Page 111 of Sinners' Appetite
Instead of calling, I fire up the app and order delivery.
A few minutes later, Jeremy emerges from the bathroom. “So…is Jessica going to let you know when Paul makes an appearance at The Palace?”
“I think so. The sooner the fucking better,” I say, flipping through the boring channels included in the basic cable service the motel provides.
We finally settle for watching old re-runs of Orange County Choppers and wait for a knock at the door. When the delivery finally shows up forty minutes later, we start shoveling the pizza into our mouths, interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing.
“It’s probably the girls already…” Jeremy smirks, shaking his head.
It’s not. It’s Jessica.
“Hello?” I answer, placing the call on speaker.
“Hey, Malachi. I just got word that Paul isn’t alone at the club. He’s got a woman with him.”
“That makes it a little complicated…”
“My…friend says she doesn’t look very happy to be there. Paul’s been dragging her everywhere with him. She hasn’t spoken a word to anyone.”
“Really? Do you think she’s—a possible sale?”
“I don’t know. My friend is keeping a close eye on his every move, but you might want to get down there soon. I’d hate to see another woman fall victim to his fucked up game.”
“We’ll head down there and scope the place out. If he leaves, we’ll be on him.”
“Be careful. Who knows how many of those men are in on it. I’m sure he’s not operating alone,” she sighs.
“Keep me updated. Let us know if he leaves before we get there.”
“Will do. Good luck.”
I end the call, grabbing my keys off the desk as Jeremy grabs our key cards.
“What do we do if he leaves with her?” he asks on our way out the door.
“We follow them.”
“Then what?”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“I don’t know about this, man. What if she’s part of the whole thing?”
I start the car and back out of the motel parking lot. “Then I guess we’ll have to kill two birds with one stone.”
After just a few minutes, we drive past The Palace and I swing a left into the parking lot across the street. I carefully park among a lineup of cars so I don’t look out of place and kill the engine.
“Shouldn’t we have some sort of plan?” Jeremy asks, annoying the hell out of me every time he opens his mouth.
“Respectfully—do you ever shut the fuck up?” I ask.
“I just…” he starts to explain before I cut him off.
“Just go with the flow. Never stick to a plan. Plans never work out. Plans are where ideas go to fucking die.”
“You’re such a peach.” He laughs, shaking his head.
I shoot him a smirk, reaching into the back seat for a bottle of water. The second I open the bottle and lift it to my lips, I see the front door on the club open. My eyes focus in on the couple walking out first, in front of Paul and whomever the young woman is tagging along closely beside him.
