Ironhorse

106

Virgil waited, but there was no response from the whore Laskowski or Bloody Bob Brandice.

“If you are in there Bob, now’s the time see what you’re really made of.”

Virgil stopped and we listened, but there were no sounds.

“I know living and dying you don’t think much about, Bob, both are pretty much the same to you, but on the living side of things I know you’d like to bring me down. Here is your chance. If you are in there, why don’t you not act like the no-good coward you are and let me know.”

After a moment we heard a woman’s voice. “I don’t see him,” the voice said.

“Laskowski?” Virgil said.

“Yes,” she said from somewhere in the dark.

“Where is he?” Virgil called out.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I think he left.”

“Single,” Virgil shouted.

“What?” Laskowski asked.

Single was our word for a five-count. I started counting, and I entered the back door on five. The church was small, a one-room situation with a partition creating two sections where the whores took care of business. I moved to see both sides, and there was no Bob. I saw Virgil and Berkeley but no sign of Bloody Bob or Laskowski.

“No Bob,” I said.

“Laskowski!” Virgil called out.

“Yes,” she said.

We all looked up and saw her. She was naked, straddling a rafter about twelve feet off the floor.

“You okay?” Virgil said.

“No. I’m scared and I ain’t no damn monkey,” Laskowski said. “Somebody help me, catch me.”

She threw one of her legs back over the beam, slipped down, and hung from the beam.

“I got you,” I said.

I stood under her. Laskowski dropped, and I caught her in a sitting position like it was a practiced circus act.

“You hurt?” Virgil said.

“He didn’t touch me,” she said. “But he tried.”

“When did this happen?” Virgil asked.

Laskowski grabbed a blanket to put over Betty Jean. She turned back to us with no thought of covering herself.

“’Bout thirty minutes ago,” Laskowski said. “I just finished a customer, and when he left I heard some slappin’, things sounded kind of tough. I called out to Betty Jean, then I peeked around the separation here, and the mean bastard reached for me. He had me cornered. I couldn’t make it to neither of the doors so I crawdadded my ass away from him and climbed this wall like a blistered barn cat. All the time, he was just a-reachin’ an’ grabbin’ for me. He caught my foot a bit, but I kicked the hell outta him and he let go.”

“And then he left?”

“He cut Betty Jean and then he left. It was like he just forgot about me. He cut her, then he walked out the door. I thought maybe he was just actin’ like he was gone, so I just stayed up there.”

We got Laskowski settled in with the working gals at Sleepwalkin’ Cindy’s place, rustled up the city undertaker to take care of Betty Jean, and started looking for Bloody Bob again. We looked everywhere. For hours we looked. We checked all the places we previously looked and we found some more places to look, but we found nothing.