Kiss of Noir Read Online Free PDF Page A

sat at the table playing dominoes. When Ellis approached, they stood.
    One old man smiled merrily. He was the color of molasses with a small red afro shot with white. “Ellis,” he said in a graceful Haitian accent, “who you got with you, your twin?”
    The other man transferred his hand-rolled cigarette to his mouth so he could extend his hand. “I’m Cleo,” he said.
    I shook his hand. It was a nice shake, firm but gentle. I was careful not to squeeze too hard. Cleo’s knuckles were enlarged. His palm was warm and dry and felt safe. Cleo was the color of polished cherrywood. He had several freckles on each cheek and his hair looked like steel wool.
    “Nora Delaney,” I said, “and you could be Ellis’s twin too. You his daddy?” I joked.
    “I guess you just hang out with this sucker long enough, you get to look like him.” Cleo smiled warmly. His eyes crinkled at their edges. I just wanted to climb into his lap.
    “Yeah, I think I’m getting Ellis’s bone structure,” the other man said, stretching his skin over his cheeks with his fingertips.
    “And this is Drew Ekalibato,” Ellis said.
    “Drew,” I said, shaking his hand.
    “My man, Ellis!” Drew cried. “What’s up?”
    “Let’s sit,” Cleo said. We all sat at the table and I studied the elaborate knot of dominoes that crept over the table. Cleo disrupted my reverie by stirring the dominoes into a messy circle and replacing them in the box with soft clicks.
    “I’m loaning y’all Nora here to help out for a while,” Ellis said.
    “Ha, ha, you don’t say!” Drew cried. “What you do, gal? What kinda trouble you in?”
    “Uh…” I stammered. “I’m just on sabbatical for a while from my coaching job in LA.”
    Cleo froze and stared at me. Drew stood suddenly, knocking down his chair. “Jump back!” he cried. “ You the one?”
    “You’re Ellis’s cousin! You were on television!” Cleo said.
    “Hoo, hoo,” Drew sang. “You clocked that uppity bitch!” He dangled his gnarled fingers for me to touch with my own, which I did, beaming. Drew strutted around his chair, righted it and sat again.
    “Ellis has it on tape,” Cleo said. “We watched that a million times. You look different on TV. We didn’t recognize you.”
    I glared at Ellis, who grinned and shrugged.
    “Bam!” Drew yelled. “Lights out! Game over!”
    “On sabbatical, huh?” Cleo eyed me with suspicion. “Fired is more like it.”
    I put my hand to my brow, wanting all this to go away. Cleo went to the counter, rummaging in its dark depths. The bells tinkled over the door. A group of men approached, fanned out, and began browsing.
    “Doughboy, Rentie, Little C, JJ, Superman, Claude.” Ellis recited their names with a smile, nodding at each. They smiled and mumbled back, retreating into the goods.
    Cleo returned with a half-full bottle of whiskey. “Let’s drink a toast to Nora, new to these parts but never too late!” He swigged and passed the bottle to Drew, who drank and passed to Ellis, who also drank and gave the bottle to me.
    “I already had a beer last night and I wasn’t supposed to. I promised Sayan…” I protested feebly. The men all looked at each other.
    “She trained fast, no?” Drew said. “Sayana is all bark without the bite.”
    “She doesn’t seem that way to me.” I shrugged and took a long swallow.
    Cleo stared into my eyes. “She ain’t,” he declared.
    “Oh, you in trouble now!” Drew laughed, slapping the table. I winked at him and had another big drink.
    “Then no point in moderation,” I added.
    “Ho, now,” Cleo said. “Just a taste. It ain’t after five yet.”
    I looked at Ellis. “What the hell have you gotten me into?”
    Ellis shrugged again and stood. “For your own good, cuz.” He slid his chair under the table. “Now make her work and you fellas report everything to me.” He squeezed my shoulder. “See you at closing.”
    “My man!” Drew said, waving.
    “Later, El.” Cleo’s eyes