‘She said she was named after a song with no words.’
‘Yeah?’
‘But I can’t remember the song.’
‘There can’t be many songs with no words that have a lady’s name. She looks like she’s named after an herb.’
‘Mmm..Rosemary.’
‘Jasmine.’
We leaned against the bar and sipped our beers while we stared. Jake was less conspicuous. She had on a champagne silk robe that shouldn’t have been worn out of the house, but no one was complaining. Black lace peeked out from under, cradling her cleavage like a farmer with his first peach. Her long black hair playfully coiled and bounced as she talked. Red lips, purple eyeshadow. White teeth, nicely crooked. And legs.
Watching her was like watching a silent movie in slow motion.
‘Will you two quit your staring, you’ll scare her off.’
Sherry plopped down on the stool next to me. We reluctantly turned back to the bar.
‘Did you get her name?’
‘What would I need her name for, she’s only staying a night.’
Francisco filled a glass with water and slid it across the bar in front of me.
‘She reminds me of those women that used to wait here for the Bohemians way back.’
‘Back when this hotel wasn’t open to the public.’ Sherry chuckled.
‘Those rooms upstairs were filled in July though, I could always count on that. And the girls left as soon as August came. Went back to the city, or wherever they came from.’
‘You mean men from The Grove used to come here?’
‘Used to call it crossing the river. Though it was frowned upon for the most part, from the rest of the members. That’s how The Manor got started, a bunch of Bohemians hiding from Bohemians.’
Jasmine came up and ordered another martini. Patchouli wafted into my nose. She turned to Jake and asked him for his last name.
‘Was your granddaddy a sailor?’
‘I didn’t know him.’
‘I’d bet he was. I’d bet he was a pirate.’
Then she walked off.
‘Yupp, just like the girls. Always a screw loose.’
‘You knew the girls, Sherry?’
‘I’d see them around. They used to come into my mother’s shop for different soaps and candles. They were most of our business before The Rangers started asking about ‘em.’
‘What’d they want to do with the girls?’
‘Nothing…normally. They didn’t seem to have a problem with the prostitution. Until a couple of them didn’t make it back to the city.’
Francisco shot Sherry a look before leaving the bar with a couple drinks in his hands.
‘I was just a young woman, I don’t remember much. Those were my wild years.’
I sighed and rocked my empty glass in a circle with my finger.
‘I’ll tell you this though, once those girls went missing there wasn’t anymore crossing the river. Francisco had to open up the rooms to the public or sell the place.’
‘Why would The Rangers be involved with missing girls? Seems a bit out of their territory.’
‘When have they ever stayed within the bounds of their territory?’
Jake set down another empty glass.
I looked back as Francisco handed the drinks to the mysterious woman’s friends. They were also done up, but not so convincingly. While they spoke to him I watched her attention fade. The bright, approachable sparkle dimmed in her eyes and she looked out the french doors to the river. Her costume suddenly seemed silly draped around a woman that seemed to be searching for more than a free drink and a good time. She took her drink and walked outside without a mention to her table.
I grabbed my cigarette case and hopped off my seat.
‘Where are you going?’
‘I’m gonna go see what the deal is.’
Sherry groaned.
Outside I could see her silhouette down by the gazebo, facing the river. I came to her side quietly, making enough noise so as not to spook her. It was dark.
‘Got a light?’
She looked my way.
‘You don’t?’
‘No fooling you.’
I took my lighter out of my pocket and lit the twirled paper at the end of my joint.
‘It’s different out here.’
‘A little stuffy inside.’
‘No. Out here, in the redwoods. It makes you feel alone. Nothing like the city.’
‘I would argue the city can make you feel more alone.’
‘Don’t like people?’
‘No, it’s the insincerity for me. The willingness to go along with a sham.’
‘Eagerness, even.’
‘You only feel alone in the trees because they remind you of what you are.’
She stuck out her hand and I passed her the joint.
‘My mom used to take me out here when I was a kid. The trees were even bigger then. Somehow it didn’t seem so dark.’
‘To be fair, it is the middle of the night.’
‘You know what I mean by dark.’
She handed me the joint. Her eyes took on a different mood.
When I got back inside she was gone and so were her friends. Jake joked I scared her away, so I bought him a drink for reconciliation. But I knew I wasn’t the one scaring her away.
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