'I'm sorry to hear that,' Tozier told Star when she had finished explaining the events of the night before. She had woken up late that afternoon to find that only a few candles had been lit around the bed she'd been laid in, which was nestled in a sheltered alcove just off from the main room. Dwayne was gone and Star didn't hear a sound when she called his name. Picking up one of the tapered candles she used the dim glow to light her way, following the sound of the ocean to guide her out to the rocky crop and along the rusted stairs that led to the top of Hudson's Bluff.
It wasn't until she had reached Tozier's tattoo place that Star realised it was past three in the afternoon, as deep in the cave there had been no clocks that she could see and no natural light of any kind. Curled up in the corner of the red Chesterfield, she smiled weakly at Tozier and drank more of the coffee he'd given her, laced with a huge helping of whiskey that he'd poured from a silver hip flask he'd produced from his back pocket.
'I know he was your dad, Star, but I don't go in for guys who beat women. I tell ya, he was this close to meeting Patience. I was just waiting on one more time, just one more, but looks like he got himself before I could.'
'Who's Patience?' Star asked in wonder, knowing that Tozier's partner was called Chris.
'Baseball bat,' Tozier answered with a wry smile, slipping a smooth, solid looking bat from beneath the counter. 'We been through some tough times together.' He kissed the rounded end of the bat before tucking it back out of sight and coming to sit down beside the girl. 'I truly am sorry. It's not easy losing someone you love, even if they have no love for you,' Tozier said, reaching a thick, tattooed arm out to wrap around Star's shoulders and draw her closer.
'He did love me,' Star began automatically, her tone rising as Tozier's blonde bushy eyebrows threatened to relocate to the top of his bald head. 'He did, in his own way. My daddy did a good job raising us both when our mother left. He still worked the mines as well as putting food in our bellies for a while. He made sure we both went to school, had clothes to wear. It must have been hard when alcohol had such a grip on him. It wasn't really til Dwayne left that he really hit rock bottom. I guess he was just waiting for me to go too, so he could drink himself into oblivion. I used to hide what I could from him, he always managed to find it though.'
Tozier nodded in understanding. 'That's the trouble when you got a vice, always finds ya somehow. S'how I ended up with all o' these,' he grinned, leaning to the side so he could run a meaty hand along his thick arm, tattooed with various whorls and swirls. Where's your brother now then?' Star shook her head and they both glanced up as the door chimed and two geeky looking teens entered.
'Got ID?' Tozier barked. The pair shook their heads, looking terrified. 'No ID, no tats. Don't waste my fuckin' time.' They quickly slunk out, pulling the door closed behind them.
'I don't know where Dwayne is now,' Star continued, draining her mug. 'He must have slipped out while I was still asleep. It was so strange him turning up just like that, I honestly haven't seen him for at least a year. I've bumped into him on the Boardwalk once or twice, but he hasn't been home since the night he left. He fell in with a strange crowd, starting drinking, smoking. When he got his motorcycle, he told daddy where to shove it and left. He said he was staying with a friend, but I don't see how anyone could live down in that dank, dark cave. They don't even had electricity or hot water!'
'Cave?' Tozier frowned, standing up and crossing the room to the door. Business had been quite slow and apart from the two underage kids, he hadn't had any customers for at least two hours or so. He flipped the 'open' sign to 'closed'. 'What cave? Not up on Hudson's Bluff?' Star nodded and straightened up the design books out of habit.
'Yea, along that rocky outcrop with the twisted iron railings.'
'It's dangerous up there, Star.' Tozier said, with a sudden look of concern. Star shuddered.
'I know, those stairs are so rusted they wouldn't hold a mouse, and the ocean rages just beneath. One wrong step and you're fish food up there. I don't know how Dwayne stands it.'
'No, I mean there are some pretty twisted stories floating around about that place. Gives me the creeps.' Tozier shivered himself, as if someone had run a cold finger down his spine. 'Just promise me you'll stay away from that place.'
'Well, to be honest I'm not sure I could find my way back anyhow.'
'I mean it,' His usually kind eyes were fierce as he reached across to grab her arm. 'Promise me you'll stay away from there, Star. Santa Carla's a fucked up place anyway, but that place is dark.'
'I promise,' Star stammered, feeling the intensity in his grip on her wrist. Tozier realised how hard he was holding her, saw the flicker of fear and something worse – resignation – in her pretty face.
'Right. So here's what we're going to do now I've shut up early. You, my girl, are going to go upstairs and take a long, hot shower because you stink to high heaven and to be honest you look like a bag of shit. I'm going out to get you some new clothes, then we're both going out to get something to eat. Sound good?'
Star grinned.
'Sounds great.'
Tozier and his partner, Chris, lived upstairs above the tattoo parlour in a little apartment that was just big enough for the pair of them. It was decked out in cool soft blues and greens throughout, capturing the fresh and calming element of the ocean that could be heard from the bedroom at the back. Chris, Tozier's partner for the last nine years, worked hard as a security guard on the pier, mostly nights, so wasn't often around when Star popped in. She had met him a few times though, and had liked his stiff British accent immediately. She believed it was mostly Chris's influence on the décor, as she couldn't ever imagine Tozier picking out sheer aquamarine curtains.
