Danny saw a figure moving down the darkened alley toward him. Light from a dirty bulb farther down the alley briefly identified the bald head. Leonard Waschuk!
Leonard paused near the rear of the Black Water and looked around. Danny held his breath and watched. Leonard bent over and Danny heard the sound of a brick scrape as it was moved out of place. Moments later, Leonard hurried off down the alley.
Jack saw Red glance behind him toward the front entrance of the bar. She put her beer down and casually made a thumbs-up sign with her fist, while pretending to scratch her chin with her thumb. Jack pretended not to notice Leonard as he walked by. Leonard made a circle around the pool tables, then walked out the front of the bar.
Red looked at Jack and said, “Okay, sit tight and get your bread ready. It's time.”
Jack nodded to the group of men playing pool and said, “Do you want me over there?”
Red grinned. “Naw, sorry about that. First-time customers. You know how it is.”
Red went to the rear door and pushed it open. Seconds later, she was back. Jack passed her the money under the table. She discreetly counted it, then passed him two baggies of powder. As Jack took it, Red said, “Shit!”
“What's wrong?”
“Bart and Rex.”
Jack turned around and saw two large men slowly moving through the bar. They were scruffy-looking and wore jeans. Even the bouncer, who himself was a giant of a man, quickly stepped aside as they approached. One man was casually tossing a ring of keys into the air with his hand. They made a jingling sound each time he caught them. The noise in the bar died off to a few whispers and the sound of jingling keys.
“Who are Bart and Rex?”
“City narcs,” she whispered. “Bart's the one with the keys.”
With his back to the two men, Jack slowly tucked the two baggies of powder in the elastic tablecloth under the table, then glanced behind him. He saw looks of fear and hatred on the patrons' faces as Bart and Rex walked past them.
Jack heard the jangling of keys come closer, then stop behind him. He stared at Red, trying to read her eyes, then slowly took a sip of beer. He could see Spider sitting at another table with a junkie. The junkie let out a dry cough and put his hand to his mouth.
The jangle of keys started again, but on the second toss, Bart missed them and they fell beside Spider's table. Bart stooped down to pick up the keys,
but as he did, he grabbed the junkie by the throat with his other hand and hurled him backward off his chair onto the floor.
Rex immediately pulled out his gun while Bart sat on the junkie's chest and choked him.
“Open your yap!” Bart yelled. “Spit it out!”
The junkie shook his head and gritted his teeth.
Without letting go, Bart used his other hand to take out the handcuffs hanging from the back of his belt. He flipped one cuff open to expose the serrated clasp, then jammed it into the junkie's mouth. A small bundle of dope, wrapped in a condom, spit out from between the junkie's bloody lips. Bart then dragged him out the front of the bar while Rex tagged along, his gun still drawn.
“Christ, I hate those fuckin' guys,” muttered Red.
“Too damn close, if you ask me,” said Jack, retrieving the two baggies from under the table. “Think I'll sit and have another beer and make sure those two gorillas are gone before I leave.”
“Yeah. Good idea.”
Danny had seen Leonard return to his stash and then hand the drug to Red. He waited for Jack to exit.
What the hell is taking him so long?
A car came down the alley and stopped. Someone opened the trunk, and Danny cursed silently as he felt the weight of more garbage being thrown on the pile.
The waitress came over to Red and said, “Someone called and said to tell ya your package is here.”
“Yeah? Thanks. Send a cab around back for me, will ya?”
Red sipped her beer. A moment later she stood up and said, “Gotta go. See ya around.” She walked out the back door into the alley.
Jack wanted to leave as well. Danny would be fuming, in more ways than one. He decided to give Red a few minutes to clear the alley. She was paranoid enough without him walking out right behind her.
Danny watched Red enter the alley. She looked around, then strolled over to where he was hiding as a taxi rolled to a stop behind her.
Has she seen me?
She reached her hand toward the garbage.
Should I pretend I'm drunk?
She shook the garbage and said, “Hey! What're ya doin' in there?”
