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Chapter41
DECKER WAS IN THEFRONT SEATof his rental car parked outside of a place called 10th and Main. That was also its literal location. It was the club Rachel Katz had referred to and of which she was a co-owner.
It seemed to be pretty popular, Decker noted. There was a bouncer out front who nearly equaled him in heft, and he had been vetting a long line of mostly younger and seemingly well-heeled men and women vying to get in.
Maybe his hometownwason the way back, he thought. Although he didn’t know if what amounted to an overpriced bar for well-off millennials was actually a good barometer of an improving economy for the average person.
He reworked his earpiece, and the noise from inside the club, communicated to him by the wire that Mars was wearing, came through loud and clear.
He settled in for a long evening.
***
Inside 10th and Main, Mars and Katz were seated in a roped-off section of the club, apparently reserved for VIPs. The music was loud, the bar crammed, and the dance floor full of swaying, already partially drunk people.
“So what do you think so far?” said Katz.
“Good vibe, lots of energy, and I can see your cash flow skyrocketing at the bar right now.”
“We put the bar there to maximize access to it from the tables and the dance floor.”
“Right. That way you get a continuous flow of business. And dancing makes people hungry and thirsty. And your table-to-patron ratio is good too. Pack ’em in, but without seeming to.”
“You sound like you know business.”
“Like I said, I dabble. Got some properties here and there. I like to work with low-income folks for the most part, give them a shot. Don’t make as much profit, but I don’t need the money.”
She sipped her cocktail and moved her head rhythmically to the music. “That’s very generous of you. I have a slightly different business model.”
“What’s that?”
“To get as rich as I possibly can.” She laughed and rattled the ice in her glass.
“Different strokes,” said Mars, grinning.
“How long have you worked with Decker?”
“Well, like I told you before, I don’t work with him. I’m not with the FBI or anything. But he and I are buds. We played college football against each other. I was a Texas Longhorn; he was an Ohio State Buckeye. I ran the ball and he tried to tackle me.”
“Did he?”
“He did as well as anybody did back then. Which wasn’t all that good.”
She laughed. “I respect a man who has confidence in himself.”
“I was up for the Heisman my senior year but lost out to a quarterback.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow. The Heisman? Did you play in the NFL?”
“I would have. But my career took a detour.”
“How so?”
“Death row in a Texas prison.”
Katz gaped until Mars grinned. She pointed at him. “Good one. I almost believed you for a second.”
Mars looked around. “This is an expensive buildout. Did you finance it, or do you have your own cash?”
