She patted my back. “You’re pregnant, Rowan.”
“I am not.”
“Uh, yeah, you are. Having three kids of my own, I know the signs, baby girl.” She handed me the Sprite. “Sip this. As soon as things die down, I’ll run next door and grab a test.”
“Don’t tell Murphy the test is for me.”
“Well, he’s not gonna think it’s for me,” Dusty pointed out.
I whimpered, my stomach roiling again.
“Don’t worry, honey. If he’s nosy enough to ask, I’ll tell him it’s none of his business.”
I didn’t actually hear anything she said after that, as I started to puke in the garbage can again.
Scooby
My phone buzzedwith a call from an unknown number. I answered without looking at the screen in case it was Rowan calling. “Hello?”
“Is this Scooby?” an unfamiliar male voice asked.
“Depends on whoyouare.”
“I’d rather leave my name out of this, if that’s okay.”
“Fine by me,” I said. “I don’t need to know your name to hang up on you.”
“Wait, wait! Earl told me you were looking for someone named Li’L Frisco.”
The caller sounded like a middle-aged farmer type.
“That’s right,” I said, now giving him my full attention.
“Well, you see. I’ve got a cousin who runs a motel off highway 86, near Elizabeth. We got to talkin’ the other night and he told me that four or five Kings showed up at his place last week and just about scared the devil outta him.”
I cocked my head. “I’m listening.”
“At first he thought they were there to rob the place, but instead they rented a room.”
“What’s so fuckin’ scary about that?”
“Well, sir. They rented a single room for a kid calling himself Bennie and they were bein’ real cagey about the whole thing,” he said. “You know, not wanting to show ID, demanding to pay upfront in cash, insisting on picking the room.”
I knew from my research that Li’L Frisco’s real name was Benjamin Delgatto Jr., but that didn’t mean he was Frisco. “What makes you think this Bennie is the guy I’m looking for?”
“Because one of the guys slipped up one time and called him ‘Frisco.’ My cousin would have never noticed except just the night before he was drinking at Smiley’s and Earl told him to keep an eye out for this kid, Frisco. Told him that Scooby from the Howlers had a bounty on him.”
“Why didn’t your cousin call me himself?”
“He didn’t want to get directly involved with street gang stuff. You know how it is. He’s got his business and a family.”
“So, what?” I challenged. “You’re calling on his behalf?”
“My cousin’s a hard worker and an honest man, but his motel ain’t exactly bringing in the big bucks, ya know? And he’s got a daughter, my niece, who’s almost ready for college. Earl said you’d pay ten grand for this information, so I knew I had to call,” he said. “For my niece.”
“If the kid at the motel turns out to be Li’l Frisco and he’s still there when I show up, your niece won’t have to worry about tuition for the next four years.”
I jotted down the address and calculated the fastest route to the motel. It was eleven o’clock and my destination was only about thirty miles away so with any luck, Li’L Frisco would be dead by midnight.