Free No Gun Intended by Zoe Burke Page B

murder. Someone planted it on me, probably by mistake, and we’re trying to figure out who did that and why.”
    Perry folded his arms across his chest and frowned. “Should I be calling the police right now, telling them that you’re here and that you’re connected to the gun?”
    I shook my head. “No, they already know about me. Really. Look, can you just tell us one thing?” He recrossed his arms and didn’t say anything, so I kept talking. “Do you know either Loren Scranton or Wesley Young?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œDid you know that Hank Howard was a drug addict from New York?” Luis asked.
    Perry’s eyes got wide as he leaned toward Luis, his forearms on the bar. “We don’t have drugs in this bar. No dealers, no smokers, none of that. Hank came in here for beers and companionship. He was a nice guy. I never had any trouble from him, and I never heard anyone saying a bad word about him.” He stood up. “I won’t have people talking about this place like it’s a hangout for criminals.”
    â€œWhat did Hank tell you about himself, then?”
    Perry turned to me. “He was quiet. And I don’t pry.”
    â€œDid he have any hobbies, or a girlfriend, or did he have a job, or…?”
    â€œLook!” Perry was leaning toward me, now. “I told you, his life was none of my business. If people don’t want to talk, I don’t press it.”
    I nodded. “I’m sorry. We don’t mean to piss you off. It is just very upsetting to find my backpack was switched at the airport with one holding the gun that shot Hank. Actually, his name was Howard Hanks. Anyway, I appreciate your help, and I really do love your bar, and you’ve been very nice to us. I’m sorry, again.”
    Perry’s shoulders relaxed a little bit. He picked up our glasses and put them in the sink. “You know, I just this minute remembered something. Hank, or Howard, or whatever his name was, he liked a girl. He told me he was really happy about it. He didn’t tell me her name. He said she liked to play pool and that he would meet up with her at the Uptown Billiards Club. This was probably a week before he got shot.”
    Luis placed a twenty on the bar. “Thank you, Perry, for your help. We are grateful. And we are very pleased to meet you and spend time in your establishment.”
    I grabbed my purse and stood up, too. “Ditto, all of that, Perry. Maybe we’ll come back for ‘Rawhide’ night or poetry.”
    Perry sighed. “Don’t bring any trouble with you, that’s all I ask.”
    ***
    Luis was on the phone with Mickey as soon as I pulled away from the curb. “Mick, yes, she went in with me. It was fine. The bartender was helpful. We have another lead.” And then he told him about the Uptown Billiards Club.
    I was forgetting about being afraid and in danger and instead imagining this billiards club and what I might wear when we all went there later that night, figuring that, of course, we would. Ask some questions, see if we could find out about Howard Hanks’ girl, maybe she was Claudia.
    I love to play pool! I’m pretty good, but more important, how can you not feel hot, playing pool? Leaning over the table, shifting your hip to the side as you line up a shot, hearing the smashing of those balls. It’s enough to make a nonsmoker like me want a cigarette, just thinking about it.
    Luis hung up. “Mickey, he is relieved that our meeting with Perry went well, but he is on edge. He wants to talk to you later.”
    I bit my lip, sorry that I had worried Mickey, but feeling good about the progress Luis and I were making. “Is his case finished?”
    â€œHe sounds optimistic. Like he is getting close, maybe tonight.”
    â€œLuis, look, do you still want to move to New York? I mean, you and Ruby? Since the baby is coming and all?”
    â€œYes, amiga, we are