A forty-something woman in a kimono opened the door. Her hair was blonde with dark roots. She eyed them with the wariness people save for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Yes?” The racket of a television filtered through from behind her.
Rich gave her a wide smile. “Hi. We’re looking for Jimmy. We’re old friends.”
Her look hardened. “My son’s not here.”
“Can you tell us where we can find him? It’s kinda urgent.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Leave your names, and I’ll tell him you were looking for him.” The murmur of the television changed, as if someone switched the channels.
Rich didn’t feel like telling her his name. “We’ll come back later. You know what time he’ll be home?”
She shrugged again. “Jimmy comes and goes as he pleases.” She stepped back into the house and closed the door.
There was nothing to do but get back into the car. “I bet she was lying,” Olly said.
Rich thought so too. “Yup. Drive around the block and park over there around the corner.” He pointed at a spot that would give them a good view of the house without making them conspicuous.
Olly did as he was told and parked the little car under the shade of an old tree. For minutes, the only thing to see was a pair of crows hopping on the road, picking at a piece of garbage by the curb.
The guy who finally came out of the house was tall, twenty-something, with a blond buzz cut and a tattoo all around his neck. He got into the Camaro, and a second later, the stereo started blasting rap, loud enough to rattle the windows on the whole block.
Olly put his hand on the ignition. “That must be Jimmy.”
“Not yet,” Rich said. Jimmy pulled off the curb. “Now go, but follow him from a distance.”
“I know. I’ve seen the movies.” Olly started up the car and puttered down the street.
“Don’t lose him,” Rich fretted.
“Don’t worry, he’s not exactly subtle. I could follow him with my eyes closed by sound alone. Jimmy is a flashy guy, isn’t he? The neck tattoo is so overkill.”
All this talk of tattoos drove Rich’s thoughts to another direction. “The guy who did yours, what was he like?” he asked casually.
Olly seemed eager to fulfill Rich’s curiosity. “Wade? Well, let’s see… Ink all over, of course. Average build, shaved head but a full beard. His cock had a slight curve and leaned to the left. His left.”
It was more than Rich bargained for. “Ugh! I didn’t need to hear that.”
“You asked.”
“Not about his dick.” Rich realized with horror that the tattooed guy with his left-leaning cock had just joined his fantasy of Olly. A fantasy he shouldn’t have had in the first place.
Olly chattered on, oblivious. “It’s funny how some penises don’t match their owners. I knew a guy who was five-two but hung like a horse. Seriously, it was scary. I felt sorry for him—I wouldn’t let him anywhere close to me with that thing. And he probably passed out when he got an erection from all the blood rushing there.”
Rich didn’t need any more cocks invading his imagination. He said nothing, hoping Olly would get off the subject. No such luck.
“Do you have a picture of yours? You know, on your phone?” Olly asked.
“No!” Rich whipped his head and stared at Olly in disbelief.
Olly returned his gaze with an expression of innocence. “I do. Wanna see?”
“No!” Rich protested, but it was a lie. “Could we please not talk about genitals? And keep your eyes on the road.”
“Okay, no cock will pass these lips,” Olly replied, trying to keep a straight face, but his dimples were showing.
Rich groaned and looked away.
They drove toward the hills, and the higher they went, the nicer the neighborhoods got. Soon they passed the warehouses and mini-malls and were making their way through narrow, winding streets. Olly had to drop quite far back, and after a turn, it seemed they might have lost their target. But then Rich spotted the Camaro parked in front of a house painted in sunflower yellow. “There it is.” He pointed.
Olly drove past slowly, and they just caught sight of the door closing. Olly drove to the end of the street, where he turned around. There was a perfect spot, just big enough for Olly’s car, halfway down the block, to keep an eye on the house. As Olly turned off the engine, his face was full of furrows. “The car in the driveway.”
Rich looked and saw a silver SUV. “Yeah?”
“I’ve seen it before. On Friday in front of your house. The photographer.”
“Are you sure?”