Noble Lies

Noble Lies by Charles Benoit Read Free Book Online Page A

Book: Noble Lies by Charles Benoit Read Free Book Online
Authors: Charles Benoit
direction.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œSmart man.” Won pulled a fresh cigarette from behind her ear, offering it first to Mark before lighting it off the stub of the old one. “So what your friend’s problem?”
    Mark chose the simple answer. “Her brother went missing during the tsunami.”
    â€œLot of people went missing that day,” Won said.
    â€œShe’s got reason to think he’s still alive.”
    â€œWhat you think, Mark?” Won flicked the dead butt out to the dark dance floor. “You think he alive?”
    â€œYeah, maybe.”
    Won kept her eyes on Mark as she drew on her cigarette, blowing the smoke out through her nose this time. “No you don’t. Besides, been over a year. If he alive you would know by now.”
    â€œPossibly. But Robin here thinks he could still be in shock.”
    â€œI don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of Post Traumatic Stress,” Robin said, trying to hide her impatience as Won watched a smoke ring float up past the hanging lamp to the dark rafters twenty feet overhead. “He might still be in shock and not thinking clearly. His brain may not be working right. I’m sure you understand that.”
    â€œShock, huh?” Won wrinkled her lips, exaggerating her smirk. “Sound like bullshit to me. If he alive you know it. Unless he don’t want to be found.”
    Mark could sense Robin tense up and he reached over to pick up the photograph before she could say something stupid. “Ever see this guy before?”
    Mark held the photograph out, Won making him wait as she took another long drag, holding it in as she propped her cigarette in an ashtray, exhaling slowly as she reached for the picture. She glanced at the photo then handed it back to Mark. “I not seen him.”
    â€œThat’s it?” Robin said, her voice rising. “You didn’t even look at it.”
    Won looked at Mark and gave a slow-motion shrug. “He not been in.”
    â€œThis was a waste of time,” Robin said, turning, pushing on Mark’s arm to move him out of the booth. Mark reached over and put a hand on Robin’s leg, shoving her back down.
    â€œHe hasn’t been in,” Mark said, and he mirrored Won’s smirk. “But you know who he is.”
    Robin stopped squriming. She looked first at Mark, then across the table at Won, easing back down as the old woman’s smirk slid into a grin. Won forced another drag out of her cigarette, keeping her eyes on Mark. “I think I let Pim explain to you.”
    â€œWho’s Pim?” Mark said.
    Won paused, an eyebrow arching up. “Let’s say she a bar-beer girl.”
    â€œOne of the girls here?”
    â€œNo. Over at Horny Monkey. Not on Bang-la, but not far.”
    â€œA real girl, right? Not some lady-boy.”
    She clicked her tongue as she shook her head, her earlobes flapping like JJ’s dreads. “Pim all girl. Just like me.”
    Mark smiled and leaned forward. “A sweet thing like you, you wouldn’t tell me a story just to save face now, would you Won?”

    â€œSweetie, after fifty years in this business, I not have any face left to save,” she said, and gave him a wrinkled wink.
    â€œExcuse me,” Robin cut in, the irritation clear in her voice. “This Pim person, what can she tell me about my brother?”
    Won’s smile dropped as she turned to face Robin. “More than you want to know.”

    Â 

Chapter Eight
    Â Â Â 
    Not counting the two diners that sold beer and the one restaurant that had a three-bottle wine list, there were fourteen bars in Canajoharie, New York.
    They all fit a pattern—dimly lit, a pair of TVs mounted on either end of the bar, a jukebox that hadn’t changed since the seventies, template sports posters from Budweiser and Miller, a vinyl banner announcing that TK 99 was The Home of Classic Rock!, and an interchangeable clientele that knew

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