You're nobody 'til somebody kills you

Fifty-six

It was dark and I almost took a header down the stairs. I caught myself at the last second, then stood there quietly as the two men met in the hallway.

“Leavin’ already, Harris?”

“Gonna check out some of the girls.”

“You wanna go home with one just let me know,” the bouncer said. “I got a few of ‘em on a string.”

Harris said, “I’m sure the feds would be happy to know they got a string of whores bein’ run out of here.”

Both men laughed and kept going in their respective directions. I waited a few more moments, then opened the door to peer out. That was taking a chance, because I could only see one way, up the hall toward the club. I opened it a little more, stuck my head out further and looked at the office door, which the bouncer had closed behind him.

This was my chance to get out of there, but I hesitated and looked behind me. The light from the hall illuminated the basement stairs. If there was the slightest chance that Danny was being held down there, I had to take it.

I closed the door and stood there long enough for my eyes to adjust to the dark. Enough light came from beneath the door to allow me to see the stairs. I started down, taking my time since I had no idea how many steps there were.

I wondered what had happened to Otash. Had he been kicked out of the place? Was he waiting for me outside? Or was he still inside?

I kept going down the stairs one at a time, keeping my hand on the wall because there was no banister. The stairs creaked, but I didn’t think anyone upstairs could hear them.

Finally, I got to the bottom, wishing I had a flashlight. I looked around for a light switch. I didn’t find one.

I started swatting the air, looking for a pull string attached to a lightbulb. I found one and grabbed it.

I looked up the steps. From my vantage point I could not see the light under the door. I wondered if anyone on the other side could see my light.

I pulled down on the string, intending to snap the light on for a second or two, just to get a look around. As the bulb came on it bathed the room in yellow light. I always hated yellow bulbs, and this one was about forty watts. By the dim light I saw a wooden chair in the center of the room. There were some stains on the floor in front of and next to the chair. In the yellow light I couldn’t be sure, but I thought it was blood. Was it Danny’s blood? There wasn’t a lot of it, not as much as if someone had had their throat cut. But somebody had definitely been hurt.

I realized I’d left the light on too long, so I yanked on the string-and it snapped, leaving the light on. I dropped the string onto the floor, and tried to reach the small part that was still hanging from the light, but it was too high. I thought about using the chair to stand on, but the idea that it might have some of Danny’s blood on it kept me from doing it.

Instead, I began to look for a way out. I just hoped somebody would think they had left the light on.

I found a door in another part of the basement. It was a loading double door, and I hoped it wasn’t locked from the outside. It wasn’t. I was able to open one side, go up the stairs, and then close the door without dropping it. The metal would have rang out loud and clear.

I looked around quickly. I was behind the building. I worked my way around to the front and found Otash sitting in his car. When I knocked on the window he just about jumped out of his skin.

I opened the passenger door. “Did that guy come out?”

“Yeah. I would have followed him, but I was worried about you,” he explained. “I did get his plate number, though.”

“Good. Let’s get out of here. I’ll meet you back at the hospital.”

“What the hell happened-”

“Later,” I said, getting out of his car. “The hospital.”

“But why?” he asked. “Why don’t we go back to Miss Monroe’s, or somewhere-”

“Otash!”

“What?”

“The hospital!”

“Okay,” he said, “okay, the hospital.”

He started his engine and backed up. I ran to my Caddy, got in, fired her up and got out of there.

Danny had been in that basement. I felt it in my bones. But at that moment I was intent on getting back to the hospital to make sure Jerry was all right.