noisy and crowded with a high percentage of American clientele. In a corner booth, a man in a tight white T-shirt spun records on a turntable and announcedeach selection with a display of colored lights. They ordered a quick meal in addition to drinks while Jonas hoped someone would have a reaction to his face.
âLuis said they came in here a lot because Jerry liked hearing American music.â Liz nibbled on hot nachos as she looked around. It wasnât the sort of place she normally chose to spend an evening. Tables were elbow to elbow, and the music was pitched to a scream. Still, the crowd seemed good-natured enough, shouting along with the music or just shouting to each other. At the table beside them a group of people experimented with a bottle of tequila and a bowl of lemon wedges. Since they were a group of young gringos, she assumed theyâd be very sick in the morning.
It was definitely Jerryâs milieu, Jonas decided. Loud, just this side of wild and crammed to the breaking point. âDid Luis say if he spoke with anyone in particular?â
âWomen.â Liz smiled a bit as she sampled a tortilla. âLuis was very impressed with Jerryâs ability toâ¦interest the ladies.â
âAny particular lady?â
âLuis said there was one, but Jerry just called her baby.â
âAn old trick,â Jonas said absently.
âTrick?â
âIf you call them all baby, you donât mix up names and complicate the situation.â
âI see.â She sipped her wine and found it had a delicate taste.
âCould Luis describe her?â
âOnly that she was a knockoutâa Mexican knockout, if that helps. She had lots of hair and lots of hip. Luisâs words,â Liz added when Jonas gave her a mild look. âHe also said there were a couple of men Jerry talked to a few times, but he always went over to them, so Luis didnât know what they spoke about. One was American, one was Mexican. Since Luis was moreinterested in the ladies, he didnât pay any attention. But he did say Jerry would cruise the bars until he met up with them, then heâd usually call it a night.â
âDid he meet them here?â
âLuis said it never seemed to be in the same place twice.â
âOkay, finish up. Weâll cruise around ourselves.â
By the fourth stop, Liz was fed up. She noticed that Jonas no more than toyed with a drink at each bar, but she was tired of the smell of liquor. Some places were quiet, and on the edge of seamy. Others were raucous and lit with flashing lights. Faces began to blur together. There were young people, not so young people. There were Americans out for exotic nightlife, natives celebrating a night on the town. Some courted on dance floors or over tabletops. She saw those who seemed to have nothing but time and money, and others who sat alone nursing a bottle and a black mood.
âThis is the last one,â Liz told him as Jonas found a table at a club with a crowded dance floor and recorded music.
Jonas glanced at his watch. It was barely eleven. Action rarely heated up before midnight. âAll right,â he said easily, and decided to distract her. âLetâs dance.â
Before she could refuse, he was pulling her into the crowd. âThereâs no room,â she began, but his arms came around her.
âWeâll make some.â He had her close, his hand trailing up her back. âSee?â
âI havenât danced in years,â she muttered, and he laughed.
âThereâs no room anyway.â Locked together, jostled by the crowd, they did no more than sway.
âWhatâs the purpose in all this?â she demanded.
âI donât know until I find it. Meantime, donât you ever relax?â He rubbed his palm up her back again, finding the muscles taut.
âNo.â
âLetâs try it this way.â His gaze skimmed the crowd as he spoke.