Sail Cat Road, the sequel to No Good End, continues below. It is being posted tweet-by-tweet daily on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ttaylordude). I will post each chapter here on Posterous (in chronological order). Thank you for your time.
Chapter 10
Mama Jean called a cab for Jolene. “The bus might be a good option,” she said. “People don’t ask too many questions on a bus.”
Jolene hugged her and went back to collect her things. “I will try to repay you somehow,” she said. “May take me a while, but I will.”
“Consider it a gift,” said Mama. “I’m a generous person. Take advantage of it.” She burped a belly laugh that echoed off the purple walls.
Jolene extracted her bag from the locker. Two men entered the front of the strip joint. Jimbo knew them well and stretched out his arms.
“Boys, you probably want a nicer class of entertainment tonight,” he said. The man on the left flipped a $50 bill at Jimbo’s chest.
Arch Strung had a violent reputation. The man with him was the nephew of Juco Marinez. Both men smiled as they shoved past Jimbo.
He left the $50 on the floor and used the intercom to call back to Mama’s office. “We got trouble coming your way,” he said.
Mama was not in the office. She had walked Jolene to pick up her things. The two men roughly brushed by a stripper about to go on stage.
Mama turned in time to see them. “Awe hell no, you two ain’t coming back here,” she said. “I paid my monthly to your asshole boss.”
“This ain’t about that,” said Strung. “This is about that blonde bitch you got working back here; Jolene Skunker. I think you know her.”
Jolene was in the corner room getting her stuff together. She slipped the 9 mm out and eased to the edge of the brick wall and listened.
“She left,” said Mama. “Twenty minutes ago. Cab from one of your slime ball flunkies picked her up. Now get the hell out of my place.”
Juco Marinez stopped and rubbed the back of his neck. Arch Strung kept coming. “Then we won’t find her if we looked around,” he said.
Mama stopped Strung with a meaty left hand to his throat and pressed her .38 snub-nose into his ear. The motion caught him by surprise.
“If you can’t hear too well, maybe I can clean out your ears with this .38,” she said. “Back the hell off.”
Jolene knew it was going south. Arch cut another red-faced glance at Mama. Juco grinned and clapped like he was watching a performance.
“Arch, you going to let this bitch muscle you like that?” said Juco. “Maybe I should hire her to do your job.”
Rain began to roar on the metal roof above them muffling the music in the main room. Strung took a deep breath and backhanded Mama hard.
A table collapsed under her weight as she bounced off the wall, her .38 spinning across the floor. Juco kept clapping and laughing.
“You pancaked her,” said Juco. “Damn nice move. You haven’t lost your touch.” Neither man saw Jolene step from the dark hallway.
A muscle twitched in Strung’s cheek. Juco stopped clapping. His grin faded. “Jolene,” he said. Unlike in the movies, she said nothing.
The first 9 mm round caught Strung in the throat, jerking his upper torso back at a twisted angle and spouting a red gush down his shirt.
He stood choking and grasping his pouring neck. Mama kicked his feet out from under him. He fell beside her. She kept kicking him.
Juco dove forward in the narrow hall, trying to get to the floor. Jolene put the second round into his face just to the right of his nose.
Jimbo plowed into the scene, falling over Juco’s body and landing on a struggling Arch Strung, heaving against the bleeding for air.
You okay, Mama?” yelled Jimbo. She nodded and wiped her bloodied nose. Jolene walked up and fired into Strung’s head, ending his struggle.
Mama and Jimbo were stunned at how quickly and calmly Jolene had killed two of the most dangerous men they knew. Jolene took Juco’s gun.
“Jimbo, see if he has an extra clip,” said Jolene. “I’ll probably need it.” She went back and got her back and pulled it over her shoulder.
Mama got to her feet. Jimbo rifled Juco’s pockets and handed Jolene an extra clip. “Damn. Damn.” He was left with only one word. “Damn.”
“You sure are Jimmy Gantt’s granddaughter,” said Mama. “And you better get the hell out of here before the cops show up.”
“They already did,” said Jimbo, nodding to the crumpled bodies. “These two have badges.”
