Mules:: A Novel Read online

  “Maybe you’ll be more taken with my persistence, then. Let me try a different tack. Do you like movies?”

  “Yeah,” said Els. “I like movies. Everyone likes movies.”

  “Cool. They filmed some movies in Galveston. Did you know that?”

  “No. What movies?”

  “You know Roy Scheider?”

  Els shook her head. “Who’s that?”

  “He was the sheriff in JAWS.”

  “They made JAWS here?” Asked Els. “The shark movie?”

  “No. They made Night Game here. Roy Sheider was in it. He played this ex-baseball pitcher turned detective. These girls keep turning up murdered on the beach with their throats sliced open and Roy Scheider figures out the killer is this old Astros player who lost his pitching hand and had to have it replaced with a hook.”

  “That sounds. . .” Els trailed off.

  “Really shitty?”

  Els laughed. “Yeah.”

  “It was.” Elton agreed.

  Els took another drink, surprised that she had finished more than half of it already. She was staring to feel a little looser. This place wasn’t so bad, the music was too loud, and they only played the kind of music Neesha listened to on the drive here: angry-sounding guys rapping about money and sex, then catchy choruses that didn’t fit the song and sounded like they were sung by robots or little girls with baby voices. But it was okay talking to Elton.

  “Did they ever make any good movies here?” she asked.

  “Well,” Elton though a minute. “Do you like Terms of Endearment?”

  Els wrinkled her brow. “I don’t know. I think I might have seen it.”

  “You’ve seen it. Every woman alive has seen it. It’s a classic chick tear-jerker. There’s a scene where Jack Nicholson and Shirley MacLaine are driving on a beach in a Corvette?”

  Els shrugged.

  “Oh, come on. Jack Nicholson was an astronaut? You really don’t know it?”

  “Sorry. Maybe I have, I just don’t remember. They filmed it in Galveston?”

  “Err. . . No,” Elton admitted. “Actually, the movie was set in Galveston, but they filmed principal photography in Texas City.”

  “Oh,” said Els. “We were just there, I think. How do you know all this stuff anyway?”

  “I don’t know. I just like movies, I guess. Also, I looked it up on my phone. Hey, there’s an idea. Speaking of phones: you could give me your phone number. I could, you know, call you on it sometime, maybe? I mean, I’m doing all right here, right?”

  Els wasn’t paying attention. She was scanning the crowd, looking for Neesha. She didn’t see her anywhere. “Have you seen my friend. The tall black girl?”

  Elton shook his head. “She’s probably fine. Let me get you another drink.”

  She looked down at her glass, only a little bit, watered down from the melted ice, was left at the bottom. “No, I’m okay, thanks.”

  “Hey, check it out,” Elton, reached up and put his hand over the front of his hairline. “If you wanted to get me on my back, all you had to do was ask,” he said in a pretty decent Jack Nicholson impression.

  Els just stared at him.

  “It’s Jack. From the movie? Shit, you really don’t know what I’m talking about do you?.”

  Els was pretty amused despite not getting the reference. She smiled at him. “Sorry.”

  “Forget it. So, where are you from?”

  She finished the drink. “Florida. Me and my friend are on spring break.”

  “So you came here from Florida? Isn’t Florida like the place you go to, not the place you come from for spring break?”

  “Not for us. We’re going to Mexico.” She looked at her empty glass. She was seriously considering another drink. She decided she would have one as soon as she found Neesha. She could introduce her to Elton. She thought Neesha would probably be impressed to see that she had been talking to a boy who had even offered to buy her drinks. She swiveled her head back and forth, looking for Neesha.

  “Where in Mexico are you going?”

  “Blancasinato,” said Els, distractedly, still scanning the floor for Neesha.

  “Oh yeah? Shit. I don’t mean to tell you your business, but that place is right on the border of Colzorona. That’s like cartel town, you know? Drugs, gangs, mass graves, stuff like that. Kidnappings. . . It’s gotten really dangerous in the last couple of months, don’t you watch the news? That place is literally a war zone. Is it just the two of you girls going? That’s fucking nuts.”

