But now Stephen was going to doubt my ability to help him. I wasn’t going to let him walk away from me thinking I was an idiot and this had all been a waste of his precious time.
Even if it took me all night, I was going to come up with a list of Italian restaurants to visit tomorrow and we were going to get another lead.
When Nick sent me a stream of photographs from his hotel room in Melbourne on Saturday morning, and asked how things were going in NYC, I was tempted to reply that his girlfriend’s buddy was likely going to get me killed. But the truth was I didn’t blame Noelle for the unpleasantness yesterday. I was just relieved we’d both got out in one piece.
Thinking about how those arse-wipes had tried to touch her had my adrenalin racing again, so I went straight out for an early-morning run to burn it off. I’d nearly lost my cool and done something stupid. You didn’t go around threatening women. Obviously decent human beings didn’t threaten to hurtanyonefor money but the thought of them laying hands on her… I could still feel her small body tucked under my arm, trembling, like it was imprinted to my ribs…
I pounded the streets at a ridiculous speed for the heat, pushing myself too quickly and nearly pulling a muscle for my idiocy. By the time I’d walked back to my apartment, Noelle was calling me. She had a list of five restaurants she wanted us to visit that day. I’d have been grateful for a day off the search after the fiasco in the bar but she wasn’t available on Sunday and the fact she was voluntarily out of bed before 9am had not escaped my notice. Her firm but noticeably less confrontational tone also registered. Perhaps she felt guilty about it going so wrong yesterday.
Yesterday’s dead end had only seemed to make her more stubborn though and I couldn’t help feeling that I’d started something with her that I didn’t have complete control over anymore. Like I’d programmed a diminutive red-headed terminator and couldn’t cancel the action now.
So, now I was back in Little Italy, at a restaurant called Bennito’s. It was double-fronted, painted rusty red around its large windows and we had a table under the dark green canopy out the front. The smells from inside the restaurant made my stomach turn over. All I’d done was shower before heading over to her apartment to pick her up.
When the waitress came over to take our drinks orders and I just asked for water, she kicked me under the table. Possibly she didn’t feel as bad about yesterday as I’d thought. It was surprising how much a sandal could hurt. ‘What?’
‘Are you sure you don’t want something more…y’know? Exciting?’ She lifted one pale freckled shoulder; the thin strap of her top sliding closer to her neck from the movement. ‘How about a glass of wine?’
I blinked. ‘It’s a little early.’ Barely 11am.
‘But it’s excellent forlubrication.’ She raised her eyebrows at me, and I clicked. She wanted me to spend a decent amount so that the staff felt more happily disposed towards us. I wish she’d told me before that was her tactic. It made sense – it was similar to what we did with clients. And it would have saved me the bruise on my shin.
We both ordered a glass of the most expensive wine on the menu and the waitress left us.
‘First it’s coffees, then fruit – now I’m wining and dining you. I’m beginning to think it would be cheaper to hire a private detective. I could go sunbathe while they were doing their work.’
‘You bring up an interesting point there. Whydoyou want to do this yourself? Law firms can usually handle tracking down people who have inherited money.’
I squinted out at the street where people were bustling by. ‘It’s expensive.’
‘You can afford it.’
‘Can I now? Tad presumptuous of you.’
‘You’re astockbroker.’
‘I might be a bad one.’
‘You’re not a bad one.’ She laid her menu down and folded her arms over the top of it. ‘You ooze competency.’
‘I think that’s a compliment even if it sounds disgusting.’
‘There is something inherently oozy about bankers – deal with it.’
‘And with the fact that I have to pick up the cheque for all manner of refreshments and bribery? I should deal with that too?’
‘Yeah.’ She flicked a mischievous look up at me and went back to reading her menu. I watched her for a moment as she was reading. A curl of red hair had escaped her clip and was brushing against the curve of her neck.
‘I suppose,’ I said, clearing my throat as she lifted her head again. ‘I wanted to do it myself because…it’s my last opportunity to do something for my mum.’
Her eyes were very clear as they regarded me, and a smile touched her lips. ‘Well then, I’m honoured you’ve let me help you.’
The waitress brought our drinks over, saving me from having to think of a response. She left us to choose our food. My glass was icy cool, and I pressed my thumb and forefinger to the stem, the condensation on the outside running off and pooling against my skin. Half the tables were full outside. I couldn’t see through the window to my left, the reflection and the golden writing on the outside made the people inside nothing but ghosts. I sighed.
‘It’s not probable he’s going to be working here anymore is it? And how likely is it they’ll remember him, even if he did, once upon a time?’
‘Oh my God. So defeatist, Stephen. I know we hit a bump in the road yesterday, but this is not the attitude I expect from a city high-flyer.’ She took a long drink from the wine and groaned. ‘Wow. You really can taste the difference when you buy the expensive stuff. Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’ I was tempted to order a full bottle since she liked it so much but who knew what would happen if I kept drinking in this heat, with her groaning like that – I’d most likely end up making a fool of myself with her again.
