“Maybe you should start with somebody who uses.” He studies me again, a look of disapproval on his face. “Justin would kill you if he knew you were looking to buy. He’s totally against that shit.” He takes a deep breath. “Anyway, like I said, I have no idea who deals. Ask a juiced-up jock, not me.”

“Right,” I say, convinced he knows nothing more than what he just revealed.

Brandon looks back out onto the empty main floor. Huey’s left without saying anything to us, and I have this weird vision of him marching over to Tank’s to shoot Dale Foster. Anyway, I see this twenty-something woman sitting on the cashier’s stool behind the front counter. She’s reading a paperback and listening to Pink Floyd, a dead giveaway that she’s a total Blaine girl. She’s really into the book, too, not even looking up as she reaches for her cigarette from the ashtray beneath the counter.

“Who’s she?”

“Brenda,” Brandon says. “That’s another thing. The cashiers make all the difference. They come and go like clouds, man. Always women, too. Your brother and me, I bet we’ve worked with thirty women the past four years.”

“Why so many?” I watch her as she takes a big swig of Diet Coke, followed by a drag on her cigarette. She still hasn’t looked up from her novel. She looks nice enough, kind of hot, too, in a rough, blue-collar sort of way. “Does Huey fire them all?”

“No. They all quit. I don’t think he’s ever fired one.”

“Why do they quit?”

“Lots of reasons. These women, most of them have kids but no husbands. This is a temporary thing for them until they find something better, which they usually do.” He pauses. “But sometimes Huey hits on them when he comes in drunk. I’ve seen him do it, and so has your brother. It’s totally gross, dude. The girls, they usually slap him and quit on the spot. One thing about Huey, he likes the ladies.”

“What about his wife?”

“Helen? She’s the meanest bitch in the world. She hardly ever comes in, but when she does, stay out of her way. All Helen Dawkins knows how to do is complain. Huey keeps a picture of her below the register. Check her out sometime. She’s hot, but she’s a terror.” He laughs. “Man, I don’t blame Huey for trying to score with all the cashiers.”

“Do the cashiers steal?”

“Some do, yeah. You have to get to know them at first, get a feel for their attitude. That’s why I said they make all the difference. Like Brenda out there. She won’t pay for that Diet Coke, and I know she takes cigarettes, but that’s about it. She won’t steal alcohol or anything. Little details like that, they tell you a lot. So Brenda steals Coke and cigarettes and doesn’t try to hide it, which tells you she’s cool with you doing the same thing.” We move back behind the cooler, out of Brenda’s sight. “But the best thing to do, Zach, to be safe, is to keep it all to yourself. Don’t say anything to the cashiers about what you take, no matter how cool they seem.” He looks around and nods. “Cover your tracks and you’ll be fine. It’s like an unwritten stock boy code. You’re gonna love it here. I know I have.”