  Els didn’t hear anything he said. She was still looking for Neesha. “I’m starting to get really worried about my friend. Would you help me look for her?”

  Elton made a noncommittal gesture, he was afraid bringing her friend around would kill his momentum.

  “Please?” Els begged. “You can buy me a drink when we find her. I know she’s still here, It’ll just take a second.”

  Elton, who couldn’t help himself from playing the role of the nice guy, sometimes to his own disservice, yielded. “Alright. I’ll help you find your friend.”

  ‘You will? Thank you,” said Els.

  “Yeah, I’ll buy you both a drink. What the hell.”

  “Okay, I’ll hold you to it, too. But we have to find her first. I’m going to check the bathroom. You look on the dance floor. Do you remember what she looks like?”

  “Yeah,” he said, getting up, “Tall black chick, I got it.”

  “Thank you.” Els said again, and ran off to the bathrooms.

  Elton watched her leave. He drank the last of his beer and set the empty bottle down on the table before making his way onto the dance floor and letting the throng of bodies swallow him.

  There was a short line of four or five women standing in an untidy queue outside the ladies’ room door. Els pushed past them all and went through. Someone in the line shouted at her “Hey, the line starts back here!” Els ignored her.

  She looked around the bathroom. There were two girls at the row of sinks, one of them was smoking while the other one checked her hair in the mirror. All the stalls were occupied. “Neesha?” she called out. There was no answer. The two girls turned to look at her. “Have you seen my friend?” She asked. “She’s tall and-”

  Both the girls were shaking their heads before she even finished the description. “Sorry,” one of them said insincerely.

  Els went to the first stall and knocked on it. “Neesha? Are you in there?”

  “Umm, occupied.” A voice answered. Not Neesha’s.

  A toilet flushed and a blond girl stepped out.

  “I’m looking for my friend,” said Els.

  “Well, she wasn’t in there.”

  “I know.” Els was beginning to feel the pressure of panic settling down on her chest. “It’s just I don’t know where she is and I’m starting to get worried. She was dancing with this guy, and now I can’t find her so I came in here. She’s not in here and I don’t know what to do.” She was babbling, frightened.

  “Uh, maybe she’s in the parking lot,” the girl said. “Sometimes people go out to their cars and. . . you know.” She looked into Els’ innocent face, arched her eyebrows suggestively. “Fuck?”

  Els’ mouth hung open in a small O as she considered this. Then she bolted out the door, passing the short line of girls outside. “Everything come out okay?” One of them sneered. She heard one of them call her a “rude bitch” but she ran past them and continued on, cutting a path through the mob on the dance floor. Elton clocked her wriggling between the undulating bodies and called out, but she didn’t notice him. He followed after her, out to the parking lot, both of them declining to have their hands stamped by the big guy at the door.

  When Elton caught up with her she was standing dumbstruck in front of a green Ford. He leaned over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

  “It’s gone,” said Els. “Neesha’s car was right here.”

  “Are you sure? I lose my car all the time. E
specially in crowded parking lots.”

  “No. This is where we parked. I remember. Something’s wrong, Elton. She wouldn’t have just left me here alone. Neesha wouldn’t do that. She promised she wouldn’t. I think. . . I think she’s in trouble. Something bad has happened to her, I know it.”

  “Are you sure? I mean, how bad could it be? She left in her own car. And what do you mean she promised not to leave you? Has she done this before?”

  “No. This is bad,” Els said stubbornly. “I think she’s been abducted. We need to call the police.”

  “Whoa.” Said Elton. “We definitely don’t need to call the police and tell them you suspect your friend has left a nightclub in her own car. We don’t have any kind of evidence to support what you’re saying. And right now, from where I’m looking, this whole thing seems like an overreaction.”

