“Stay strong.” To Will he said, “Do a magic trick for us! Break the ice.”
Will had a reputation for being able to do magic but Zoey had only ever seen him do one coin trick. It wasn’t something you asked him about.
Without breaking stride, Will said, “Look for your wallet. You’ll find it’s not in your pocket.”
Alonzo’s face froze. He reached for his back pocket.
“It’s right here.”
“But just for a moment, you had doubts. That is the trick.”
“Touché! Have a seat.”
There were three chairs, but Wu remained standing behind them. Behind Wu were two of Alonzo’s bodyguards, each of them much larger than Wu, who also only had one unbroken arm. They stood so that they were blocking the door and Zoey thought this was all fine, just fine.
“So,” said Alonzo, “why has the Lord brought us together on this beautiful day? Is this about that unfortunate virgin who held up your pajama theater a month ago?”
Will, already sounding impatient, said, “Yes, the one whose heart you say you ate for breakfast this morning.”
Alonzo stared at him for a solid three seconds, as if trying to hold an expression. Then his eyes lit up and he threw his head back, laughing with his whole body. The sound filled the room. Will sat, stone-faced. From behind them, Alonzo’s bodyguards joined in the laughter. Zoey felt Wu place a hand on the back of her chair.
After he caught his breath, Alonzo said, “Sorry, I couldn’t hold it any longer. You think I eat human flesh, Willy? It was a pig’s heart. Just a little bit of theater. Saw the story on the news and thought we’d have some fun. It’s almost Devil’s Night!”
Will said, “So you don’t know anything about Tilley? We’ll let you get back to your business, then.” He made like he was about to stand, but clearly had no real intention to.
“I didn’t say I didn’t know anything. I just said that wasn’t his heart.”
“Great. Did you kill him?”
“No sir.”
“Do you know who did?”
“Before I answer, I want to ask you something.” He looked at Zoey. “Why did you believe me and my boys would eat a man’s heart?”
Zoey hesitated. “Because … you explicitly said so on camera? Several times?”
“I say the fact that you thought it was real says more about you than it does me.”
“I don’t know what you want from me, here.” She glanced at Will, looking for a rescue.
In a friendly tone, Alonzo asked, “You know why I own a clothing store?”
“Uh, I’d say because you need a legit business to launder money.”
“Aside from that. I sell the suits at cost, because they’re needed for job interviews. I even rent out suits by the hour, for that purpose. Tell them they can pay when they get the job. Or not.”
“So you’re not a bad guy, you just pretend to be one for your videos?”
“Zoey,” interjected Will, “you could fill an Olympic pool with the blood this man has spilled.”
“Is that true?” asked Alonzo. “Or have I just made you think it is?” He turned his attention back to Zoey. “See, you can’t get a job without a nice suit. You know why that is? It’s because a job interview isn’t really to see if you can do the job. It’s to see if you can properly assume the role of a member of a higher class. And guess who gets to decide what that looks like.”
Will said, “We’re getting off the point here…”
“Are we?” Alonzo stayed fixed on Zoey. “See, that’s your people’s power. You’ve got all of the finest things locked away, accessed by a secret handshake that only certain kids learn growing up. The rest of us get left out in the cold, where asking the wrong person the time of day gets you shot. Not by a police officer, not in this city, but by a low-rent merc who answers to no one but some coldhearted millionaire looking down from way up high. Well, when all other kinds of power are denied to you, the power of fear is all you’ve got left.”
“And so your only choice is to say you eat human hearts. Sure. So why are you mad at me for believing it?”
“Who’s mad? I’m sitting here calm. I’m not raising my voice. Once again, you assume savagery. You brought that attitude in the door with you. As usual.”
Zoey was sweating.
Will, on the other hand, sounded merely bored. “Look, if you don’t actually know anything about Tilley, we need to go chase down other leads.”
Still keeping his eyes on Zoey, Alonzo said, “You know three young men were shot outside the Kennelworth apartments last week? Private security did it, said they were trying to break in. They were visiting their grandma.”
Zoey had not heard this, but Will jumped in. “Zoey doesn’t own Kennelworth and those weren’t our people. Those were VOP.”
Zoey said, “And as for your job interviews and secret handshakes, a couple of years ago I heard a group of managers burst out laughing after I left an interview, then they posted my application on a ‘Job Interview Fails’ website. It was a job cleaning toilets.”
Alonzo smiled.
Will stood and buttoned his suit jacket. “Let’s go. He doesn’t know anything.”
“I know who you should talk to. How about that?”
“Who?”
To Zoey, Alonzo said, “Ah, your little heart is racing. Now look at your partner here, he’s not scared. You know he’s not even carrying a gun? See, he’s got that confidence that comes with knowing that if somebody wrongs him, a whole lot of other people with guns will come along and exact unthinkable vengeance. What do you like to do for fun?”
The question caught Zoey so off guard that she wasn’t even sure she’d heard it.
“What do I like to do for fun? Uh, these days I mostly get high and watch street streams. Or those Blink feeds where they’ve got the cameras tied to animals.”
“Oof. That sounds depressing.”
“Have you ever followed a squirrel’s life over the course of a day? It’s hilarious.”
“See, I’ve already diagnosed your problem right there. You’re carrying all of the stress and troubles of wealth, but you’re not having any of the fun. You have Halloween plans? Why don’t you come to the Lincoln Showroom? Doing a costume party. It’s a jazz club, a little upscale, shouldn’t be too scary for somebody like you, especially not if you’re there as my guest.”
“I can’t tell if you’re making fun of me or what you’re doing here.”
“No mockery at all, you can even bring your bodyguard. My parties are very subdued, all about fine music and soft conversation.”
“My Halloween costume wouldn’t fit in the door.”
“Can’t say I’ve ever heard that one before.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Alonzo rolled his eyes. “Ugh. I know what that means.”
Will said, “You’ve had your fun, give me your lead and let us get on with our lives.”
“You ever wonder how your personal fan club put together a million dollars for the bounty?”