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I’d been working there for over three months and the only rule there seemed to be was that nothing but country or rock ’n’ roll could be played on the CD player. I didn’t even want to remember the day I put in my Coldplay CD. Ally went berserk.
I figured Tex wasn’t happy with me doing a no-show the day before and I felt like a total heel. I started to say something when Tex continued.
“Next time you get in a bar brawl or wrestle with some guy holding a knife, you call me.”
All five customers turned around and stared at me.
I stared at Tex.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m Fortnum’s designated bodyguard,” Tex told me.
I looked at Duke, who was working behind the espresso counter with Tex.
“He kinda is,” Duke confirmed.
I had to say, I was a bit alarmed that Fortnum’s needed a designated bodyguard.
I didn’t have time to think about it because Indy came up behind me, grabbed my hand and pulled me behind the book counter.
“I guess Lee told you,” I said to her when we stopped and I caught a look at her serious face.
“Yeah, he told me. Are you okay?” she asked.
“Sure,” I said, trying to make it sound like I had it all together.
She didn’t buy it and her eyes narrowed.
“Jet?”
“No, really, I’m fine.”
She moved closer to me and squeezed my hand. Then she said in a quiet voice, “I know you think you’re pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes, but we all know that everything isn’t fine with you. Talk to me, Jet. Maybe I can help.”
I didn’t know what it was, maybe the hand squeeze, maybe the quiet voice, maybe because she’d always been so nice to me. Whatever it was, I took a breath trying to think of some way to evade her question and then, instead, it all came pouring out. Everything. Dad leaving us, Mom breaking down, Lottie going to LA, Mom’s stroke, us making do, and the current situation with Dad.
I finished with, “And if all that isn’t bad enough, I’ve got a date tonight with Eddie and I have absolutely no clue what to wear.”
Throughout my story, she looked concerned, sometimes mad, sometimes like she was going to interrupt, but at my final comment she smiled. “That last bit, I can help you with. The rest of it, Lee can help you with.”
I knew Lee was a private detective. I also knew that he was really good at what he did and I knew that he was really expensive. He drove a fancy car, had a fancier motorcycle, had a huge workforce and had some kind of plush offices in Lower Downtown Denver. I couldn’t afford Lee and I couldn’t afford to owe anyone else a favor.
“I can’t ask Lee—” I started.
“Youcanask Lee, but you don’t have to. I will,” Indy assured me.
“Indy, I’d really like to take care of this on my own.”
“Lee says it’s dangerous.”
I laughed. “Did younothear my story? I can take care of myself and everyone else. I’ve had a lot of practice.”
Indy looked at me. “I don’t know. I’ve had a run-in with the criminal underworld of Denver and it wasn’t much fun.”
I was curious but didn’t ask.
“I’ll be safe and I’ll be smart, I promise,” I assured her, wishing I was just as sure and knowing I was anything but.
