Page 24 of No Cap

“It’s not a toupee,” the man he was talking to gritted his teeth. “This is my hair.”

“Well, it’s fuckin’ awful hair.” Taite grinned.

“Well, I guess I don’t have to tell you about how your car was just found with every single tire on it slashed but one, a new paint job that says ‘killer’, and a sweet new sun roof,” the man who really did have bad hair said.

I paused.

The comedian was no longer smiling.

He was leaning forward, his eyes huge. “That car is brand new!”

“Brand new, and in need of a new paint job.” Toupee guy shrugged. “Have a nice night, Mr. DeRosa. I’ll keep you updated on any other further issues.”

“Further issues?” the woman beside Taite asked.

The woman was new. I’d not seen her until this last pass.

“My fuckin’ number was spoofed, and it was reported to whoever the fuck deals with that, and they’re accusing me of breaking the law. I just know it’s that fuckin’ bitch again,” Taite grumbled.

“What bitch?” someone at the table asked.

“The bitch who is making my life a living hell!” Taite growled, answering the woman who looked like she could use about two more inches on her skirt.

“The stalker?” Short skirt asked.

“Yeah, her.” Taite lifted his lip in disgust, then curled his hand possessively around the new woman who’d just showed.

Must be a girlfriend.

“She’s terrorizing you, you poor thing.” She patted his chest.

Her phone beeped, and she pulled it up, a frown on her face.

Her eyes widened, then she was straightening up, no longer leaning on Taite.

“I, uh, have to go to the bathroom,” she said as she stood. “I’ll be right back.”

Curious, I followed her, my gaze going to Taite only long enough to see if he’d noticed anything wrong with his girl like I had.

He was too busy bitching about ‘the stalker.’

The stalker being Hollis Aue, was my guess.

It was as I was two steps behind the girlfriend that a flash of white caught my attention.

I follow that flash of white out the door and to the right.

I narrowed my eyes, because something about the woman’s body shape seemed familiar, and it hit me.

I followed sedately behind as the woman pushed into a hallway that led to the back rooms. The girlfriend followed, and I was even more intrigued.

My luck is like a bald guy who just won a comb.

—when Hollis first meets Quincy

HOLLIS

Okay, so I told myself I was going to stop.