The Midnight Tour (47 page)

“Well, I also heard some things.”

“Like what?”

“Like Dana has some kind of hot date tonight.”

The news gave Owen a sick feeling.

“They were talking about Lynx picking her up later and bringing her home. Home being
Lynn’s
place. So obviously they’re living together.”

“She has a
date?
”

“Buck up, little buckeroo.” John slapped his shoulder. “At least she’s not a Lesbo.”

“Who’s she seeing?”

“Didn’t catch that part. All I know is, he’s a guy. And it sounds like Dana hasn’t gone out with him before.”

Is it
me
? Owen suddenly wondered. Did John overhear them talking about a date with
me
?

No way!

But we
did
have that nice talk this morning, Owen reminded himself. And Dana
did
seem to like me. A little, at least. Maybe. Thought I was a jerk for ditching Monica, but her eyes got wet when I said that stuff about how she was everything a guy could ever want.

I touched her. I moved her.

And I promised not to bother her...unless she wanted me to. Joking like. But she didn’t take it like a joke. She said she would think about it.

And she asked where I’m staying tonight!

My God, Owen thought. Maybe she does plan to see me.

I
might
be the hot date!

But I told her I’d be at the Welcome Inn. I’ve gotta get over there.

What if they don’t have any vacancies?

He checked his wristwatch.

Almost two o’clock.

“What’s up?” John asked. “Wishing you were the lucky guy?”

“Sort of.”

“Don’t waste your time, pal. Guys like you and me, we’re
never
the lucky guy. Not when it comes to babes like Dana or Lynn. They got a word for guys like us.”

“What’s hat?”

“Losers.”

“Speak for yourself.”

John laughed. “Only one way you’d ever stand a chance with a gal like Dana—knock her out and tie her up.”

“You’re disgusting.”

He laughed again and said, “Truth hurts.”

“Fuck you.”

“Wanta?”

Owen snarled at him.

Laughing, John reached over suddenly and pinched his nipple.

Owen yelped “Ouch!” and swatted his hand away.

“Not much up top,” John said.

“Leave me alone!”

“Aw, that didn’t hurt you.”

“Did, too.” Owen stopped at the curb. On the other side of the street was the photo shop. “Just keep your hands to yourself, okay?”

“If you say so. Is that the place?” John asked.

“Yeah. Is your roll finished?”

“Yep.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a black plastic canister. “I’m all reloaded and everything.”

They crossed the street and entered the shop.

A man behind the counter looked up at them. He had no hair or eyebrows. He was too tall, too thin. He looked as if he’d been grabbed at each end and stretched by someone playful and malicious. “Help you?” he asked.

“We’d like to get some film developed,” Owen said.

John set the container on top of the glass counter. The man picked it up, opened it, and dumped the roll of film into his hand. His fingers were nearly twice as long as Owen’s. “Uh-huh,” he said. “Twenty-four color prints. I can take care of that for you.”

“We’d like two copies of each,” Owen said.

“Better make it four,” John said.

“Four?” Owen asked.

“Two for us, two for the girls.” Grinning, he said, “I promised ‘em.”

“That’s okay.”

“Four copies each?” the man asked. “That’ll run you.”

“That’s okay,” Owen said. “When can we pick them up?”

“When do you need them?”

“The sooner the better, I guess.”

The man glanced over his shoulder at the wall clock. Though mounted above a door, it was nearly level with his head. “I’d say I can likely have them done for you before closing time.”

“When’s that?” Owen asked.

“Six o’clock.”

“Ihat’s
four
hours,” John pointed out, glowering at the man. “Your sign says
one
hour developing.”

“You want four copies?”

“You telling me it takes four times as long?”

The man’s thin lips pressed together tightly and curled up at each end. “Might,” he said. “Might take longer. But I close at six, either way.”

“Six’ll be fine,” Owen told him, trying to sound especially friendly and sincere. “Really. We’ve got no problem with that. My friend’s a trouble-maker.”

“I ‘spent he is,” the man said.

