to call today, but maybe I’ll call over the weekend.”
“Are you kidding me? That girl is hot, and it’s a Friday night! You
seriously could have died this morning. If I were you I’d be out there making
the most of it. Call her right now.” Rob pushed his mobile phone across the
glass table to Ryan.
“Just see if she’s out tonight?”
Ryan laughed, took another mouthful of whiskey and swallowed hard.
Without saying another word, he reached for the phone, pulled out the
folded piece of paper from his pocket and punched in the number.
Beluga was a small stylish restaurant in the heart of the fashionable
SOHO district, a name coined by locals referring to its location South of
Hollywood Road. The restaurant boasted a curved walnut bar counter with plush
grey velvet seating against the surrounding walls. It had tall pedestal tables,
which stood facing the dramatic glass entrance. At the rear, a few intimate
tables were pushed closely together in a small wooden decked area, full with
trees and plants. The art against the red walls was striking. Large canvases of
contemporary oil paintings hung from the ceiling creating the feeling of a
gallery. The lighting was warm and subtle and candles shimmered behind glass
holders on each tabletop softening the skin tone of anyone sitting close by.
The music was a perfect mix of Jazz and R&B. Not too loud that
that you couldn’t talk and not too quiet that you couldn’t hear it. Already
Beluga was filled with people laughing and chatting. All of the seating had
been taken early on and the floor space leading to the bar was heavy with
people jostling to get the attention of the bar tender.
Ryan found himself blocked in as he tried to maneuver his way through
the crowds to the back of the restaurant without treading on toes or knocking
people with his elbows. He finally reached his destination and turned to see if
he could locate Rob in the throng of people behind him. Sure that his friend
would find him eventually, he turned to face the beautiful woman that sat
quietly at the corner back table, drinking Champagne.
“Sorry we’re late.” Ryan said apologetically and nodded toward the
heaving crowd of people behind him.
“It took a while to get here.”
“Well, you’re here now”. The woman said smiling broadly, as she stood
to greet Ryan.
She was taller than Ryan remembered. He noticed that she was wearing
tight black jeans showing off her long lean legs. She wore a simple black
cashmere sweater cut to a deep v at the back. Her hair was pulled back from her
face into a loose ponytail that swung to the side, falling across her shoulder
as she moved. She didn’t need make-up, but was wearing eyeliner and lip-gloss,
which made her eyes look smoky and her lips smooth.
‘Where’s our boy?’ Lily said softly as she leaned in to kiss Ryan’s
cheek. He could smell her perfume and he found himself inhaling her scent for a
brief moment.
‘Oh, he’s here
somewhere,” Ryan said totally distracted by her, wondering if he should have
come on his own to meet her.
Ryan felt a firm hand rest on his shoulder and he turned to face a beaming
Rob, slightly out of breath from pushing through the crowd, and armed with a
new bottle of Cristal Champagne tucked under one arm, and three glasses in his
hand.
“ HELLO Champagne!” Rob shouted happily
above the noise, before placing the glasses and bottle on the table. Lily and
Rob exchanged amused glances before laughing fondly at their friend. Ryan shook
his head, rolled his eyes at Rob and smiled. Finally, the thoughts of the day
were drifting out of his mind and were replaced with thoughts of the fun night
ahead.
Chapter
5
Sarah Lam sat in her office pouring over the details in the police
report. Her coffee mug sat untouched on her desk, the milky brown liquid now
cold to the touch.
So far she had not been able to identify the dead Chinese man. The
circumstances surrounding the shooting at the Bank that morning were