Leela is sitting sideways on the dentist’s chair, blowing smoke at the ceiling and swinging her legs. She’s wearing navy three-quarter pants with a big black jumper. ‘Didn’t think you were gonna make it.’
It reminds me of what Nick said when I went to buy the car. Why do people always assume I’m gonna be a no-show? ‘No point getting it done if it’s not done right.’
Leela grins. ‘I like your attitude, boy.’
She hops down, dabs her smoke into an ashtray on the counter, waves me over. The air in the tattoo parlour is freezing. When I pull off my top layers, I get goosebumps.
‘Baby,’ Leela says, pouting. She sits me backwards on the cold dentist’s chair, prods the skin of my back with a gloved finger. ‘This is looking all right. Been taking care of it, have you?’
‘I’m kind of used to the medical stuff.’ I nod towards my leg.
She lifts an eyebrow. ‘Gonna tell me that story one day?’
‘Yeah, one day,’ I say, which is nice and vague. ‘You gonna tell me how you ended up working in a tattoo parlour in the Mallee?’
‘Oh, that’s a long boring tale of woe.’ Leela uncaps the little black and brown bottles, lays a white hand towel over her knee. ‘So you’re happy with the ink?’
‘Yeah, I’m rapt. Thank you.’ I grin at her in the big mirror we’re both facing. ‘I mean, I can’t see it most of the time, but I reckon it’s good.’
Leela gives me a wink. ‘The beauty of back tatts – you can’t see ’em, so you don’t get sick of ’em.’ She hooks up the needle to the wires. ‘And how about Leon, you happy with him too? He’s treating you all right?’
I go still. It’s only when the buzz starts and the needle comes down that I flinch. ‘Well, I dunno who you’re –’
‘Oh, save it.’ Leela waves the hand she’s not using on my back. ‘You think I don’t know what’s going on? I’ve worked here for six years, inked more local scrotes and bully boys and skaters than you can count. Heard all the horror stories, the sob stories. And I don’t truck with the cops.’ She gives me a significant look in the mirror. ‘That’s why I do good business. It’s not my milkshake that brings all the boys to the yard, y’know what I’m saying?’
‘I guess.’
‘So what’s your arrangement?’ she asks casually. ‘You deal?’
I try to ignore the feeling like there’s a white-hot poker inching its way down my back, think about what to say. Snowie and the boys wouldn’t come here if they thought there was a danger.
I decide to just be honest. ‘I run.’
Leela makes a dry laugh. ‘Not fast enough, apparently, if you’re still mixed up in this shit. D’you use?’
‘Nah. I’m clean.’
‘That’s how they all start out,’ she says quietly. In the mirror I see her shrug. ‘Well, it’s a good preliminary survival strategy, anyway. How’d you end up here in Mildura?’
‘Ah. That’s a long boring tale of woe.’
‘Okey doke.’ She doesn’t seem bothered I’m withholding info, tilts her head in the mirror. ‘You want some advice from an old hand? Someone who’s acquainted with the industry but not involved in it?’
‘Sure.’ Considering I feel like I’m making it up as I go along most of the time, any advice is welcome.
‘It’s just you seem like a reasonably intelligent guy…’
‘Tell me whatever you think’ll be useful,’ I say, leaving things open.
‘All right. Here’s some distilled wisdom for you.’ She cleans the tip of the needle, loads more ink and starts a new area on my back. ‘Three pieces of advice. Number one, don’t mix your loyalties. You’re part of Leon’s crew, so don’t forget it. There’s two other crews in town, under Little Toni or Mazerati, but if you start turning tricks for the other bosses you’ll have a very short shelf life. Got it?’
‘Sounds legit.’
‘Okay. Number two, don’t get on the gear.’
I roll my eyes. ‘That seems pretty obvious.’
‘You’d think so, right?’ She swipes down my back with a sterile wipe. It stings. ‘Well, that’s the advice I give everybody, but they never listen.’