  “An overreaction? Her car is gone. And what about that guy she was with? What about him, huh?”

  “What about him? We didn’t see them leave together. And you’re right. Her car is gone. This may sound mean, but I think your friend just ditched you.”

  Els’ face broke and she started to sob. “She wouldn’t have done that. She’s my friend. She wouldn’t have done that.”

  Elton was not prepared for this. He still thought she was overreacting, that maybe Els had misjudged the balance of her and Neesha’s friendship. But he was useless before this sort emotional outpouring. And now she was crying. Crazy, hysterical or not, he couldn’t stand to see anyone cry like that. “Okay, hey. Calm down. Please just stop crying, okay? Maybe we can’t go to the police, but I can help you look for her. We can go in my truck, check any place you think she might be, alright? Just stop crying, please.”

  Els looked up and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Yeah. Okay.” She sniffed. “We could check back at the motel. We could see. And if she’s not there, we could call the police after,right?”

  “I don’t know,” said Elton. “Maybe.”

  “Alright, then. Let’s go. Hurry.”

  Elton led the way to a tan, two-door Ford Ranger, the suspension creaked and sagged under his weight when he climbed into the seat.

  They left the parking lot and turned onto the street.

  FOUR

  “Can’t you drive any faster?” Els demanded, her body tense in the seat next to Elton, leaned forward with her hands splayed on the dashboard as if she were trying to push the truck along.

  Elton shook his head from behind the wheel as the city passed by outside his window at an unhurried and legal pace. “Lots of cops out here this time of year looking for DUI’s. It’s better to just go the limit and not risk getting pulled over. I’m not exactly one-hundred-percent sober, you know.”

  Els pleaded with him, “We could explain it to the cops if we get stopped. They’d listen to us if we told them my friend was kidnapped. It’s what they’re there for.”

  Elton kept the needle at a steady 40 mph.Your friend wasn’t kidnapped. She ditched you to go fuck that tight-jeans-wearing cracker. She ditched you the second you walked in the club, you just don’t get it. Maybe she’s a bitch, or maybe she just needed to get away from you. Judging from how you’re turning something minor into the crime of the fucking century, I’m starting to see why. This is not a normal reaction, but maybe it’s not your fault. I think something bad has happened to you before, hasn’t it? Something about this has set you off.

  Elton turned his head and looked over at Els, a rigid bundle of nerves next to him. He couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her. Shit, he pushed the truck up to 45.

  “What was the name of the motel?”

  “Beach Front. It’s on Gannet.”

  “Yeah,” said Elton. “I know that place. I thought it burned down a couple years ago.”

  “Not the part we’re staying at. I just want to get there fast.”

  “Your friend’s going to be fine. Even if she’s not there, I want you to know that. All this worrying you’re doing, it’s all for nothing.”

  “I wish I could believe you, but I know. I just know. I have this feeling like something really bad has happened.”

  “Do you feel like that a lot? Like you’re in danger all the time? Like something bad’s about to happen?” Elton asked.

  “No,” Els protested.

  Elton though she sounded a little defensive, but he didn’t want to pry, to pick at someone who’s already upset.

  They drove on in silence until they arrived at the motel.

  Els pointed out the room where they were staying and Elton drove up to it. Parked outside the door was Neesha’s Red Volkswagen.

  “See,” said Elton as they approached. “That’s her car, right? It’s just like I said. Everything’s fine.”

  Els had the door open and was out before he had brought the truck to a full stop. She ran across the parking lot and up to the door. She tried the handle and found that the door was locked. She began to pound on it. “Neesha! Neesha, are you in there? Open the door. Open the door, Neesha. Please!” She was still hammering away when Elton came up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

  “I don’t think anyone is in there. Or maybe she is and just needs some, you know, privacy.”

  “She’s in there. I know it,” Els said, eyes wide and a steely determined look on her face. “If she’s not in there, then where is she, huh? She didn’t come back here to park her car and then leave on foot or something.”

