Free Trouble Vision by Allison Kingsley

be back in a little while.”
    She left, dodging between tables and people, her red hair making her stand out in the crowd.
    Clara watched Molly go, uneasiness gnawing at her stomach. “I don’t like her going in there by herself. We should be there with her.”
    Stephanie flapped a hand at her. “Sit down. She’ll be fine. Jason adores her. He won’t let anything happen to her.”
    “He might have adored her once, but now they’re broken up, who knows what he’s thinking.”
    “You worry too much.” She smiled at the server, who was dumping two glasses of beer on the table. Froth ran down the sides of the glasses and formed little puddles on the table.
    “Wanna tab?” The server transferred a wad of chewing gum with her tongue to the other side of her mouth and poised her pen over her pad.
    “No, I’ll pay.” Clara fished in her purse for her wallet. “I’d like another beer for my friend, please.” She handed the server a twenty.
    “You want me to take it out of this?”
    “Yes, please.”
    “I’ll bring your change with the beer.” The server took off, shoving a scruffy-looking man aside as she barged between the tables.
    Stephanie said something Clara didn’t hear. She leaned forward. “What?”
    “I said, good luck with that.”
    Clara picked up her beer. “Take Molly’s beer. She can have the one I ordered.”
    Stephanie reached for the glass. “I hope all this is worth it. This stuff tastes like cat’s pee.”
    Clara sent an anxious glance at the spot she’d last seen Molly. “If she’s not back soon, I’m going after her.”
    “What?”
    Clara shouted it again.
    Stephanie frowned. “We’ll both go. Give her a few more minutes.”
    Tired of shouting everything, Clara leaned back and nursed her beer, her gaze fixed in the direction of the pool room.
    Seconds ticked by without any sign of Molly returning. The server appeared out of the crowd with a loaded tray, slammed a glass of beer on the table, dropped a couple of bills in front of Clara and disappeared into the mob again.
    Clara shifted around on her chair, trying to get a better look at the door to the pool room. She could hear voices raised in argument from across the room. Putting her glass down on the table, she shot to her feet. “I’m not waiting any longer. I’m going to see what’s happening in there.”
    “Wait, I’m coming with you.” Stephanie started to get up, then paused. “Wait, what about the coats? Are we just going to leave them here? What if they get stolen?”
    Clara pulled hers off the back of the chair. “We’ll take them with us. Grab Molly’s, too, and bring it with you.” She headed off to toward the rear of the bar without waiting for her cousin.
    She was halfway across the room when a muscular arm shot out in front of her, grabbing her around the waist. A bearded face grinned at her, the eyes bloodshot and bleary. “Hey, pretty lady, what’s your hurry?”
    Clara came to an abrupt halt. Pushing her face up close to his, she tried not to breathe in the toxic fumes of whiskey. “Get your hands off me, or I’ll knee you where it hurts the most.”
    The guy dropped his arm and stepped back, his hands in the air. “Whoa, lady, take it easy. I meant no harm.”
    She wasted no more time on him, but plunged through the crowd, hoping Stephanie was close by. Finally reaching the door of the pool room, she turned to see if her cousin was there. Stephanie was right behind her, a huge grin on her face.
    “Whatever did you say to him?” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “He looked as if he’d been bitten by a snake.”
    Clara shook her head. “Never mind him. Let’s find out what happened to Molly.” She shoved open the door and stepped into the pool room.
    There were three tables, all with people standing around them. The lights had been dimmed and it was hard to distinguish faces. Clara was still scanning the room when Stephanie gave her a nudge.
    “There’s Molly over there.”
    Clara