Free Loose Ends by D. D. Vandyke Page A

nothing street.”
    “Maybe. Not tonight, though. Couple days for sure. How much?”
    “Whatever five bills will get.”
    “Yeah, I can hold that much. Pass them to you cheap.” He leered, probably figuring he’d take his profit out in trade.
    I reached for my cell. “Give me your digits.”
    Red recited a local number, which I punched in and saved. I sent him a quick text. “There. You got mine. Ping me when you have something.”
    “Sure, girlfriend,” he said as he leered again.
    “Not gonna happen.”
    Red shrugged and smiled, clearly not put off. “Why not? We’re the same, you and me. We both live for the game. I can tell.” He reached across and took my hand in a strong grip.
    Using a simple judo move, I disengaged my arm and shook it to let the sleeve of my blazer fall into place. “Touch me again and –”
    “And what?” Red asked with that maniac’s grin.
    “And I’ll have you barred from this club. The owner’s an old friend of mine.”
    That threat stopped him more effectively than violence, as I knew it would. “Okay, okay,” he said, lifting his palms to me. “Sorry. Jus’ tryin’ to be friendly.”
    I forced myself to match his leer. “I could be friendly too if you get me what I want.”
    “I said I would.”
    “I want more than that. I want you to introduce me to your connection. Cut out the middleman.”
    “Cut me out, you mean. Why would I do that?”
    “I don’t sleep with people I do business with, so if you got any interest in hooking up it has to be on my terms.”
    “You’re playing me,” he said flatly.
    “What do you have to lose?”
    “I don’t have the time to get jerked around. I got women whenever I want.” He snapped his fingers.
    “Junkies that will do anything for a fix, you mean. If that was all you wanted you wouldn’t be hitting on me now.”
    Red grinned. “I like smart girls. You ever think about partnering up?”
    I knew he was referring to poker, not sex. Two players working together could collude to swing the odds in their favor, though it was hard to do subtly enough to get away with it. “That’s not me. Anyway…the introduction?”
    Polishing off his drink and looking into the distance as if thinking, he eventually said, “Okay. Why not? Let’s go.”
    “Good.” I stood and slipped out of the booth, holding up a hand. “Give me a minute.”
    Red nodded and watched as I walked across to Sergei.
    “How’d you do, solntse ?” he asked.
    “I didn’t play.”
    Sergei smiled. “Good.” He left his concern at that flat syllable, but I knew he cared. He always nagged me when he thought I played too much.
    “What I need is that info. Give me a name.”
    “Not good idea, Cal.”
    I leaned in. “Listen, Sergei, you know I can take care of myself. There’s a ten-year-old girl out there duct-taped to a chair and I promised her mother I’d find her. The people involved with this shipment have her. You’re a father. How would you feel in her position? How would you feel if it was me?” I gripped the bar and dropped my voice to a whisper. “That name takes me one step closer. Please, dyadya Sergei , tell me.” Calling him uncle always sweetened him up.
    Sergei’s black eyes, dark pits set within deep sockets surrounded by prune skin, stared into my own as if searching for a way to avoid answering. Finally, he spoke. “All right, Cal. I tell you. And I tell your mother if you don’t come home tonight. The name is Houdini.”
    “Houdini? Is that a joke?”
    “No joke, and you heard nothing from old Sergei.”
    I patted him on the cheek. “Not so old. You still have a heart.”
    “In box, locked in my safe.” He caught my hand, kissed it and winked. I’d always be a little girl to him. Maybe that was why I could usually get what I wanted.
    “So, where do I find this Houdini?”
    Sergei backed away to begin wiping the spotless bar again, eyes downcast. “Ask your other uncles. I tell you nothing more.”
    I sighed with