What the hell should I say?
A girl moaned loudly.
Someone is lying on top of me!
Red shook her again and she started to wake up. Red stood back and said, “Oh my God, Marcie, it's you!”
She half-lifted and half-dragged Marcie out of the Dumpster and into the alley.
“It's a good thing I came along! Come on, get in the cab. What happened?”
Red got in the taxi with Marcie and the car disappeared down the alley. Danny was able to get the taxi's number.
The door opened again. It was Jack.
“It's about bloody time!”
Jack helped Danny stagger out of the garbage. He had sat for so long that his legs had gone numb. “Did you see Leonard?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, I saw him. But that's not all that happened. Red set up some young girl by the name of Marcie. Only about ten or twelve years old. She's really hurt. They just left in a cab. I got the number.”
“So did he stash it?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Leonard. Did you see where he stashed it?”
“Yeah, there's a loose brick over on the wall, but this kid â”
“Where? Show me!”
Danny found the loose brick and pulled it out. There was a small empty cavity in the wall behind the brick.
Jack was pleased. “This is great! I've got an idea. With the amount I scored tonight, we better stay away from here for about a week. After that â”
“Forget the fuckin' stash for a moment, will you!”
“What's wrong?” “This kid! I got the number of the cab that took her away. I think we â”
“You're worried about someone in this âden of snakes'?”
“This is different! This is just a kid!”
Jack gestured toward the bar with his thumb and said, “Everyone in there was a kid once. We can't let ourselves get sidetracked over â”
“Damn it, Jack! Aren't kids what this is all about? The girl that Red set up tonight ⦠she's about the same age that Maggie was.”
Natasha Trovinski treated her last patient of the night. She saw the child to the door and watched her leave in a taxi. Her patient left against her advice, but she was used to people ignoring her advice in this clinic. She returned to her office, straightened up the papers on her desk, and shut off her stereo. She was looking forward to going home and having a long hot bath.
Considering this last patient, I'll probably have a long cry at the same time.
She took her coat off the rack as her receptionist walked in.
“They're back. The two Mounties who were here earlier in the week.”
“He's too early to have his stitches out.”
“It's not about that. They want to talk to you about the girl who just left.”
She put her coat back on the rack. “Send them in.”
Dr. Trovinski quickly located
The Marriage of Figaro
and turned the stereo back on.
“Gentlemen! Come in and have a seat.” She looked at Danny and said, “How is your hand, officer? I hope you haven't been ⦠falling on any more glass?”
Danny grinned, then said, “No. My hand is fine, thanks.”
“Jack, I want to thank you for the CD. I also want to apologize for lying to you about being married.”
“Don't mention it.”
“How did you know I wasn't?”
Jack smiled, then said, “Trade secret.”
“What CD?” Danny asked.
“The one she put on as we were walking down the hall,” said Jack. He caught her blush and added, “We want to ask you about a young girl who just left here.”
“Her name is Marcie,” said Danny.
“I told you gentlemen before, I don't talk about my patients. I extended that courtesy to you. The same goes for my other patients.”
“But we're police officersâ¦,” protested Danny.
“Most of my patients are not on very good terms with the police. If I talk,
especially
to the police, some of them would risk dying rather than come in for treatment.”
“I'm sorry,” said Danny, letting out a sigh. “I guess you're right. Besides, she saw you, so I'm sure she's okay now.”
Okay? That damned kid is far from okay!
She watched Danny get to his feet. Jack remained seated, staring at her.
“She's not okay, is she, doctor?” he finally said.
She stared back. She didn't need to speak. The tears that flooded her eyes said it all.
“I deal with victims in my work,” Jack said. “You and I, our objectives are not all that different. You treat the victims. I try to eliminate those who turn people into victims. We just go about it from different angles. You have my word. Nobody outside of this office will ever know that we have talked to you. I really would like to know what happened to her. Maybe I can do something to help or to prevent someone else from getting hurt.”
Danny looked at Jack.