Tozier had given Star the key, directed her to the clean towels in the cabinet and told her he'd be back soon with something for her to wear. Star had found the shower in the tiny en-suite bathroom and though the spray wasn't particularly powerful, it was hot enough to make her eyes sting when it caught the now black bruise on her back.
The click of the apartment door, accompanied by Tozier's deep rumble of 'Hey, girl, I'm back!' made her jump and Star wondered if she'd managed to fall asleep where she stood, the hot water running off her skin in rivulets. She grabbed a towel for her hair and wrapped one around herself before finding Tozier shuffling about in bags at the little table in the corner of the lounge.
'Whoa!' he said, taking in her bright, flushed skin. 'Thought you were taking a shower, not trying to boil yourself in there. Here look, put this on and let's get outta here. I can't cook like Chris and I'm damn hungry.' He snapped the price tag off something pale and shimmery, tossing it to Star before handing her another bag. 'You'll find underwear in there, and shoes,' he said gruffly, turning just as red as she was now. Star laughed and kissed the top of his bald head as the man dipped down to fuss about some mark he'd spotted on the carpet.
A short time later, Star took Tozier's thick arm as he led her out into the bright, garish lights of the boardwalk. The summer season was in full flow and happy crowds laughed and careened along the peer, jostling and pointing at the painted stalls and store fronts. The sweet, heady scent of candy apples, fresh popcorn and cotton candy mixed with the salt of the ocean air and earthy sweat of the carnies who operated the merry-go-round and the bone-rattling coaster. Tozier and Star allowed themselves to be swept along with the crowd, knowing the boards well enough to be able to steer off course when they needed to. The jazzy thump of some live band throbbed through their feet, making Star smile, her tawdry jewellery jingling as she squeezed Tozier's arm.
'Let's stop here,' she said, pointing to a little stall with a dark green painted sign above it.
'Hotdogs? Really? I could take you to any place in this town, and you want a hotdog?'
Star nodded earnestly, thankful for all the money he'd spent on her already. For everything he'd done for her since the day they met.
'I love them.'
'Really?' he asked again, golden moustache twitching.
'Really.'
'Fine,' Tozier relented. 'Two with onions, please,' he asked the bored-looking teen obviously working a summer job, who popped her pink gum noisily before taking two from the warmer.
'Four bucks,' the girl announced, unceremoniously handing them over in exchange for the cash.
'S'coming out of your pay-check,' Tozier informed Star as he passed the hotdog to her and watched her slather it in ketchup. 'You coulda had it all, you know. Full works. Candles on the table, starched white table cloth and real pretty little napkins. Fine wine, best food this side of the state line. But no. Hotdogs on the pier.'
'I know you're a sucker for a wiener,' Star snickered, her dark eyes sparkling playfully. Tozier roared with laughter.
'Well, I can't say that's a lie,' he winked as they walked on.
'Hey, what's that? I thought it used to be a restaurant?' Star wiped her mouth, having finished her hotdog, and tossed the crumpled paper napkin into the nearest trashcan.
'Still hungry, huh?' Tozier asked with a little grin, still wiping his fingers clean on his pants, his hotdog long gone.
'No, I just thought this place used to be a pizza place?' They both stood back from the crowd as it flowed past them, leaning against the railings that separated the Boardwalk from the long drop to the sand below, that would sparkle like crushed diamonds mixed with gold dust when the sun caught it just right during the day.
What Star had remembered as being a pizza restaurant had recently had a new coat of paint – its once dark green front was now a bright, eye catching red – and a new sign above it in gold letters that said Zingaro.
'Ahh that must be the new place Chris was trying to tell me about the other night. He said some Italian was opening up a new kind of all-night place to feed the homeless. He's fuming about it, thinks it's going to 'attract the wrong sort of person',' Star laughed as Tozier did a good job at imitating Chris's very British accent. 'The Boardwalk manager won't pay out for extra night shifts. Does seem like a dodgy disaster just waiting to happen to me, too. But, on the other hand, it might be quite useful for you. Chris said there was talk about councillors who work on finding homes for the homeless. Obviously you don't gots to worry about no job, I gottcha on that front, girl. But I can't help with the home part. Obviously you're welcome to the couch whenever, but you need something more permanent, a place that's yours.'
Star nodded. 'You've done so much for me already. But you're right, maybe that is something they could help me with. Maybe I'll drop in tomorrow. Right now, we've got a date with the merry-go-round! Come on, you're paying!' And she was gone, a cloud of dark curls and shimmering white sundress, eaten up by the push and pull of the holiday crowd.
