Page 55 of The Kat Bunglar

Kat met Christian’s meaningful glare with a mutinous stare of her own but stayed silent. Walking out into the glaring sunlight, they quickly piled into Joseph’s rented Fiat before it got carjacked.

“How are we doing?” Kat demanded as soon as they buckled in. They were going to meet ‘Smoke’ tomorrow afternoon, and they hadn’t made a dent in offloading the goods.

“Between the three pawnshops, we have about ten grand. I need another thirteen G if I expect to keep Smoke off my back,” Joseph exhaled and rubbed his forehead.

Kat stared at the back of Joseph’s head, her stomach churning with rage. “And what happens when he takes the money and continues to screw with you? What leverage do you have? And isn’t it convenient that not only do you get a cut of our hard-earned money, you get the first cut!”

Joseph met Kat’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Smoke is a man of his word. To be fair, my dilemma is a bit more urgent than yours. If you had Haitian gang members after you, you’d get first dibs on the money too, yeah?”

Christian looked between Kat and Joseph from the front passenger seat with an awkward smile. “You guys, we’re so close to getting this resolved. We’ll meet with Smoke tomorrow—”

“Where are we meeting Smoke?” Kat asked bluntly.

“The Port of Long Beach,” Joseph answered before lighting a cigarette. He offered it to Christian, but she shook her head and wrinkled her nose.

Kat’s throat became irritated when the smoke began to fill up the car. “What time tomorrow?”

Joseph hesitated before reaching for Christian’s hand. “Smoke said tomorrow afternoon. He isn’t very definite with times, if you know what I mean.” Joseph winked at Christian before leaning in for a kiss.

Christian giggled and met his lips enthusiastically.

Kat groaned and mimicked a retching sound from the backseat of the car. “Okay, okay. I take back what I said. I’m going to need $300 for transport money. I’ll take a few duffel bags and offload what I can. I’ll meet you all back at the apartment later.”

Christian pulled back from Joseph. “Kat, we’re in Inglewood. Are you out of your mind?”

“I’ll catch an Uber to Huntington Park. Trust me, I’d rather take my chances in Inglewood than in this car with you two.” Kat stuck out her hand as Joseph reluctantly handed over $300.

Kat got out of the car and walked around to the trunk. She knocked on it twice before she heard the audible click letting her know Joseph had opened it. She quickly pulled out the two neon pink Victoria’s Secret duffel bags. Slamming the trunk shut, she knocked twice more, signaling that they were good to go.

She watched them drive away with a mixture of regret and bitterness for what was about to happen. Making sure they could no longer see her, she walked back into the pawnshop.

“Hey Hal,” she said with reluctant familiarity.

“Oh look, if it isn’t the mute cousin from overseas back to pay me a visit,” Hal’s nasally voice replied with sarcastic glee.

“What did you think of him?” Kat asked.

“Your boy’s a piece of work, but he isn’t a regular. I put his name in the database and nothing came up in any of the other pawnshops in the area. That being said, it doesn’t let him off the hook completely.”

Kat nodded in understanding. “I need a place to store some things. I’ll come back when I’m ready for it.”

“Honey, this isn’t a storage locker. I’m overflowing with inventory here—”

“I’ll pay you,” Kat interrupted.

Hal’s eyes went back to being calculating as he eyed her up and down. “How much were you thinking?”

Kat briskly opened up the duffel bag and pulled out a Tiffany bracelet. “Whatever that’s worth.”

Hal pulled out his loupe to eye the piece more closely under its magnifying glass. He let out a low whistle. “Oh, this will do nicely. I lowballed your friend like you asked me to.”

Kat coughed in irritation. “He isn’t my friend.”

“Obviously not. When do you want me to call the Po-Po on him?”

“Tomorrow morning. Let them know he’ll be at the Port of Long Beach in the afternoon making a deal with a Haitian Militia Gang member named Smoke,” Kat said.

Hal eyed her with skepticism. “If I’m putting in that much effort, what do I get in return? You know I wasn’t lying when I said you were cute,” he chuckled suggestively.

---