Page 18 of Gold Rush
“True.”
Murphy asked, “So these cases, they’re all dropped at the accountant?”
“Yeah, in the back. I didn’t see it, mind you. Pulling up into that alley would have been a big red flag, but I followed the bus after, and…it was empty when they parked it back at Grace Christian School.”
“A school?” Haze was shaking his head. “What assholes.”
“Yeah, well, the reverend at the church next to the school was the one to take the bus the next morning. I don’t know if he’s in on this, but…they didn’t hot wire that bus. They had the keys.”
Murphy nodded and said, “They may all get a piece of this pie, and that means they will not want this pimp to stop business. That means we either make some enemies of them, or we get them to our side.”
“How? They’d want to be paid,” Abs said.
“We pay them once, then we threaten them. To be exposed for having ties with human trafficking would ruin them. They’d lose, and they know it.”
Goldie knew Murphy was right. Still, involving more and more people was messy. They could turn on a dime, but Murphy did have a way with people, and they also had an FBI agent tucked in their pocket, thanks to Cosmo’s boyfriend.
“Well, then, I need to get to some thrift stores and a few of the sex stores that sell clothes. I need to outfit this merry band of hookers,” Abs said cheerfully, always ready to shop for clothes.
“I’ll go with,” Mims told him. “I love thrift stores.”
“How is Sonny dealing with you becoming a hooker?” Eazy asked Mims.
“He loves it. He knows it’s not for real, but he likes…pretending…and stuff…”
Everyone at the table gagged, but Abs laughed. “Kinky,” he commented while silently clapping.
Murphy stopped Goldie after everyone had cleared out of the room. “The Johns are all ready to pick you guys up, but it doesn’t give me much solace. If something happens to one of you, it’llfucking kill me, Gold. This is nothing to fuck around with, but I get why you are hell bent on it. It’s not the money for you.”
“No, it’s not. I hate the fucker, I do. But Dean…it is, I mean, I like him, Murph. I like him.”
“Yeah, like we all couldn’t tell,” he said with a slap to Goldie’s back, and then he walked off laughing.
“Well, fuck. I’m transparent.”
After running up the stairs, he found Dean bussing tables. The more pub food they were serving meant more business during the week.
“Hey, grab this. You have actual muscles,” Dean said and handed him a full bin of dirty dishes.
They walked together to the kitchen, and Dean complained, “People are gross. They spit food and leave it on the plate! I gotta brush that crap off!”
“Yes, people are much grosser than they are at home, I’ve found. But we get paid to clean up after them.”
“Are they that gross with their drinks?”
“Yes. I can’t tell you how many cigarette butts I’ve found in the drinks I buss from the patio. We have fucking ashtrays.”
“Gross. People are gross.”
Goldie grabbed him once he’d set the bin down and hugged him warmly. “Hey, take a break with me. You’re supposed to get fifteen, right?”
“Right. Okay, sure,” he said and grabbed Goldie’s hand and yanked him out of the hot kitchen.
For being much smaller, the guy was strong, and Goldie laughed as he was taken into the back alley, where he was again pushed against bricks. “I want to do nasty things to you in this alley, if I wasn’t covered in gross.”
Goldie smiled at him, keeping in the laugh. “You’re a tough one, Dean.”
“And?”
