No weed tonight, but that’s fine. I’m getting too old for that shit, anyway.
I raise my bottle and nudge his arm. He glances over at me, smiles, and clinks my bottle with his. “Here’s to good times past, present, and future.”
“Hear, hear,” he says. We take a swig from our bottles. Then we sit in silence listening the muffled sounds of the party raging on under our feet mixed with the silence of dusk. Teddy says, “So, I noticed Cindy making eyes at you tonight.”
I think for a moment. “Which one’s Cindy?”
“The blonde with the tits.” I glance dumbly at him. That doesn’t narrow it down. He rolls his eyes. “Sparkle mini-skirt and dangly earrings.”
The image of a young woman with tits so big they were busting out of her shirt and a sequined mini-skirt that just barely covered her pink panties comes to mind.
“Hmm,” I say as I take a swig.
“That’s it? ‘Hmm?’ That’s all you got to say?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Not in the mood, I guess. The girls who hang around here kind of run together in my mind. The last bunch of times, it was like I was fucking the same girl over and over again.”
He snorts a laugh. “The last bunch of times was at least a year ago, partner. You must be pent up. Get your rocks off while the getting’s good.”
I shake my head. I don’t know why, but I’m just not in the mood, I suppose. “I’m good. Thanks for thinking of the welfare of my dick for me.”
“Yeah.” He laughs. “Somebody’s got to if you ain’t gonna do it.”
We drink and listen to the beat of the music for a little longer. Then Teddy says, “Listen, there’s something I need to give you a heads up about.”
“What’s up?”
He pauses, his eyes scanning the horizon for a moment. “Somebody’s been asking questions about that night,” he says. “More accurately, about Nicki.”
I take another swig of beer. “Anybody that I should be worried about?”
“Not sure. One of my associates has been approached, though. You know Chivita’s Car Repair on Morton Rd?” I nod. “The owner, Greg Guerrero, is a buddy of mine from my time in Joliet back in the day. He told me he had a customer who started asking about the kind of car that Nicki used to drive. Asking about how often the brakes failed or if there was ever a recall surrounding that.”
I take that in, drinking my beer. “They didn’t name Nicki, specifically?”
“Not that Greg mentioned, no. But it’s a little suspicious, don’t you think?”
I look at Teddy curiously. “Sounds like a coincidence to me. What happened to Nicki was fucked up, but it was an accident.”
“Yeah… so everybody’s said.”
I sigh and finish my beer. This is an old conversation. Teddy has brought this up every so often, poking holes in what the police reported on the accident. I’ve never refuted anything that Teddy’s said, however. It’s just a theory, and anyway, I can’t remember one way or the other.
“The thing is,” Teddy continues, “I’ve been in this game for most of my life. So has Greg. We’ve learned to watch out for people asking questions they know they shouldn’t be asking. And he wouldn’t have brought this to me if it didn’t raise alarms.”
“So, what are you saying, exactly?”
“I’m saying…” He sighs, taking a moment to mentally rephrase whatever he’s about to say. “All I’m saying is keep your eyes open. That’s all. Something’s brewing about that whole thing, and I’d hate it if you got caught by surprise.”
I take that and nod solemnly. “Thanks for telling me. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Teddy gives me a smile in the dim twilight and says, “That’s all I ask.” He groans and stands up, stretching his back until it pops. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a woman waiting for me.”
I snicker. “Have fun, man.”
“I always do.”
I watch him walk to the ladder at the edge of the roof and climb down. I sit for a little longer, watching twilight as it starts to change the sky at the horizon.
There’s always trouble brewing somewhere, always something hiding just beyond my line of sight.
Let’s hope I see it before it hits.
