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The unpaved road crunched underfoot as we passed deeper within Papagayos, a large club on the right, see else looked hopelessly seedy or deserted by coest you make use of it," I said

Worabbed Chance hispered offers He extricated himself, sometimes forcefully, and stepped to one side Passersby jostled

I hadn’t seen him do this in a while, but it was akin to a meditative trance He closed his eyes and I could feel a shift, hard to describe, but al before a storave us a wide berth

When he opened his eyes, he pointed "That way"

"You’re sure?" He’d indicated a sayos

"As much as I can be I may need your help with translation, Corine"

I nodded absently, staying close as ove through the crowd My sto It was di a battered guitar The ’tender sold teeth

The selection of ladies was liine anyone buying her services, but I supposed having no teeth could be considered an advantage in soards Her seamed face seemed more suited to modest black dresses and rosary beads than the low cut blouse she wore We ordered two-dollar beers and I looked to Chance for guidance

His gaze ski on a wo on a stool at the end of the bar What did his gift feel like? Was itto artifice, but she wore it in a neat knot on top of her head, showing sun-browned shoulders She was pretty in a shopworn sort of way When he moved in her direction, I followed him, unsure what to expect

To my surprise he drew out a relatively recent photo of his nized the occasion--heck, I’d even taken the photo e all went to Disney World Mother and son stood to either side of Goofy Seeing the picture made me smile They both see straw hat and baggy pink shorts Not the sort of woman I associated with the zona

"Pardon me," Chance said

He didn’t touch her, but she turned with a coolly inquiring look When she saw us, her expression beca She couldn’t be as desperate as the ones who had felt him up outside "I do both for one hundred American"

If I hadn’t been so nervous, I would’ve laughed at Chance’s expression He’s rather straitlaced in some ways "Ah, that’s very kind, but--"

"Ninety, or I return to drinking" Her English came with the heavy accent unique to the border towns

"¿Cuánto por hablar?" I asked, hoping she’d realize eren’t trolling for excitement We just want to talk for a few minutes, lady

She cocked a brow at me "You want dirty talk?"

Despitehired to "entertain" a couple while they had sex "No, just a few questions"

I could see in her eyes that she thought it was a bad idea to answer, but finally she said in English, "Twenty dollars for ten minutes"

Chance paid her and we joined her at the bar He handed her the photo "Do you know this woman?"

For several moments, she stared at the picture with a blank expression "Long time," she said at last "Treinta años, más oas she finished her drink "Better not to question You get hurt if you ask, but I tell you this: find the old doctor if you want to know Andti with her for ten ot up and hurried out, shoulders hunched Chance radiated frustration as he slapped his palazed at us from deep, hopeless eyes, and I wondered how many men she’d serviced in her life, whether she’d loved--or even liked--any of theh I put downto see the doc now?"

"You’d win," Chance said

Secrets

As the clinic adjoined the jail, we backtracked to the guarded entrance The local police coexisted in uneasy balance with the federales For better or worse, as long as no overt drug deals went down and no i, the zona operated as a self-governing entity The army only intervened in extreme situations, like the shoot-out at the corner of Reforma and Paseo Colón, outside Boys Town

I expected wesohts, just like the ladies He had a s area with a few chairs, a desk, and an exam rooht because he couldn’t be ," the doctor said "You sick? Maybe you want medicine? For ten dollars, I write a script for Valium Maybe you suffer frolish was better thanhe dealt with Americans all the time I’d noticed that only a small portion of the zona catered to locals--the places up near Club New York Past that lay Tranny Alley, as Jesse had o there next

After soned to answer questions for twenty, same price as the hooker Chance flashed his uy shook his head "Sorry, no Never saw her"