What did he really mean when he said eliminate?
The doctor stared at Jack for a moment, then quietly said to Danny, “You better sit down. This will take a few minutes.
She waited until Danny sat down and then looked at Jack. “Marcie has recently become a street kid. Except for a grandmother in a nursing home, the only relative she has is her father. Although she wouldn't come right out and say it, I strongly suspect that her father carried on an incestuous relationship with her. Tonight she told me that she went to sleep under someone's porch when she was attacked by a dog and repeatedly bitten. She said that the dog's chain got wrapped around her neck and she almost strangled. She said she got her hands on her first fix of heroin tonight, to ease the pain.”
“So that's what happened,” said Danny. “And someone dropped her off in an alley after she fixed.”
Her reply was laced with anger. “That is not what happened! There was a woman with her. Long dyed red
hair and tattoos. I wanted to speak to Marcie alone, but she insisted that her friend had to be with her.”
“I'm acquainted with her ⦠companion,” said Jack.
“Marcie was coached. She looked at her so-called friend for every response.”
“Did you treat her for
animal
bites?” asked Jack.
“It was evident from the eye teeth that they were animal bites. I treated her for bite marks on her fingers, breast, and thigh, but her clothes weren't punctured or torn.”
“Sexual perversion with a dog,” said Jack quietly.
“That's my guess. And you can bet she didn't inject herself, either. The injection site was on her right arm. She's right-handed, so the likely location should have been on her left arm.”
Danny felt nauseous. He thought of Tiffany.
If someone did that to herâ¦
He waited until they left the clinic before turning to Jack and asking, “What can we do about this?”
“There is nothing we can do right now.”
“She's just a kid, for Christ's sake. We've got â”
“There's lots of kids like Marcie. Social workers are always on the street trying to convince them to accept help. It's not easy. Even if we take Red out of the picture, there will always be someone else to take her place. All we can do is wait for an opportunity.”
“What kind of opportunity?”
“I don't know yet, but as far as Red goes, she told me that she can deal with Leonard's connection if he isn't around. Providing the quantity is a quarter-pound or more.”
“So?”
“So for now it would be better if we dispose of Leonard.”
“Dispose of Leonard? What do youâ¦?”
Danny was interrupted when Dr. Trovinski caught up to them and said, “Excuse me, gentlemen, but I'm off shift now. Would you mind walking me to my car?”
They walked in silence to her car. She unlocked her door and then looked at Jack and blurted, “Would you like to have dinner with me? I'm off on Sunday. I know it's short notice, but that's the only day off I have for a while.”
“I'm sorry,” said Jack. “I already have a commitment for Sunday.”
“Bring her along!” said Danny. “Make it a foursome.”
“I was taking Danny and his wife, Susan, to a little Italian restaurant. A family-run place. The food is excellent. If you would like to join us⦔
“You don't mind?” she asked.
“Doctor, I don't mind at all!”
“My name is Natasha. Please, no more âdoctor' bullshit.”
Danny noticed that their eyes came more alive as they looked at each other.
Jack is right. If you pay attention, you can tell a lot from people's eyes. Wished I paid more attention to Jack's eyes when he talked about disposing of Leonardâ¦.
Marcie locked the bathroom door and eased herself into the bathtub. Steam rose from the water. She closed her eyes for a moment and gritted her teeth. In the other room, Red turned on the stereo, and it blasted out heavy metal. Marcie could feel the vibrations of the music when she laid her head back on the ceramic tiles.
She sat up and with a facecloth gently scrubbed her body with soap and rinsed in the hot water. Then she scrubbed herself again, rubbing harder.
Then she felt it. Slowly at first. Like lice, crawling over her body. She examined her skin. There was nothing there.
She started over, using a hand brush, feverishly washing herself. Her skin became raw and red. The bandages on her fingers became soggy and fell off. Blood seeped through the dressing on her chest. She stopped washing. She didn't feel any cleaner. She sat for a moment with her arms at her side, and then she cried.