Naked Frame Part 5

"Twenty bucks."

"For just the burger?"

"Yep. Don't even ask how much they charge for the booze."

"And then there's the tip."

"Yep. But that's the best part. Oh, I hope I've got some cash."

"Where do you put the tip?"

"Under the thong strap."

"Men." Rebecca shook her head. "So predictable when it comes to s.e.x."

"True."

"Grabbing a hamburger with you kind of reminds me of when we used to go to Jackie's after home games."

"Except Jackie was wearing clothes."

Rebecca winced. "Oh, great. I'll never get that image out of mind."

"What image?" Gabby grinned.

"Of Jackie walking up to our table in a thong. How old was she? Ninety?"

"At least."

Rebecca grimaced.

"You just pictured the b.o.o.bs, didn't you?"

"I'm changing the subject now."

"Okay."

"This is kinda fun, Gabby. But what can we hope to accomplish here? Our waitress is not going to tell us anything."

"A guy named Joey Ketrousie runs the place for Big Bill. I hear he's from New York City. Maybe he's Mafia."

"Oh, great."

"Anyway, we'll find out if he knows what happened to Big Bill tonight. He wouldn't know yet, unless..."

"Unless he had something to do with it."

"Right."

Cotton Candy delivered their food and drinks.

"Wow, that was fast," said Rebecca.

"Thank you, Ma'am," said Cotton Candy.

Rebecca didn't appreciate being called Ma'am by the perky young thing.

After the waitress walked away, Rebecca leaned in. "How are we going to talk to Joey? I mean, where is he? And even if you find him, how are we going to ask him about Big Bill without getting ourselves killed?"

"You mean capped, right? I love that cool gangster talk."

"You won't love it so much when you're dead."

"Gabby grabbed his burger with both hands, took a big bite, and began to chew. He stopped and contorted his face.

"What?"

He jumped up from the table and yelled, "What the h.e.l.l kind of c.r.a.p is this?" He threw the burger on the floor.

"Oh, G.o.d." Rebecca slumped down.

Cotton Candy ran over to Gabby, followed by two other waitresses. "What's wrong, Sir?"

"How much was this so-called steak burger? Twenty bucks?"

"Yes, Sir."

Gabby's face turned red with rage. "Well the d.a.m.n thing's not worth fifty cents. h.e.l.l, it's not worth one cent."

Cotton Candy said, "I'm so sorry, Sir. Please let me get you another one that's cooked to your liking. Now if you'll have a seat-"

"-no. h.e.l.l, no. I want to speak to the owner of this joint. Right now."

Throughout the room, half-chewed bites and half-spoken words awaited the resolution of the spectacle Gabby had created.

"Yes, Sir. Sure. Come with me."

Gabby motioned for Rebecca to come too.

They followed Cotton Candy down several hallways to an empty office in the back.

"Please have a seat. Someone will be with you in a moment."

"The owner," Gabby insisted.

But Cotton Candy had already closed the door.

Rebecca glared at him. "You're crazy. Just plain crazy."

Gabby held a finger up to his lips, indicating that they should not be talking.

Rebecca looked around for cameras, but didn't see any.

The room became dead silent. They stared at each other, not knowing what to expect.

The door flung open and two large men strode in.

"I'm Joey Ketrousie." The accent was obvious. New Jersey. "What's the problem here?"

Gabby said, "Are you the owner?"

"That's right. And I understand you had a complaint about the food."

"The hamburger tasted like leather."

"Didn't my waitress offer to get you another one?"

"Yes. But I've lost my appet.i.te."

"I see. Well, look, here's what I can do for you. The meal's on me, okay and-"

"-what meal? I couldn't eat it."

Joey's face turned red with anger, and Rebecca thought he might rip Gabby's head off with his large, paw-like hands. But he quickly regained control. "Whatever. My a.s.sociate here, Mr. Ballentini, is going to give you a nice, clean, crisp one-hundred dollar bill. Would that make you happy, Sir?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Good." He motioned for Bobby to give Gabby the money.

"Now," said Joey, "you will never ever come back here again. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, Sir. No problem," said Gabby.

"Good," said Joey.

"You did say you were the owner?" said Gabby.

"That's right."

"I thought William Smotherburn was the owner."

"I'm buying the place."

"When?"

"Hey, what's with all the questions? We're done." He motioned to Bobby. "Get them the h.e.l.l out of here, Bobby."

Bobby led them to the door and opened it. They saw another one of Joey's goons waiting in the hallway. "My a.s.sociate will a.s.sist you to the exit."

Gabby and Rebecca walked out of the room, into the hallway. Bobby closed the door.

The thug said, "Follow me."

Gabby followed, but Rebecca lingered at the door for a moment, trying to hear what Joey and Bobby were saying inside.

The man turned around and saw that Rebecca was not following him. "What the h.e.l.l are you doing, Lady?"

"Uh, sorry. My shoe fell off." She slipped it back on and hurried to catch up.

"Stay with me." He led them out of the building.

Once they were outside, walking back to Gabby's shop, Gabby said. "What were you doing in the hallway?"

"Listening."

"Hear anything?"

"Yeah. Bobby was worried about what to do if Wiley showed up tonight."

"That's interesting." Rebecca could see that Gabby's mind was churning. "What are you plotting now?"

"A way to find out what Wiley knows. Yeah, I'm sure it'll work. But you'd have to go sleazy. You know. A little s.l.u.tty."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

CHAPTER 6 - Monday, 11:52 p.m.

It was nearly midnight when Phillipa Thagery drove up to the gate. She smiled at the guard. He returned a smile and waved her through.

All the guards knew Phillipa well. The brilliant, attractive young black woman was Senior Research Scientist in Product Development at Smotherburn Technologies. Big Bill had given her a free hand and almost unlimited resources to develop a device he hoped would make him a fortune.

Phillipa parked her car, grabbed the McDonald's bag from the front seat, and walked up to the retina scanner at the back door of her lab. She inserted her key card and leaned in to the scanner. The automatic door swung open, and she entered.

She walked through the ultra-modern lab to her office, sat down, and retrieved a bottled water from the mini-fridge next to her desk.

As she took the Big Mac and fries out of the bag, she told herself that someday she would eat better. It wouldn't always be like this. Soon she would have everything she wanted. And she'd never work nights again.

Phillipa took a bite of the Big Mac. She heard something out in the lab...a toilet flus.h.i.+ng.

She got up from her desk and walked out to the lab. "h.e.l.lo? Who's there?"