.
“How?” Dice asked skeptically.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe that Silas kid or his sister told someone they’re staying at the clubhouse. It gets to Bill, he tells Willy, and somehow the ass suckers put more than their lips and asses together.”
“How long have you been waiting to use that one?”
“Since I saw the room Ariel’s staying in. It has an under-the-sea theme, and there are these fish—”
“Stop,” he interrupted.
“No, listen. Some of the fish have these huge-ass lips, and they’re swimming behind these mermaids with huge asses.”
Dice tilted his head back and closed his eyes—a tell I recognized immediately. He did it every time he admitted defeat.
“If you don’t tell me, Daphne will.”
He exhaled heavily. “If I tell you, you’ll tell Daphne.”
“Fuck, now you have to tell me.”
He sighed and closed his eyes again. “Daphne said something similar about the mermaids and the fish.”
“I’m listening,” I said as we started to walk back to our rooms.
“Daphne mentioned the fish lips first, and Walter disagreed. She pointed out the asses, but Walter said he didn’t see it. Then she showed him the mermaid with the red tail, and Walter said you were a bad influence on his daughter.”
“Me?” I laughed. “Just me?”
“Yep.”
“Liar,” I said as we reached the elevator.
Dice clapped me on the shoulder. “You good?”
“Yeah,” I said seriously. “I am now. Thanks for that.”
“Any time.”