You're nobody 'til somebody kills you

Fifty-five

I closed the door behind me, found myself in a hallway. Voices were coming from a room at the end of the hall that was obviously an office, its door open. If anybody came out of that room, I’d be screwed. I’d have to claim I was looking for the men’s room and see what happened.

The voices were simply a buzz. I had to get closer to hear what was being said. I wondered if the bouncer who had walked Otash out would come back and catch me from behind. I had Otash’s last word in my head, about not drawing the gun. If I’d paused to think, I probably would not have rushed across the room in the first place and through this doorway, but the decision had been made so I had to come out of it with something.

As I crept down the hall toward the open door I passed several other doorways. I checked them quickly, hoping none of them would creak. Two closets, a bathroom, and a stairway heading down. I was tempted to go see if Danny was being held down there, but I decided to try to hear some of the conversation first. In fact, I could already hear some of it.

As soon as the voices became clear enough I stopped.

“In the hospital, still hasn’t woke up,” one voice said.

“Well, he better wake up,” a second said. “They’re not gonna like it if a homicide investigation gets started.”

“There’s already a homicide investigation, remember? Johnson?”

“Nobody cares about Johnson, but this guy got hit in Monroe’s house. That’s news.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the first man said.

Apparently there were only two men in the room. I wondered if one of them had a scar down the center of his forehead. I could hear, but I couldn’t see. For that I’d have to get even closer. Most of the room was out of sight. But getting closer would put me in a totally defenseless position if someone entered the hall from the other end.

“Where the hell is your partner?” the second man asked.

“Still at the hospital,” the first man said. “He’s keepin’ an eye out.”

“For what?”

“Whatever,” the first man said. “A chance to finish the guy, news that he died, whatever.”

“Do they know about that? Jesus, you’re gonna kill a guy in the hospital? You know, you freelancers kill me.”

“Yeah,” the first man said, “that could be arranged.”

“Very funny. Why don’t you go out and look at some of the girls? Let me get back to work.”

“I was just checking in for orders.”

I heard a chair creak, and then the sound of somebody walking. I turned to hotfoot it back up the hall, but at that moment the door at that end started to open. I was seconds from being discovered from both ends. Use my bathroom story, or duck behind one of those other doors?

I made up my mind quickly, opened a door and stepped in, closing it behind me as gently as I could.