It was much later that night – the early hours of the morning in fact – when Star decided she might check out that new place after all. She had been invited back to Tozier's after they had exhausted the joys of the pier, and plied with a soft down duvet and pillows when Chris arrived home and heard her story too. The softly spoken man, his manner totally at odds with the job he did, echoed his boyfriend and insisted Star stay as long as she needed on their couch. But when the supper had been finished and first Chris and then Tozier had slipped off to bed, Star found she couldn't sleep. She wondered where Dwayne had gone, who the friend was that he'd been staying with and why they were living in a cave, of all places, let alone one that seemed to disturb the unshakable Timmy Tozier as much as it seemed to.
The dark Boardwalk was a familiar haunt for Star. She loved how the place felt behind the scenes, when all the bawdy lights were off and the pier was quiet. So much of her life, all of it in fact, had been spent within ears reach of the ocean and the gentle sound of it was soothing whenever her mind was troubled.
The only illumination along the walkway came from the soft white security lights spread evenly along the wooden railings, lighting the way to the largest section of the pier that reached so far out into the ocean, one couldn't see the shoreline very clearly. This was where most of the tourist attractions were; rides, side shows and stalls, gift shops and food vendors, along with one or two more permanent restaurants which were all shut and shuttered for the night. Except one. The old pizza place, Zingaro.
'Benvenuto, weary traveller. Come inside, please.' A tall, athletic man with sharp, dark features and shrewd eyes peeled himself away from the counter he'd been lounging against when Star pushed open the door. 'You are most welcome here. Please, please, have a seat.'
The warm scent of coffee was comforting as Star slid into a vinyl booth that the man indicated to her, setting a cup down in front of her before she could decline and pouring her a drink.
'My name is Nikolai Di Peco, Niko to my friends. I'm glad that you have come.' Star found she was dazzled by his warm brown eyes and friendly smile. His lilting Italian accent was cute. 'And what might be your name, mia bella?'
'Uh,' Star reached automatically for the coffee that had been poured for her, needing the warmth of the cup on her palms to bring her to her senses. 'Star. My name is Star.'
Niko spread his hand over his heart as if she had struck him in his chest with her words.
'What a fabulous name this is. It suits you indeed. You twinkle as if you would be this.' Star laughed quietly, feeling a blush creep up to her cheeks which was very unlike her. 'May I ask, Star, what brings you to the Zingaro this night?'
She looked up then, glancing around the old restaurant to see the new décor. It surprised Star to see that very little had changed. Though the sign had been repainted and rebranded outside, the green vinyl booths and cheap tables still remained.
The little kitchenette - where various types of homemade pizzas and salads had once been prepared - now housed two steel cook pots, attended to by an older looking man in chef whites, and a coffee warmer. Four other people were scattered around the room. Two men sat together in a booth on the other side talking, in low conspiratal whispers, one of them glancing up at Niko and Star every so often. A young boy who couldn't have been any older than Star was twitching and sniffing every now and then in his own booth, clearly high on something as his dyed blue hair quivered with the motion of his bouncing knee under the table. Perched on one of the stools before the kitchenette was an older girl that Star thought looked familiar. Her lank blonde hair hung greasily around the shoulders of her battered leather jacket. Holey fishnets were ripped and snagged in places, perhaps having caught on the various chains that dangled from her denim shorts. The punky girl snorted with laughter at something the man behind the counter had said to her.
'Um, well… I heard that you might be able to help me?' Why did Star feel so on edge looking up at Niko? Maybe she was tired after all. Niko grinned beatifically.
'Why of course, mon ami! That's what we're here for, to help those in need! The Zingaro has opened its doors to all of Santa Carla who are down on their luck. Do not worry, Niko is here for you. What is it you are in need of, I wonder? A job? A home? A friend?' His perfect smile never left his face and his impossibly brown eyes were still warm, still inviting, but Star couldn't help but shiver internally at the way the soft lights of the room caught on his teeth.
'I just need somewhere to live. I'm kind of homeless at the moment. I have a friend I'm staying with,' which I wouldn't need to do if I could find my brother, she added a little bitterly to herself. Where the hell had Dwayne gone again?
'This is a simple problem that Niko can fix for you, bella. I will get you some forms to fill in which will help us to match you to the perfect place. But first I must ask, are you single?' Star nearly spat her coffee back into her cup, wondering if he was about to ask her out.
'Yes,' she hesitated. Niko beamed.
'Perfect. We can't take couples on our new housing scheme, you see.'
'Ah,' Star muttered, feeling a little foolish as she took another drink to try and cover up her embarrassment.
'What about family, do you have any family around, bella? Anyone around that might miss you, should we have to relocate you out of Santa Carla, say? ' Niko continued to enquire, his gentle tone soft.
'Not any more, no.'
'Fabulous.' Niko topped up her coffee and fetched the paperwork for her to complete.
Left alone for the moment, Star watched as the man in chef whites leant over the counter and whispered something to the greasy blonde. The girl giggled and slipped off her stool, taking the hand offered to her. It was only as the chef led her through a door signed 'Staff only beyond this point' that Star caught the girls face as she turned with a rapturous grin at nobody in particular. Her tired features were worn and edged with the comedown from whatever drug she'd taken, but Star had no doubt that she was the girl on the missing poster she'd been given a few nights ago. The door swung shut and Star thought no more about the girl until the next day.
