The evening was wearing on a little when Lola edged up to me at the bar where I was listening to a tight-as-a-drum customer lecture the bartender on the correct way to shake a martini (something to do with the rhythm). “Hey, Manny,” she said to get my attention.
“Yeah?”
“I think we might have a problem.”
“You think?”
“Well,” she said, “there’s this guy in the casino…”
“What’s he doing?”
“Nothing.”
“Passed out?”
“If it was that kind of problem I wouldn’t need to bother you. No, this guy is just standing there, staring at everyone else.”
“Show me,” I said. We went to the doorway to the casino and looked in. I growled a little in the back of my… well, in the back of nothing, I guess. “OK, I want to see that guy in my office.”
“Manny?”
“Tell him the boss wants to see him. Now.” Lola looked mystified but turned to do as I said. I went to my office upstairs.
Less than a minute later Lola’s problem knocked on my office door. “Come in!” I said with a snarl, and he did. This time he wore a dark suit but still carried himself like a soldier. “Well, Sal,” I began angrily, “mind telling me why you’re trying to queer my racket?”
“Manuel?” Salvador asked, puzzled.
I sighed, probably more annoyed than I had a right to be, but still annoyed. “I’m playing a dangerous game here, Sal. You know that perfectly well. Now, downstairs I’ve got Maximino and half his gang, several city big shots including the chief of police, plus an assortment of other high-fliers, legitimate and otherwise… and in this town it’s hard to tell the difference. What I don’t need is the head of the LSA coming in and making a show of checking out the joint.” I shaded my eye sockets with one hand and did an exaggerated impression of scanning the horizon.
“Surely it is not that bad, my friend,” Salvador tried to say placatingly.
I wasn’t having any of it.
“Yeah, it’s that bad.” I ticked the problems off on my fingers. “You’re in a crowded casino and you’re the only one who’s not at a table or sitting in a booth, the only one without a drink in his hands, the only one not getting chummy with anyone. Do I have to go on? People are starting to talk.” So it was just Lola, so far. I wanted to keep it that way.
“I apologize,” Salvador said, sounding genuinely contrite. “I did not realize how out of place I must look.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sorry I’m getting so bothered.” I rubbed my temples. “The pressure has been really something these last few weeks. It’s no picnic getting a place like this ready to open. If you wanted to check the club out, why didn’t you send Eva or anyone else who could blend in better? No offense, Sal, but you’re a little too intense for Rubacava’s nightclub scene.”
“Perhaps you are right, Manuel, but I wished to see what you had accomplished for myself. And besides, Eva coordinates our day-to-day operations. She wishes she could have come, but…” he shrugged. “It may be better if I were to leave now.”
“That’d look even more wrong.” I unlocked one of my desk drawers. “Hold out your hands,” I said. Salvador did and I dumped some chips into them. “Go play blackjack. Order a drink. Act like a customer.”
Salvador looked uncomfortable. “I do not know how to play blackjack.”
Somehow I wasn’t surprised. “It’s simple,” I said, and spelled out the rules. “Remember, you’re only competing against the dealer, but pay attention to what’s been dealt to the other players. And try to look like you’re having fun.”
“I will do by best, Manuel.” Salvador went to the door but hesitated. “Would you happen to have a liqueur called Marillo de Oro on hand?”
“Yeah, I think so. Why?”
“I had a glass the night—” he broke off and finished with “Well, I will go try to blend in.” He nodded and left.
When I came down from my office I found Membrillo collecting his hat and coat from Lupe. “Leaving already?” I asked. “Well, I hope you had a good time.”
Membrillo shrugged slightly and said, “The time passed rather pleasantly.”
“That’s all?” I asked. I turned to Lupe and said, “I gotta try harder.”
Membrillo put his hand on my arm and gently said, “Don’t take it personally, Manuel. You can only hope for so much in a world such as this.”
“Then why do you stay here? Why not head off for the Ninth Underworld?”
“Manny,” he said with a shake of his head, “you can search for something only so many years before you stop believing in it altogether.”
Now that took me by surprise. “You don’t believe in the Ninth Underworld?” I asked incredulously.
“Why do you think we’re all here in Rubacava?” he asked.
“’Cause you’re waiting to work off your time,” I said with a shrug, “or you can’t afford passage, or…”
“Manny,” he interrupted, sounding tired, like he was explaining things to a slow child, “we’ve given up. All of us. When you’ve been here long enough, you will too.” He patted my arm gently.
“Well, maybe you’ve given up, but what about the DOD? What are we here for if this world is all there is?”
“We’re in hell. The myth of Sisyphus tells more truth than many realize.” He put on his hat and nodded. “Good night, Manny,” he said and left.
There was only one other piece of excitement that evening. Carla was packing it away as usual and got it into her head that Meche had to be in the club. She tried to form all the women in the joint into a line for my inspection. Lola grabbed her before she could cause too much trouble and marched her to my office where Carla promptly passed out for the rest of the evening.
It was very, very early in the morning when I was in my office looking over the receipt from our first night. I should have gotten some sleep first, but I was too eager to see how we did. Carla’s shoes were on the floor by the couch, left behind when Glottis had picked her up to take her home and pour into her own bed. There was a soft knock on the door and Lola came in. “Hey,” I said, “I thought you left with Glottis.”
“No, I’ve been straightening things up a little.” She sat down on the edge of a chair.
“Plenty of time for that after we all get a little rest.”
“What about that?” she asked, pointing at the papers on my desk.
I laughed. “OK, you got me. I wanted to see what our take was.”
“Any good?”
“We’re in the money, angel. We could be out of debt in a matter of weeks if tonight isn’t a fluke.”
“That’s great, Manny. I’m happy things are working out for you.”
“Things are working out great for all of us.” I got up to go to my private minibar. “In fact, let’s drink to our success!”
“Manny,” Lola said, “there’s something I gotta talk to you about.”
“Well, talk away. I’m in a very receptive mood tonight.”
There was a kind of long pause before Lola quietly said, “I won’t be working here any more.”
I put down the shaker and turned to face her. “What? Why?” I thought quickly. “Is this anything like when you ran out of that road stop?”
“No,” she said firmly. “It’s nothing like that. Just the opposite.”
“Well, I’m a little confused.”