Brenda has to be the girl that passed away on Hex’s grounds.
“I’m sorry to ask you this, and I hope I’m not being insensitive, but was Brenda found on Hex’s property this morning?”
Patricia snapped her attention to me. “How did you know?”
“I happened to be coming onto the property when the ambulance was leaving.”
“Lucky you.” She snorted. “Your first day of work and you’re greeted by death. Welcome to Hex’s realm.”
“I guess.” I took a few more steps before asking, “How do you think your friend died?”
“The way most people do. From a broken heart.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.” She dabbed at her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
Silence passed between us. We strolled down the empty street as she smoked her joint with the casualness of a person sucking on an expensive cigarette. The earthy scent of marijuana drifted my way. Traveling through the neighborhood was like walking within a world full of jumbled paintings. Elaborate murals decorated the surrounding buildings’ walls. Even the sidewalks boasted graffiti art or little mini paintings. A big metal sculpture or two beautified each corner.
“You’re not worried about the cops stopping you while you smoke?” I asked.
“The streets are empty and we’re in Wynwood Design District. If there are cops here, they’re just making sure unwanteds aren’t in the area to bother the rich, artsy people.”
“Unwanteds?”
“This district is close to the impoverished area barely a block or two away. The cops are here to keep everyone separated.” She blew out a long wave of smoke. “It pretty much sucks. A poor kid couldn’t stray onto these blocks and look at art without being harassed by the police for why he or she is here.”
“That isn’t right. I was poor in a way and art surely benefited me, even though I’m not an artist myself.”
“The great thing about Hex is that he contacted the schools near the area and designed a special program where poor kids who are interested in art can actually come to his castle for classes, as well as come to X-lab for art presentations. I think it’s all free, too, but I’m not sure.”
“That’s amazing. I wish I could do something like that. Maybe when I have the money or power to do it.”
“You’re even better. You’re a muse. You inspire the creative to imagine something great and you stimulate the dull and unoriginals’ minds to think outside of the box.”
I laughed. “That’s really nice to say, but I don’t think I’ve truly done all of that.”
“Well,” she took a hit from her joint. “I guess we’ll see if you do it while you stay at Castillo Castle. Brenda modeled, too.”
“Did she do a lot of modeling for Hex?”
“No. Not really.” She inhaled smoke, paused in the middle of the sidewalk, and took great care putting out the joint on the rough surface. “She more or less helped Hex with video work, taught him about cameras. I used to sit around and watch them. It was a lot of fun. They bought tons of tiny mini cameras that were barely two inches big. Brenda loved it. Those days were probably the only time I saw her smile.”
“She didn’t smile a lot?”
“No.” Patricia placed the unfinished joint back in her little tin with the silver dragon and dropped it in her pocket book. “She was sad a great amount of time. It’s her story so I won’t tell you why, but she had things to deal with like all of us, I guess.”
Patricia raised her head and stared at the stars glittering above us. “But it’s no big deal anymore. I’ll bet she’s smiling at us now. When she did smile, it was such a beautiful sight. She had the most perfect teeth. Yeah. She’s grinning at us all now and probably laughing her ass off as she watches the big show.”
Al righty.
Tension built in my shoulders. The night shifted from enjoyable to out of the ordinary all at once. That appeared to be the theme of life around Hex—interesting to strange, appealing to peculiar.
Patricia finished with star gazing and turned to me. “Are you ready to head to the bar, get some wine, and then drink in all of the great performance art on the last level?”
“Yes. That sounds like a great idea.”
Chapter 8
Alvarez
The gallery opening proved to be a success and didn’t end until three in the morning. By a little after four, I returned to the castle, went straight to my office, signed a few more contracts, and ended up falling asleep right in my chair. With a stiff neck and sore shoulders, I woke up in pure embarrassment, got in a quick shower, changed, and rushed downstairs for an even quicker lunch where my assistant, Reece found me stuffing newly made cheese empanadas into my mouth.