Auggie wasn’t the kind of dame you sneak up on. Bigger lugs than me had made that mistake and ended up on a liquid diet. I took the stool closest to the door and ordered a double Mako with a twist. When she heard that, her shot glass stalled just shy of those famous lips. Without so much as a glance in my direction, she said, “It’s been a long time, Thorny. Is this business, or pleasure?”
I kept my eyes on her whip hand, knowing only too well that by the time I saw it move it would all be over anyway. “I thought you might be able to give me some leads on my latest case, Auggie. Seems nobody’s seen the Founders for awhile. There’s talk.”
“There’s always talk, Thorny. Since when do you listen to talk?”
Everybody else in the joint suddenly seemed to have urgent business elsewhere. I understood the sentiment, but I couldn’t afford to let her sniff my fear. I played my ace in the hole.
“Why’d you do it Auggie? You must have known that whole ‘Twitter’ alibi wouldn’t hold up. “
That was about when I heard the growl of Auggie’s bull mastiff, Neptune, coming from somewhere between me and the door.
“Come on, Thorny. Everyone wants to climb to the top, right?”