Key West Read Online Free PDF Page B

comfort that patted the head, but did nothing for the endless motion inside the brain.
    A skinny alleyway opened between a T-shirt shop and an establishment where a psychic held court when she wasn’t too tripped out to do business. The alley led behind the row of buildings, on the same side of the road as the Rusty Nail. Roy’s brother was living in some sort of guest house behind the bar. Sonnie had heard it spoken of a number of times.
    Most of the Duval Street establishments had storage buildings or garages in the back. Despite the lack of light making every step dangerous, Sonnie kept going. Rainwater ran underfoot, turning dirt to mud that splashed her legs.
    An abrupt rush of desperation filled her eyes with tears. No time for tears.
    No time for the clogged sensation in her throat.
    “Hush little baby, don’t you cry...”
    “Not now. Please, not now.” What she knew, what she’d known from the instant this trip had become inevitable, was that she was trying to convince herself that somehow Jacqueline’s death hadn’t been her fault, at least not her fault alone.
    She’d never been out here. Roy and Bo’s “guesthouse” was a small building, evidently with painted metal sides and a tin roof.
    She shouldn’t wake the man.
    Unless he slept with a light on, he wasn’t asleep.
    Sonnie approached a door that faced the back of the Rusty Nail. She would convince him of two things. The first, she hoped without clueing him in to how little there was to go on, would be the worthiness and the strangeness of what she needed to find out. The second point, and the one most likely to bring him onto her team of two, was her ability to pay just about anything for his services.
    Metal slat shades covered two windows, one on either side of the door. Music—violin?—sounded as if it would be loud inside. Sonnie looked down at herself. Regardless of her mood, she always took care with her appearance. Tonight—or this morning now—she could pass for a member of the homeless.
    It didn’t matter. There was no one to impress. She knocked, and crossed her arms to wait. He was probably the type who wouldn’t answer unless he was in the mood.
    The door swung open almost at once.
    If the man who blocked light from inside were not Roy’s brother, Sonnie would flee.
    “Holy...What are you doing, you little idiot?”
    “Coming to see you.” She felt horrified, horrified by the disbelief on his face, and horrified that she was there and looking wild.
    “I told you there’s nothing I can do for you.”
    “I think there is. You just don’t want to.”
    “You’ve been walking around in this, haven’t you? Walking around in a storm, in the dark? Alone?”
    “I haven’t been walking around. I went home, then changed my mind, is all.”
    “You should have stayed at home.’’
    Crying wouldn’t accomplish one thing with this man—much as she felt like doing just that. “May I come in, please?”
    “You don’t know when to quit. You just don’t know.” He stood aside to let her pass. “If there were anything that mattered around here, I’d tell you not to drip on it. You’re going to be sick.”
    “You don’t get sick from being wet.”
    “You do get sick from doing what you’re doing to yourself. There isn’t one damn thing in this life that’s worth that much pain, Mrs. Giacano.”
    He’d have to be from another planet not to see her desperation, but she didn’t like it that he could look at her and see exposed emotion. “Don’t mistake sartorial disaster for anything else, please.”
    “Whatever you say. Get in here before you collapse.”
    The violin music sounded like something intended for snake charming. “Nice of you to care,” she said, entering a crowded room.
    “I don’t. Α body on the doorstep could ruin a man’s day.”
    She smiled and it almost felt good. “I’m not close to death. Just wet and muddy.” She looked around, gauging where she could safely stand without making