Apparently, they took this as an invitation, because after more staring and some words back and forth, the taller of the two yanked open the front door and entered the shop with Gumshoe on his heels.
They swaggered up to the front counter like they were here to settle a debt. The tall guy asked, "You work here?"
Dumbass."What doyouthink?"
His eyes narrowed. "I think you do."
I gave him a quick once-over. "Funny, you don't look like a thinker."
His jaw flexed. "What doesthatmean?"
"If you've gotta ask…" I didn't bother finishing. Instead, I gave a loose shrug that he could take however he liked.
Yeah, I was tweaking him.These guys weren't customers, and I wanted to see what they'd do. It wasn't for fun. It wasn't only for info either. Call it insurance. If either of them had a short fuse, I'd rather they go boom on me than on Maisie.
Gumshoe leaned in, his voice low and gravelly. "You new?"
"I dunno," I said. "Are you?"
He frowned. "What?"
I leaned an elbow on the counter. "Define new."
His frown deepened. "No,youdefine it."
The tall guy snapped, "Cut the crap."
Gumshoe turned to look. "You mean him, right?"
I spoke up. "Nah, my money's onyou."
Gumshoe returned his attention to me. When I smiled, his lip curled like he'd tasted something sour. "Keep running your mouth, pretty boy. See where it gets you."
Seriously?If this was a movie, I'd ask for a rewrite.The guy was a walking, talking cliché.I almost laughed in his face. "Hey, thanks."
He paused. "For what?"
"You called me pretty."
He shifted, like his shoes weren't fitting so great. "Yeah, but it wasn't a compliment."
I smirked. "Too late to take it back now."
His wet sunglasses were starting to fog over, but he made no move to wipe them. "Hey! I'll take back whatever I want."
"You meanwhenever you want."
"Huh?"
"It's a matter of timing," I explained. "Isaid it was too late.Youwere trying to say it wasn't. That makes it awhen, not awhere."
Gumshoe bristled, like he wanted to say something smart. I waited, betting he'd trip over his own mouth. Finally, he muttered, "It still wasn't a compliment."
No shit.I straightened, ready to get down to business. "So what's the plan?"
Gumshoe scrunched up his face. "What plan?"
"You're here to what? Rent a tandem?"