Owen hauled out his wallet and removed a fifty-dollar bill. “I’d be glad to pay in advance.”

The man eyed the bill. He nodded as if agreeing with himself about a matter of little importance. “No need for that,” he said. “Come in here around five, maybe I’ll have ’em done for you by then.”

“Thanks. Thank you.”

Outside, John patted Owen on the back and said, “Well done, young fella.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Looks like
we
have some time on our hands. So, what’ll we do for the next three hours?”

“I don’t know,” Owen said. He crossed the street, John by his side, and headed south.

“Wanta go back to Beast House and scope out the babes for a while?”

“Not really.”

“What do
you
wanta do?”

“Actually, we don’t really need to... We could, like, each do our own thing and meet back at the photo shop at five.”

John laughed. “Trying to get rid of me?”

“No, but...I could use some time by myself.”

“What for?”

“Maybe I’d just like to be alone for a while.”

“So you can go to your room and freshen up?”

“I don’t
have
a room.”

“Ah! Okay. I get it. You need to find yourself a place to stay tonight, am I right?”

“I thought I’d drive around and see what’s available.”

“Good deal. Might I suggest the Welcome Inn? Best place in town.
Plus
it has all that history. I fully intended to stay there myself before my fucking radiator exploded. Get a room with two beds, and I’ll keep you company.”

Owen grimaced. “I really don’t want a roommate, John.”

“Sure you do.”

“No. I don’t. Really.”

“Come on. I’ve been sleeping in my car, man. It’s been a week since I took a shower. Anyway, it won’t cost you hardly anything. These motels, they charge you pretty much the same for two people as one.”

Owen shook his head.

“Come on, man. Do a guy a favor.”

“I’d like to have some time by myself.”

“You can have
that
any old time. I’m not asking you to
marry
me. Besides. You and me, we make a good team. You can use me. Look how I took those pictures for you.”

“I’m giving you a
hundred dollar ticket
for them.”

“But you’d never have the guts to take ’em like that yourself. You need a guy like me around. I can do stuff for you. I’ll do
anything,
man. Please.”

I’m never gonna get rid of this guy!

“I tell you what,” Owen said. “I want some time by myself.”

“Hey, but...”

“Listen! I don’t like all this pressure. If you want to use my room tonight, give me a little space. Right now, I want to get in my car and drive over to the motel—by myself. They might not even have any vacancies. And the more time I waste arguing with you....”

“Okay, okay. Go. I’ll find something to do without you.”

“Good. We’ll meet at the photo shop at five. After we get the pictures, I’ll let you know about tonight.”

John raised his hand. “See you there.” He stopped walking. They were still a half a block from the entrance to the Beast House parking lot.

“Fine,” Owen said.

“Fine. Go.”

“Okay.” Owen turned away from him and resumed walking.

He had an urge to look back, but he resisted it.

“Hey, Owen?” John called.

He looked around.

“Don’t forget it’s a
midnight
tour. You’d better get reservations for tomorrow night, too.” He held up two fingers and smiled rather sadly.

He was still standing in the same place on the sidewalk a few minutes later when Owen pulled out of the parking lot in his rental car and swung right onto Front Street.

John looked like a big, abandoned kid.

Owen slowed down and pulled over. He pushed a button to lower the passenger window. “Okay,” he called. “Come on.”

Crouching to see inside, John shook his head. “Thanks. But a deal’s a deal. You go on ahead and make your reservations. I’ll find something else to do till five.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. You don’t need me hanging around all the time.”

“Okay. See you later, then.”

“See you, pal.”

Owen drove on. In the side mirror, he saw John standing on the sidewalk, watching him.

Not such a bad guy.

The beeping alarm on his wristwatch woke Owen up. He was lying on top of a bed. The room was almost dark, but a strip of sunlight came in through a gap where the curtains didn’t quite meet.

Still on his back, he raised his arm.

The luminous numbers on his wristwatch showed 4:30.

He shut off the alarm.

But he didn’t get up.

No big hurry, he thought. It’ll only take five or ten minutes to drive over to the photo shop.

