Earl had no sooner lay down than he got back up. He looked around the room, remembering that he had a can of beer that he could drink. Earl figured that the alcohol would be good for his mouth and lip, recalling how it had felt better when he'd taken the swallows from the bottle that the Indian had offered.
     He didn't want to say anything to Vicky about it, but her treatment hadn't done much of anything to make his face feel better. He thought that maybe she was doing something wrong, leaving out an important step or something, but making him think about his injuries had done nothing to make them hurt less.
     He found and opened the other can of malt liquor that he'd bought earlier and began drinking. As he swished the liquid around in his mouth, he held the can against his lip. While it wasn't as cold as it had been when he'd bought it, it was still cold enough to feel good. In fact, Earl thought, it was giving him more relief already than all of Vicky's touching had done.
     He pulled a cigarette from a package on the table and stuck it in his mouth. He couldn't hold it there comfortably, so moved it to the side where there wasn't any wound. He managed to light the cigarette and sat on his bed, drinking and smoking.
     By the time the cigarette was done, Earl felt better. He wished that the cigar box was under his bed because Earl thought that he would feel much better if he could have a little snort of crystal. Just a little, he thought, enough to take the edge off the events of the last hour.
     He was wondering where Perris was with his stash when he became aware of a commotion out in the lot. Rising to his feet, Earl walked over to the window next to his door and pulled the thick navy curain aside.
     Out in the lot Earl could see that the police had arrived and that the manager was talking to them and leading them to where Scott stood by his truck.
That bastard, Earl thought. He's gonna pay for this.
Earl could see the police talking to Scott. While Scott gestured and pointed at his truck and at Earl's door, the cop was nodding, following Scott's finger, and writing notes in his pad. The manager was gesturing, too, waving her arms in frustration and exaperation. If there wasn't so much pointing in his direction, Earl would have found the scene entertaining, if not amusing.
As it was, he had no desire to go out and eavesdrop. He could see that most of the people from the motel who'd congregated after the fight had no such qualms, however, and the same knot of people who'd kept Scott and he apart were now clustered around the police. Earl knew that they had no information to give, but watched as the cop talked to each of them in turn. He was watching the cop ask questions of the woman who'd been holding the spoon when he was startled by a quick knock at his door.
Earl sidled over and opened his door a crack. Vicky was standing there, now wearing a thick black turtleneck sweater instead of the bathrobe. The sweater did an excellent job of hiding her figure, and Earl frowned at it. When she'd been assisting him earlier, he'd been able to look inside her bathrobe a few times and the sight of her black bra had done more to raise his spirits than anything else. If she was going to start with that touching and telling him to concentrate jazz again, Earl felt that the only benefit he'd gotten from it earlier would be missing now.
"How are you feeling?" she asked as he opened the door wide. "Is it any better?"
"I think so. Maybe, yeah." Earl answered, letting her in his room. There was no benefit to be gained in telling her that it was a waste of time, not when at least he was getting her attention. "I think it helped, some."
"That's good," she said, acting all official. "I should keep doing it, then, until you're all better."
Earl thought that could means she'd be touching him for weeks, and wasn't completely unhappy with the prospect. "That's a good idea," he said, closing the door behind her. "Do you want me to lay down again?"
"That would be best," she answered. She pushed the sleeves of her sweater up to her elbows and began looking around. "Where's that washcloth?" she asked.
"Oh, it's around here somewhere," Earl said. He began looking around, feeling under his bulk and withdrew it from somewhere beneath him. "Here it is."
She took the washcloth, looked at it, and took it to the bathroom for another rinsing. Earl watched her walk away, still pleased by the sight of her wiggle, and lay back down before she could catch him spying on her. When she returned, he was once again laying flat on his back, arms at his sides.
"Okay," she said. "Just lie there still and put all your concentration on my touch. The more you think about the places where I'm drawing your attention, the better you'll feel and the faster you'll get well."
Earl smirked, but Vicky couldn't see it beneath the washcloth. Earl let himself be pampered, touched, and alternated between thinking about his face when instructed and wondering what Vicky looked like naked. They were continuing the ritual and Earl was wondering if she had black panties on as well, when they were interrupted by a solid knock at the door.
