With that, Marlowe slipped by me and went back into the club, leaving Aubrey and me alone in the parking lot. We both stood there for several minutes, just staring each other down until Aubrey broke our silence. “I guess this is where I’m supposed to say I’m sorry for being a complete nutcase back there.”
“No one’s asking you to apologize. I just came out here to see if you were okay.”
“I’m fine.”
“You sure?” I motioned my head over to the bar. “’Cause back there, you looked pretty shaken up.”
“Why are you doing all this?”
“Not sure I’m following.”
“The job. The apartment. Those guys back there … And now you coming out here to make sure I’m okay.” Her eyes narrowed as she said, “You don’t know me. I could be a psycho ax murderer, and yet here you stand, still doing what you can to help me, and I have no idea why.”
I didn’t respond. Hell, I didn’t know how. I had no clue why I’d gone out on such a limb for her. Clearly frustrated by my silence, she shook her head and said, “Just forget I asked. I need to get back to work.”
Without saying anything more, she turned and headed back inside, leaving me standing outside alone with my thoughts. I was tempted to go after her and try to explain myself but decided against it. She’d already been through enough for one night. There was no reason to add more bullshit to her plate, so I let her be and went to my office to get some work done.
Unfortunately, my mind kept drifting to Aubrey, which made it impossible to focus long enough to get anything done. I thought about my earlier conversation with Rafe and how he’d urged me to talk to Lynch. Knowing he was right, I sent Lynch a message and told him to come see me. A short time later, he stepped into my office and asked, “What’s up?”
“I have something I need to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” He sat down in the chair in front of my desk. “Whatcha got on your mind.”
“I wanted to talk to you about your grandparents. Specifically, your grandfather.”
“What about him?”
“He ever mention a girl named Aubrey Cash?”
“Not that I can I remember. Why?”
“Apparently, he has a connection with our new waitress, Aubrey. I don’t know what that connection is, but she knew your grandfather. Said he told her to come here if she ever needed a job.”
“Why the hell would he send her all the way here when they lived in fucking Colorado?”
“No idea. I was hoping you might be able to help me out with that.”
“Sorry, brother. I don’t have a fucking clue.” His brows furrowed as he asked, “She say how long it’s been since he told her that?”
“Apparently, it’s been awhile. She said she worked for them before going off to college, but I’m not sure I believe her.”
“Then, call her ass in here, and let’s find out what the hell she’s all about.”
“I don’t think that’s the best way to handle this, brother. There’s something going on with this girl. I can feel it. I think it’s best to just hold on and see how things play out.”
“But she came in here and talked about my family. She knew them. She could know something about what happened to them that day. How the hell am I supposed to just sit on that?”
“Just give me some time to build her trust. I’ll find out what her deal is, and we can go from there.”
“I don’t like it. I don’t like it one fucking bit, but you’re the boss here. I’ll do whatever you think needs to be done.”
“Appreciate it, brother, and I promise you’ll be the first to know when I figure this thing out.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that.” Lynch stood up and took a few steps, but before he walked out of the room, he turned back to me and said, “My grandparents were good people, Menace. Really good people. They didn’t deserve what happened to them.”
“I know. I hate that shit happened to them.”
“If my grandfather sent her here, he’d want us to look out for her.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“Then, I’ll do the same.”
Lynch didn’t say anything more. He simply walked out of the office and went back to work. If it had been anyone else, I might’ve worried that he’d go interrogate Aubrey, but Lynch was a man of his word. I knew I didn’t have to worry about him, but at the same time, I also knew he’d hold me to my word and expect me to find out whatever I could about Aubrey. That wasn’t going to be a problem because I intended to find out everything I could about her.
The following day, I had some shit to take care of, so I got to the club later than usual. Mazie was on one stage while Brandy was on the other, and from all the hootin’ and hollerin’, it was clear that folks were enjoying the show. I made my rounds, and when I saw that things were rolling like they should, I went over to the bar to grab myself a drink. After I gave Lisa my order, I turned to watch the crowd, pleased that everyone seemed to be having a good time. Lisa placed my beer on the counter and said, “Here ya go. Let me know if you need anything else.”