A Study with Slugs

Chapter 14: Datus Interruptus

I didn't know if it really had been a bordello back in the day, but it certainly looked as if it could have been.  Given the layout, I had a hard time imagining it had been anything else.

Every other door had a number beside it; Number 6 was to the right at the top of the stairs.  I tapped on the door and waited.  Behind the door immediately to my right—an unnumbered one—I heard a “Shit!” and then a lot of banging around followed by a brief, whispered conversation.  A few heavy steps and then the door opened.  It wasn't Sara.

“Hi, I'm here for Sara?”

“Yeah, come on in.”  She was a tall woman, almost my height, full-figured and wearing an old t-shirt and a skirt—a strange combination which seemed to work on her—with medium-length brown hair and brown eyes.  She led me through the room—which looked like a bedroom—and into the tiniest kitchen I had ever been in, furnished with a student-ready cast-off table and three chairs, and equipped with a stove and refrigerator that looked like they had been shipped in from the set of “A Christmas Story”.  A picture of a big-beaked bird wearing two frilly leotards and kicking up one leg was attached to the fridge by a magnet.  I leaned in and looked at the caption, which read, “The two tutu Toucan can can-can.”  I snorted a laugh through my nose.

“I'm Ellie,” the woman told me.  ”She said she'll be ready in just a minute and you can wait here.”

“Sorry if I'm too early.”

Ellie rolled her eyes.  ”You're not; she's late.  She's always late.  Never by very much, but still.”

“Okay,” I said.  I pointed to the drawing.  ”Yours?”

“Sara's.”

“She draws?”

“Oh yeah,” said Ellie.  ”Ask to see her costume designs.  She's really pretty good.”

I nodded.  ”You don't have to wait here with me if you don't want; I'm fine.”

She looked me up and down with a smile.  ”Yeah, you don't look too untrustworthy.”  She turned and went back into the next room.  I leaned back to wait.

As advertised, Sara was ready in only another few minutes.  She appeared in the doorway of the kitchen.  She had also gone for the “nice but not formal” look, with her red hair down around her shoulders, wearing a beige scoop-neck top and khaki green slacks.  Student-nice, you might say.  Even non-gussied up, I still found her almost ridiculously sexy.  Chemistry; it's a funny thing.

“Ready,” she said.

“Okay,” I said, climbing to my feet.  She had already turned away and headed for the door.  Smiling with one side of my mouth, I followed her.  ”Nice meeting you Ellie,” I said as Sara was opening the door (it didn't have a knob; just a dead-bolt that she had to reach up to operate).

Ellie was already back bent over her studies.  ”Yeah, you too.”  She looked over at Sara.  ”Be a good girl now!” she said.  Sara stuck her tongue out at her.

I led Sara down the stairs and out the door to the car; parking on weekday evenings this distance from downtown wasn't nearly as gnarly as it was in many other places in town, and we didn't have to walk far.

“You sure know how to impress a girl,” she said, as we reached the Rabbit.

“It's a loaner,” I said.

“I hope so.”

“Hey, if someone offered it to me for free, I would take it.”

“I might not.”