Vicky jumped and Earl sighed in resignation. He'd known this was coming even if she did not. He swung his legs around, sat up, and walked over and opened the door.
"Earl Potts?" the cop asked and Earl nodded. "We'd like to ask you some questions."
Earl nodded again and stood there. Vicky got up behind him and Earl could see the cop watching her get off her knees. He thought about it and decided that the cop was probably thinking that she'd been giving Earl a blow job. Earl liked that.
Instead of asking anything about that, though, the cop began by asking Earl what had happened, what his side of the story was. Earl told him the little he knew, leaving out the earlier visit to Scott's room and the joint they'd shared.
When asked about the tools, Earl pleaded innocent and he could see that the cop was looking at him hard, studying him. Earl felt sweat forming on his forehead, but not about the tools. He knew he'd had nothing to do with their disappearance, but Earl was worried that the cop would see that he was wired off his ass and arrest him for that.
Vicky distracted the cop by telling him that she'd been talking to Earl when she'd come home from work.
"When was that?" the cop asked.
"It would have been about quarter to six," she answered.
"And who are you?"
"I'm Vicky Tavares," she answered, meeting his examination with her stare.
"And you would be..."
"I live here." she said, then caught herself. "Not here in Earl's room-he's just a friend-but here at the motel. My room's just down at the corner," she dded, pointing at it through the wall.
"Where do you work?"
"At the Celebrity Center in Hollywood," Vicky answered.
The cop drew a blank and Earl looked puzzled. "What 'Celebrity Center?'" the cop asked.
"The one in Hollywood," Vicky said. "On Fountain." Seeing that this did nothing to make the cop understand, she added, "The Scientology Celebrity Center." Vicky looked amazed that he didn't know all about it.
"Oh, that. I see," the cop said. What he was seeing wasn't obvious, but Earl flinched at the mention of Scientology.
Vicky went on to explain that she'd driven straight home from work and confirmed Earl's account of their conversation and planned date. The cop looked at Earl, again, on hearing of this, but Earl couldn't tell if he was questioning the fact that Vicky would accept a date with Earl or that Earl would be dating a Scientologist.
"So how did the fight start?" the cop asked.
Earl told him about opening the door and getting cold-cocked. He described the fight as best he could, omitting the fact that he'd brandished a bat at Scott, and eventually the cop had the whole story.
"Can I look around?" the cop asked when the description of the fighting was over.
Earl had been expecting that, but had expected it first. He quickly thought if there was anything else in the room that the cop could find and decided that it was pretty clean. There may be a roach or some needle wrappers in the trash, but Earl hoped that the cop would just look quickly for something big like the tools. "Sure," Earl said, hoping his voice didn't betray his nervousness. "I don't have any of his tools here."
Sure enough, the cop just glanced over the room, peeked in the bathroom and the closet, and quickly opened and closed the few drawers. When he was done with his cursory examination, he thanked Earl and asked Vicky if he could look at her room, too.
This seemed to surprise Vicky, but Earl took it as a good sign. Evidently, Earl thought, the cop was thinking that he and Vicky were pretty close and maybe Earl had hidden the things in her room. He didn't like that the cop still considered it likely that Earl had ripped Scott off, but he was proud that the cop thought that Vicky could be his girlfriend.
Vicky agreed to the search of her room, and Earl followed her and the cop to her room. It was the same as his, even had the same art on the wall, but the bed was neatly made and there was a small bookshelf that she'd added full of books. Earl glanced at the titles, and they all looked like Scientology books. The cop opened her closet, and Earl could see that she didn't have many more clothes than he did.
When the cop peered in the bathroom, Earl saw that Vicky's bathroom had matching towels and a neater arrangement of bathing things on the small counter, but like everything else, it was a twin of his. When the cop looked through her drawers, Earl peeked over his shoulder at her lingerie. Unlike his, it was neat and colorful.
"Nothing here," the cop said, mostly to himself. "You two stay here until I come back."
Vicky looked at Earl, who shrugged.
They watched the cop go back over to the manager, and then he began going through all the rooms in the Single Spire Motel. Earl figured that none of the tenants would welcome him, but that everyone would let him, and he was right. After checking all the rooms, the cop came back to Vicky's room and told Earl that he could go back to his own room if he wanted.