I could even skip it.

No law says I have to go and pick up the pictures. I can just stay here. That’d be the end of my troubles with John, at least for today. Deal with him tomorrow.

Besides, what if Dana calls while I’m gone?

Turning his head, Owen looked at the telephone.

She might call any second
.

She probably won’t call at all, he thought. She wouldn’t go out with a guy like me. Her date’s with somebody else. A strong, handsome, suntanned jock.

Anyway, if she
does
call, the front desk will take a message.

Maybe she’ll just drop in.

He imagined her stepping up to the door of his motel room and knocking on it. In his mind, she was wearing her guide uniform. A couple of the top buttons were unfastened. “Just thought I’d drop by and see how you’re doing, Owen.”

“Would you like to come in?”

“Thought you’d never ask.” She stepped into his room and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him against her body. “I know we just met,” she said, “but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about...”

Someone knocked on the door of Owen’s room.

He bolted upright, his heart suddenly thudding.

It can’t be Dana, he thought as he scurried off the bed.

No way. That sort of thing just doesn’t happen. Not to me.

Maybe this once...

He jerked open the door.

“Hey, pal, how’s our room?”

“What’re you doing here?”

“Look what
I’ve
got.” John held up a bag. “Mr. Cucumber got done with the pictures early, so I saved us both some time and picked ’em up.” He stepped into the room. “They cost me down to my last nickle, pretty near. But I figure you’ll reimburse me. Too bad you couldn’t get a room in the old wing.”

“They were all full.”

“Yeah, bet they go fast. Everybody wants to be in the section where stuff really happened. Guess we were lucky to get anything.” this was the last room available,” Owen said.

“I know, I know. I saw ’em turn on the No Vacancy sign right after you went in the office.”

“What the hell did you do,
follow
me?”

“Shit, no. You
told
me you were coming here. I just hopped into my buggy and sailed on over. Wanted to see if you’d get us a room.” A grin suddenly spread across John’s face. “And which one,” he added.

“Real nice.”

“But please note, I did
not
disturb you. I allowed you your space.”

“Yeah. Thanks a lot.”

John spread the curtains wide, and afternoon sunlight flooded the room.

“Not bad, not bad. A queen and a single, huh? Who gets the queen?” He sat down on the queen-sized mattress and bounced.

“I do.”

“I’m bigger than you. Don’t you think
I
should get the bigger bed?”

“No. I’m paying. And what makes you think I’m going to let you stay?”

“What’re you gonna do, throw me out? If you throw me out, I take
these
with me.” He reached into the bag and pulled out an envelope thick with photographs. “I’ve already taken a peek. They’re
hot.
That Dana, she’s a babe and a half.”

“Let me see.”

“Who gets the queen?”

“Oh, for the...”

“I can always leave.”

“You really are a jerk.”

“I’m the jerk with guts enough to take photos of your secret honey.”

“Okay. Fine. You win. Take the queen.”

“Thank you.”

Chapter Thirty-five

WARREN’S PLACE

“You’re out of uniform,” Warren said as he met Dana in front of the ticket booth.

“Had a little mishap.”

“So I heard.” He smiled at her. For a moment, she thought he might reach out and take her hand. But he didn’t. “Sounds like the gal deserved what she got,” he said.

“Well, I didn’t exactly premeditate the attack. Talk about
embarrassing .
I wanted to crawl in a hole. And then the gift shop was out of my size. They were out of
most
sizes, for that matter.” She looked down at her huge, flapping T-shirt. It drooped over her shoulders. It hung down low enough to cover her shorts when the wind wasn’t flinging and lifting it. “I know I’m big, but this thing would fit Jabba the Hutt.”

“Looks good,” Warren said.

“Well, thanks.”

“Ready to go?”

“Sure.”

Staying by Warren’s side, she stepped to the edge of Front Street. Traffic was coming from both directions. Warren’s head turned from side to side as if he were watching a tennis match.

Glancing Dana’s way, he caught her looking at him. He smiled.