Face the Music

Chapter 7

Collins was waiting for me when I got back to the motel. He noticed the distracted look on my face and said,

"Let me guess, you just cancelled the date with Ella?"

"Actually," I said, "she cancelled it before I could. It was really strange actually. Yesterday, she showed no interest in this Gabe guy who was at the restaurant while I was there. She called him a moron right before she agreed to go out with me, but then a few minutes ago, she told me she couldn't go out with me and then Gabe walked up and acted like her boyfriend." I stared into space, still working through it in my head.

"Major bummer, dude, but her feelings probably just changed. You know how girls are."

"But it wasn't just that. A girl talked to me in the restaurant and told me that the last guy who asked Ella out got the shit beat out of him and he ended up behind a dumpster lying in his own vomit." Collins's nose wrinkled at the image. "The girl told me that Gabe and his buddies know I'm sleeping in the motel and they want to have a little chat with me. We might have company tonight." I told him. He smirked, knowing as well as I that a few punk college kids had nothing on us. They had no chance.

"Oh I almost forgot." He said, throwing a plastic bag at my head. "Why can't you buy your own damn shirt? And what bonfire are we going to?"

I sat down and relayed all the information I'd gotten from the drug dealer and from Lisa, about Loretto looking for someone in San Diego, and how I'd thought it was his wife, but we'd hit a dead end after finding out she'd died.

"I thought we could ask some, as Lisa calls them, loud-mouth, drug-using college kids to see if any of them know a dealer who might know anything about Loretto," I told him.

"Sounds like a good time to me. I'm game as long as there'll be college girls there." Collins said.

I chuckled. "Aren't college girls a little young for you, old man?" I teased.

"Age is just a number, kid," he said, and winked at me. "Besides, those college girls might know a few things about our good friend Loretto, and I'm guessing, since they have about as much common sense as God gave a goose, they might be willing to let a few secrets slip."

****

We arrived at the bonfire at 9 p.m. It was happening just in front of Burger Joe's, just like Gabe said it would be. I didn't see him, or Ella, and as far as I could tell Kyle and Joel hadn't arrived yet either. Collins spotted a tiki bar a small ways up the beach and offered to get me a drink.

"I'm good for now." I told him. He shrugged.

"Suit yourself," he said, and started walking toward it. I continued to weave in and out of the mob, trying to find anyone that was high enough to tell me about their dealer. I, not finding anyone to talk to, sat on the edge of the crowd and watched the group's numbers grow as more and more people showed up.

By 10 o'clock, Collins was buzzed up and making friends with some of the college kids. I didn't protest because I knew he'd keep his mind sharp enough to ask the right questions about the drug trade in San Diego.

I just sat and watched until I saw a young kid stumble up. He was covered in sweat and shivering violently, but there was a goofy grin plastered to his face.

Bingo, I thought. I stood up and walked over to him.

"How you doing, man?" I asked, slurring my words just enough to fit in.

"I'm having the time of my life!" He screamed right in my face.

"I can see that," I said, disguising my irritation. "Have a seat over here." We walked to where I'd been sitting in the sand and he flopped down beside me.