“And where will you be?”
“Right outside listening.”
“You sure you’re doing this for the case, or to keep me from doing something dumb with that woman?”
“Maybe both, Melvin. Maybe both.”
Chapter 41
DECKER WAS IN THE FRONT SEAT of his rental car parked outside of a place called 10th and Main. That was also its literal location. It was the club Rachel Katz had referred to and of which she was a co-owner.
It seemed to be pretty popular, Decker noted. There was a bouncer out front who nearly equaled him in heft, and he had been vetting a long line of mostly younger and seemingly well-heeled men and women vying to get in.
Maybe his hometown was on the way back, he thought. Although he didn’t know if what amounted to an overpriced bar for well-off millennials was actually a good barometer of an improving economy for the average person.
He reworked his earpiece, and the noise from inside the club, communicated to him by the wire that Mars was wearing, came through loud and clear.
He settled in for a long evening.
* * *
Inside 10th and Main, Mars and Katz were seated in a roped-off section of the club, apparently reserved for VIPs. The music was loud, the bar crammed, and the dance floor full of swaying, already partially drunk people.
“So what do you think so far?” said Katz.
“Good vibe, lots of energy, and I can see your cash flow skyrocketing at the bar right now.”
“We put the bar there to maximize access to it from the tables and the dance floor.”
“Right. That way you get a continuous flow of business. And dancing makes people hungry and thirsty. And your table-to-patron ratio is good too. Pack ’em in, but without seeming to.”
“You sound like you know business.”
“Like I said, I dabble. Got some properties here and there. I like to work with low-income folks for the most part, give them a shot. Don’t make as much profit, but I don’t need the money.”
She sipped her cocktail and moved her head rhythmically to the music. “That’s very generous of you. I have a slightly different business model.”
“What’s that?”
“To get as rich as I possibly can.” She laughed and rattled the ice in her glass.
“Different strokes,” said Mars, grinning.
“How long have you worked with Decker?”
“Well, like I told you before, I don’t work with him. I’m not with the FBI or anything. But he and I are buds. We played college football against each other. I was a Texas Longhorn; he was an Ohio State Buckeye. I ran the ball and he tried to tackle me.”
“Did he?”
“He did as well as anybody did back then. Which wasn’t all that good.”
She laughed. “I respect a man who has confidence in himself.”
“I was up for the Heisman my senior year but lost out to a quarterback.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow. The Heisman? Did you play in the NFL?”
“I would have. But my career took a detour.”
“How so?”
“Death row in a Texas prison.”
Katz gaped until Mars grinned. She pointed at him. “Good one. I almost believed you for a second.”
Mars looked around. “This is an expensive buildout. Did you finance it, or do you have your own cash?”
“I have partners with their own cash. They bring the money, I bring the local know-how. I put the deals together and execute on the plan. My background as a CPA really comes in handy. This is our eighth project together in just the last three years. And we’re going to be expanding this same club concept to other cities in other states.”
“Long-range strategy. That’s a good thing. If you can streamline supply chains and consolidate your backroom and marketing operations, you can gain some economies of scale as you grow the business.”
She looked at him with a new level of respect. “Exactly. So, you’re here as Decker’s friend, but are you helping him with the investigation?”
“I guess I’m a sounding board for the guy. He’s Sherlock Holmes and I’m his Dr. Watson.”
“Is he really that good?”
“The FBI thinks so. And I’ve seen him do some incredible things. And somebody tried to kill the guy, twice. So there must be something to hide, right?”
“God, I didn’t know that.”
Mars flexed his injured arm. “Dude cut me up too before he got away.”
“Oh my God, you poor thing.”
“Nothing too bad. I’m good to go.”
“Any idea who the man is?”
“Not yet. But they’ll keep looking till they find him.”
“You want another drink? On the house.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes I do, Melvin.”
He grinned. “Okay, thanks. Same, straight up.”
She rose and walked over to the bar.
Mars sat there, his head swaying to the music, seemingly not having a care in the world. He moved his mouth as though singing the lyrics of the song being played. “You hear everything okay, Decker?”
“Loud and clear. She seems to really like you.”
“She’s a beautiful, sexy lady, but she’s not my type.”
“What’s your type?”
“She just seems a little too ruthless for my tastes. Money is her thing. But it’s not mine.”
“Easy to say since you have so much of it.”
“Okay, you got me there. She’s coming back now. Over and out.”
Katz put the fresh drinks down and sat next to him, this time closer than before.
Mars said, “You ever think about coming to the D.C. area? Maybe you and me can do some business together.”
“Now that would be wonderful,” she said, flashing him a smile.
“You can use your original partners too, I’m not looking to cut anybody out. If you want me to meet with them, you know vet me and all. I’m cool with that.”
“Yeah, let me think about that.” She cradled her drink. “You know Decker keeps coming back to ask me questions. I think he might believe I had something to do with all this. And I didn’t. I swear.”
“Don’t worry about that. He’s just dotting his i’s and crossing his t’s.”
“Does he suspect anybody yet?”
“Well, he thought Susan Richards might be good for the Hawkins murder, but now I don’t know.”
“He doesn’t confide in you?”
“Not everything. You know Holmes kept stuff back from Watson too,” he added with a grin.
She didn’t return the look. “It was awful losing my husband like that.”
Mars touched her arm and his features grew solemn. “Hey, sure it was. Nobody should have to go through that. Nobody.”
She squeezed his arm. “Thanks.”
Mars looked around. “So you got this place and you got the American Grill. Decker told me about the place. Now that’s some broad bandwidth.” He chuckled.
She smiled. “It was David’s first project. I’ve kept the place to, I don’t know, honor his memory, I guess. It’s not like the restaurant makes a lot of money. In fact, based on tonight, I’ll probably make more in one month here than that place does in six months.”