  She started banging furiously at the door again. “Neesha, please open the door. It’s me. Just open up. Please!”

  “Hey,” Elton grabbed her again and brought his face in close to hers. “You need to calm down. You’re going to wake everybody up with this crazy shit. Now, just stop it. Nobody is-”

  “SHHH!” Els interrupted him. “Did you just hear that?”

  “No. Hear what?”

  “A voice in the room. I just heard it.”

  “Your friend’s voice?” He asked.

  “No. A man’s voice. She’s not alone in there. We have to do something.” She was frantic.

  “I didn’t hear anything. And even if you did hear a man’s voice in there, she probably fell asleep drunk with him after he fucked her brains out.”

  Els wasn’t hearing him. She had taken off running across the parking lot, around to the side of the motel.

  When Elton caught up with her, his heart pounding like a bass drum in his chest, he found her talking to a group of drunk frat-bros, sitting around the lot in swim wear.

  “No, we didn’t see her pull up, sorry.” One of them was telling her.

  “So you didn’t see if she was with anybody?” Els asked.

  “It’s like I said, we can’t see your room from here, so we don’t know.”

  Els made an annoyed sound and wandered off to the edge of the lot where it ended in a weedy row of driveway gravel and a chain-link fence.

  Elton stayed behind with the crew of college boys. They watched as Els walked along the perimeter of the blacktop, sticking out her foot now and again as if to test the edge.

  “You want a beer?” one of the boys with a continuous sleeve of tattoos on his arms asked.

  He did want a beer, the couple he had at the club had left him with a dry throb in his brain and he knew a fresh one would wash the ache away, but he declined. “No thanks. She’s pretty upset,” he motioned to Els, still strangely walking along the edge of the blacktop with her head down. “She thinks her friend’s been kidnapped and taken to her own motel room.”

  “Yeah,” he nodded, “she was just telling us about it. She seems a little nuts.”

  “I know. She’s not, though. She’s just worried about her friend.”

  “That bitch is fucking crazy,” he heard one of the other boys call out.

  Elton was about to say something when he saw Els walking back toward her room carrying a giant chunk of asphalt in both hands. He ran after her, the six drunken frat boys following him, amused.

  He caught up
with her and put a hand on her shoulder, but she twisted away without looking at him. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  She didn’t answer him. She kept walking in a determined beeline toward her motel room.

  “Hey!” said Elton, “I’m talking to you.”

  She still didn’t respond. She kept on, the muscles in her arms taut from the weight of the asphalt.

  Elton reached out to take the black chunk of rock out of her hand, when he felt the heavily inked arms of one of the frat boys holding him back.

  “Hang on, man. I want to see where she’s going with this,” Tucker said. “This could be interesting.”

  Elton sneered at him and looked back at the other frat boys. They were all equally curious. He knew they wouldn’t let him interfere. He could only watch now as Els approached the window of her motel room. She hefted the asphalt and slung it through the frame at the lower right corner. The boys cheered at the sound of shattering glass. They all looked on in disbelief as the crazy girl cleared shards of glass from the frame and actually began to crawl through the space she had smashed in the window.

  It was a tight fit, she had to be careful. As she climbed through, her mind was invaded with images of jagged shards reaching down and digging into her back, peeling long bloody trenches through her skin. She ducked down and lowered her shoulders, gritting her teeth as a transparent dagger sliced into the soft flesh of her breast. She didn’t want to look just now, but it felt deep. As if to answer her intuition, thick spatters of blood dripped down onto her hand as she pulled herself all the way through and tumbled down onto the cheap motel carpet littered with twinkling glass.

  The room was dark. “Neesha?” Els called out.

  No answer.

  But she was here, Els could feel her, a slight sensation of body heat, the faint smell of her. Somehow she knew that she was not alone.

  She was careful to step over where she expected the broken glass to be, and she turned on a wall-mounted lamp by the bed.

  And when the lights came on she put her hand to her mouth to stifle a scream.