Gin Palace 02 - The Bone Orchard

ride home once Augie’s back. Tell Augie to sit tight till he hears from me. Do you understand?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Try to get some rest while you wait for his call. No shame in resting. Hartsell’s rest, too.”
    “Where are you going?”
    “I need to find someone. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll call your house by dinnertime, at the latest.”
    I went into the kitchen then and took a few gulps of rice milk from the carton in my refrigerator. It, aside from a container of yogurt and some leftover noodles and tofu, was all there was on its shelves. I had a few bucks in my pocket and nothing in the bank. I would need the few bucks for gas to look for the man whose knee I had popped. I put the nearly empty carton of rice milk back in the fridge and closed the door, then went back into the living room and took the Galliano bottle standing by the door and left. Tina and I looked at each other as I closed the door behind me. I locked the deadbolt and then headed downstairs to George’s apartment on the second floor. I knocked and it took him a moment to answer the door.
    He was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing when I saw him a few hours ago. I could tell he had been sleeping in them. He leaned against the doorframe, his eyes swollen. I smelled whiskey on his breath.
    I handed the bottle to him and said, “What happened to my friend?”
    George whispered, “He lay there on the porch for a minute, then got up and limped to an old LTD and drove off. That was all I saw. It was too far away. I didn’t see any plates.”
    “Did you call the cops?”
    “Yeah. They showed up about ten minutes after he left. I told them what happened, but I kept your name out. I figured that was the wise thing to do. They said there wasn’t much they could do. Then they left.”
    “Did you notice what color the LTD was?”
    “It was dark, maybe black, maybe blue, maybe green. But it was definitely a dark color.”
    “Anything else?”
    “Yeah. The cops didn’t seem all that interested. They told me it wasn’t worth their filing a report. Apparently some asshole zapping customers with a stun gun outside my business is something to be expected nowadays. I don’t know. I pointed to our PBA sticker in the window but they weren’t impressed.”
    “Listen, George, do me a favor. If you see this guy again, let me know, okay? Don’t call the cops. If he leaves before I get here, just let him leave. Catch his license plate if you can, that’s all.”
    “What’s going on, Mac?”
    “It’s nothing. Go back to sleep. I’ll see you around.”
    I left him before he could ask me anymore questions. Even though it was daylight I took a good look around before I started toward my car. Once I was inside I cranked the ignition till the engine caught. As it warmed up I counted the bills in my pocket. Eight dollars. After a minute I shifted into gear and headed in my uninsured car toward the Texaco station on the corner of Sunrise Highway and North Sea Road.

Chapter Three

    It was warm inside Southampton Hospital, the air dry and distinctly serene. I took in as much of the warmth as I could as I headed for the reception desk. The woman sitting in a low chair behind it looked up and eyed me uncertainly as I approached her. Being a gargoyle, a scarecrow, a grotesque, I was used to this. I gave her the warmest smile I could muster up, but I could tell it did little to ease her. By the time I reached the half circle barrier-counter that separated us there was much in the way of defensiveness, even hostility, in her posture.
    “Can I help you?”
    I placed both my hands palms down on the counter top. I did this sometimes to put people at ease, to show them that I was nothing much to worry about. But I don’t think she even saw my gesture; she didn’t take her eyes off my untended hair and the five-day-old stubble scattered across my face like some indication of class or nature. Some people just didn’t like the sight of me.
    I told her I was looking for a nurse named Gale Nolan. Her guard didn’t lower in the least.
    “And what is your name?”
    “Mac.”
    “What?”
    “My name is Declan MacManus.”
    “May I ask what this is in regards to?”
    “It’s personal.”
    “She’s very busy right now. Perhaps you should come back after lunch.”
    “It can’t wait till then. It won’t take long.”
    “I’m sorry, but she’s very busy working right now.”
    “Look, I’m a friend of hers, okay? I look like hell