Earl, who'd been watching the proceedings from Vicky's doorway, looked at her before addressing the cop. "Can we leave now?"
The cop thought a moment, then agreed.
"Will you be here much longer?" Vicky asked the cop.
"No, I'm about done."
"Did you find the tools?" she asked.
The cop seemed reluctant to answer, but wished them a good night. Earl watched as he went back to the manager's office.
"I'm starving," Vicky said.
Earl remembered the date and their plans for dinner. While he was pleased that she still wanted to go out, Earl wanted to be around when Perris brought back his box. "You still want to go out?" he asked.
"Un-huh."
Earl thought a moment. He knew that Perris worked at the liquor store, but not where he lived. He didn't know where he was now, either, or where his box was. If Earl wasn't home when Perris came by, and he realized he didn't even know when that would be, Earl didn't know when he'd get his box back.
He looked at Vicky, who was smiling and looking very agreeable. It was a llook that Earl hadn't expected to ever see on Vicky, not when it came to him, and he was torn. He wasn't at all hungry, the speed that he'd taken had obliterated any hunger, but he hadn't eaten for about a day and his tongue and throat would like to have something.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Do you know what time it is?"
Vicky looked over at a small clock that sat on her bedside table. "Twenty to nine."
Earl wasn't sure if that mattered or not. "Give me a minute," he said. "I need to get something from my room."
"Okay," Vicky said. "I'll come with."
Earl put a smile on his face as soon as he could and hoped that Vicky hadn't seen the frustration that he felt. He didn't need anything from his room, but he wanted to buy some time in case Perris came over. Also, Earl thought that he would take some time to look in the parking lot and make sure that the police had left. It was possible, he realized, that the cop was still in the manager's office, and if the cop car were out front Perris wouldn't be showing up.
"Ready?" she asked again. She began turning off the lights, and Earl realized that he couldn't stall any longer.
"Okay, let's hit it," he said, hoping that something would happen that would let him meet with Perris and still be able to take Vicky out to dinner. As it turned out, as soon as they left Vicky's room Earl ran back into the cop.
"We're done here," the cop said. "If we need to talk with you again, we'll be by." The cop was cordial, but not friendly. Earl had a feeling that the cop was sharing a secret with him, but he couldn't imagine what it would be.
Vicky was tugging at Earl's arm, but gently, and he turned to find her staring up at him. He grinned down at her, rubbed his nose and checked his fingers for blood, and started walking toward his room. "Just a sec," he said as he opened the door and tried to determine what he could do. If he shut the door Vicky might get suspicious, or at least wonder what he was up to. And he realized that he had nothing to hide, anyway.
He decided to go to the bathroom, figuring that was a safe place to hide for a bit, as well as being innocent. He stupidly waved at her before closing the door, and she waved back from inside his room.
Earl washed his hands and face, a couple times, hoping that something would happen. From what he could tell, the only effect that had was that his lip began bleeding again, and he hurriedly grabbed some toilet paper and began blotting his lip. It took a few sheets before he could tell that the bleeding had stopped, and Earl resigned himself to being at the end of his stalling. He shook his head when he thought that on any other night he would have been flying to go on a date with Vicky, but this was not turning out to be a normal night.
He shut off the light, flushed the toilet, and went back into his room to see Perris and Vicky sitting on his bed. His cigar box was between them.
"Hey," Earl said.
Perris hurried to his feet. "There you are," he said.
Vicky was looking at the box, and Earl had no idea if he should mention it or not. Sitting right there it was pretty obvious, but there was no reason to draw any more attention to it. Earl chose to ignore it, hoping everyone else would do the same.
"I brought your box back." Perris said.
"Thanks," Earl said. He didn't want this to go any farther. He was pretty sure that Perris had looked inside it, but was equally certain that Vicky hadn't and that Perris hadn't told her what was inside. Earl was more concerned about the gun than the drugs, but he didn't want to have to explain either one of them, not to Vicky.
"Well," Earl said. "Let's get going." He picked up the box as nonchalantly as he could and carried it to the closet. He put it on the top shelf and pulled out a thin jacket that he slipped over his shoulders, much like a cape.
