Spoilerific: Good Intentions 5

Writing continues!

Good Intentions 5 now stands at about 131k words. That's less growth than I hoped for February, but once I give myself credit for it being a short month & a couple disruptions, I'm happy with it. March has the fortunate/unfortunate confluence of starting with Emerald City Comic Con and a family friend in from out of town for a few days , so I probably won't get much writing done for this first week. After that, hopefully I'm on my way to the end. The climax is in sight and that usually comes together fast. I think this book might come out a little shorter than others in the series, but not dramatically so.

Like I told my story-tier patrons today: I'm still deeply, deeply grateful for everyone's support. I know things are tight out there for a lot of folks. They're tight for me, too. Having you here helps push me along and it means the world. Thank you. I hope to have this book out real soon!

As mentioned previously and shown in preview chapters, this book rests heavily on Alex trying to find his missing not-so-great father, Dave, in Las Vegas. I've never considered myself much of a mystery or whodunnit writer, but hey: who doesn't like a good investigation interview montage?

*

“Castle Management? Eh. They’re kinda slow" The guy behind the counter of the sandwich shop was a big dude, with thick muscles and crowded tattoos. “They’re on contract with the landlord for the whole building. I’ve had to make calls for electrical stuff. If you get Jeff at the office, he’s good, but the rest aren’t really the customer service type, y’know?”

The middle-aged woman running the laundromat next door was less forthcoming. She shook her head at the question. “I don’t talk. You have laundry? Do laundry. Questions are for landlord.” Then she turned to collecting carts and baskets, pausing to look over her shoulder. Twice.

The motel manager—if one could fairly call it a motel, or him a manager—couldn’t hide his up-and-down looks at Lorelei. Then the question settled in past the lust at the forefront of his mind. He proved just as bad at hiding his suspicions. “Sorry, what?”

“Your business is supported by Castle Management,” Lorelei answered as if she either didn’t notice or didn’t mind the looks. In truth, she generally benefited from the lechery of others and even enjoyed it… though she preferred it didn’t come from combovers, bad teeth, and sweat stains. “I’m considering them for my own business, and I’d like to hear your experience with them.”

He leaned forward, eyes narrow and darting past Lorelei and Alex to check the lobby windows and the street beyond, then back to her. “Why are you asking? Are you cops? If you’re cops, I’m invoking my Fifth Amendment rights. Anything I say without a lawyer doesn’t count in court.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “That’s not how it works.”

“It’s not?”

“No.”

“No, but you can talk to us, anyway,” Lorelei assured smoothly. “We’re not police.”

“Then who’s asking?” the manager replied.

She raised a single eyebrow. “Do you really want to know?”

Alex thought he might hear the wheels turn in the manager's head—and feared one of them might snap. A dump motel like this with hourly rates had some obvious clientele, and probably regular visits from actual police. How was a guy this dim not already busted?

“I don’t want to get between anything or anyone,” said the manager. “I’m paid up. I pay to stay out of trouble. That includes competition.”

“And none of this is on you,” Lorelei assured—darkly, Alex thought. “Don’t worry about that. You have to take care of yourself. We understand. What do they do for you?”

“If you’re here asking, you probably already know.”

“Asking is how we get to discussing a better deal.”

He looked from her to Alex and back. “You don’t really fit the image.”

“It’s how we keep things quiet,” said Lorelei. “Bringing you trouble doesn’t help us. How long have you been paying them?”

“Every month for a couple years now. It’s not for nothing, either. They keep the trash away. Help with the cops sometimes. When I call, at least.”

“Have you paid recently? In the last few days?”

“Last payment was a couple weeks ago, but… the other night, they came by to talk to some of my regulars. Workin’ girls, y’know? I’ve got hourly rates. Reasons are obvious. The guys said they were hiring for a gig. Didn’t want to talk much about it. Just kept an eye out for who was here.”

“Did they speak with all the workers?” asked Lorelei.

“No. Only a few. Like they knew who they’d be interested in by sight. Didn’t seem like all the prettiest or youngest or whatever, but people got their tastes.”

“Could you tell us who they recruited?”

“I don’t pay that close attention. Wasn’t my business and I had things to do.” The manager licked his lips with another leering gaze. “So what’s your counter-offer? Would you be my new contact? Liaison?”

“How much are you paying?” asked Lorelei.

He looked away, then down, then shrugged. “Thousand a month.”

“Too small. Thank you for your time.” She turned around for the exit. Alex followed with relief.

“Whoa, wait up! Okay, it’s more than that,” the manager admitted.

“I assumed so. Goodbye.” Lorelei pushed the door open before Alex got to it, bringing them back into hot sunshine and a small parking lot long overdue for replacement. The motel likely hadn’t been much in its earliest days, whenever those were. Parking two spaces from the door meant they were inside the car before the manager came out to plead with them.

“Hey, wait! Who are you? What the fuck?” he called as Alex backed out.

“Should’ve pushed that line before you talked,” Alex grumbled. He swung the car into a turn and reached the street without issue. “I understand opening up for a pretty face, but not when it’s actually dangerous. He’s worried about more than cops.” He stopped at a light and looked to Lorelei. “This is a protection racket, isn’t it? ‘Nice place, shame if something bad happened to it, pay us and we’ll protect you from ourselves.’ That kind of thing?”

“It seems clear, yes,” said Lorelei.

“God damn it, Dave.”