"Can you give us a second?" Perris asked Vicky. "I have something I want ot talk to Earl about."
Vicky looked over at the closet, no doubt thinking about the box. "Do you guys need to be alone?"
"Oh, no," Perris assured her. "I just want to talk to him about a fight."
Earl stopped, frozen in his tracks, his eyes wary and heart racing. He looked at Vicky, who looked puzzled, and at Perris, who looked pleased with himself.
     "Everything all right?" Perris asked. Earl didn't know what he was referring to. He could have been talking about his bruised face, he could have been talking about the box. Earl hadn't checked the contents, but he felt Perris should have known that.
     "I'm starving," Vicky said. The men ignored her,
     "Whaddya mean?" Earl asked. "I'm feeling okay, yeah."
     "Think you'll feel okay tomorrow?" Perris asked.
     "I guess so, why?"
     "I've got a proposition," Perris began. He looked at Earl steadily, but with nowhere near the intensity that Vicky did. "Everything cool with the box?"
     "I guess so," Earl answered. He was puzzled, not sure where this was going, but was getting annoyed about Perris bringing up that damn box every time he turned around. "I'll check it later."
     "What's with the box?" Vicky asked.
     Earl watched her face, hoping to see some sign. Was she being coy? Did she think it belonged to Perris? "Nothing," he answered.
     "I was glad I could help," Perris said.
     "Yeah, thanks," Earl muttered. He was beginning to regret having trusted Perris with it, especially since the cop wouldn't have seen it, anyway.
     Perris again looked at Earl, licked his lips, and said, "I'd like you to do me favor."
     Earl took a short breath and glanced at Vicky. She was staring back at him, studying him, he thought. "What's that?"
     "You want to get back at Scott?" Perris asked. "Get even with him?"
     "Yeah."
     "I think I can arrange that," Perris said. "Tomorrow night. Are you free?"
     "I guess so, yeah," Earl answered.
     "My fraternity would like to host a fight between you two," Perris said. "A boxing match thing, no weapons, but no gloves or anything, either." He paused and looked at Earl. "Just a good ol' fight, a grudge match."
     "A boxing match?" Vicky asked, but nobody answered her.
     "What are you talking about?" Earl asked. "You want me and Scott to have a fight so you guys can watch it?"
     "Pretty much," Perris answered. "I already spoke with Scott and he's up for it. Said he'd finish kicking your ass."
     "Oh, yeah?"
     "He's looking forward to it. I told him I'd check with you and set it up so that you two can finish this thing off. Get you away from here, away from the interruptions, and let you settle this thing."
     Earl thought about this. He really wanted to get back at Scott, to pay him back for accusing him of stealing the tools as well as for the damage he'd done to Earl's face. He never had hit Scott back, and Earl felt he owed him at least that much.
     He thought for a moment about how quickly Scott had beaten him earlier, but told himself that was only because it had been a surprise. If they fought on an even playing field, Earl figured he could get a couple good punches in. Scott was strong, but he was much smaller than he was, and Earl knew that if he got in a good punch that he could knock Scott across the room.
     "Okay," Earl said. "I'll do it. Where and when?"
     "Cool," Perris answered, letting out a held breath. He displayed a big smile and told Earl that he'd pick him tomorrow at six, when he got off work. "I'll take you there, so you won't have to worry about that."
     "You're going to fight him?" Vicky asked. "I don't think that's a good idea."
     "It'll be fine," Perris said quickly. He looked over at Earl and gave him a thumbs up. "I'm sure Earl will put on a good fight."
     "That's not what I meant," Vicky said. "This is a simple ARC break and they can solve their problems with communication."
     "Yeah, right," Perris laughed. "Whatever." He patted Earl on the shoulder, made a slight, playful punch at his jaw, and grinned. " No, these two are going to settle it the old-fashioned way. No questions asked, no doubt about the winner."
     Earl looked at Vicky and nodded.
     "It's all set, then," Perris said. "I'll pick you up tomorrow."
     Earl agreed and Perris smiled at him. "You can come, too," he said to Vicky before leaving Earl's room and hurrying back across the lot.
     "C'mon," Earl said. "Let's go get dinner."