The man looked Gabe up and down before casting his gaze to Ruby. A grin broke across his face, his interest obvious.

“Who's asking?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The FBI,” Ruby deadpanned, flashing her badge. “Do you have a name?”

The man's smile disappeared. ”Call me whatever you like.”

He looked too long at her. It made her shift, as if trying to worm her way out from under that look. It was almost too intent for the way he looked. It made her second guess her first judgement. Maybe he wasn’t as out of it as he appeared.

“I would prefer an actual answer,” Gabe said firmly. “Do you follow the band around?”

The man turned his attention to Gabe as if it were a hardship to look at him.

“John, then,” he said, “I am. I have before. It’s good to have an extra person. The band isn’t usually fit to drive after a concert and sometimes they need to get on the road immediately to make it to the next gig.”

Ruby couldn’t place whether or not she remembered him from the original Lucky 13 case, but she was still prepared to believe his story.

“Have you been in town long?” Gabe pressed. Without Marcia present, it made sense to try and get these answers out of someone who might not have had any idea why the FBI would be interested in Marcia.

John, however, looked bored by the conversation. It made Ruby wonder how often Man’s Ruin was cajoled by law enforcement. It would not surprise her at all if they ended up getting questioned wherever they went.

“You just missed Marcia. If you want to catch her, this is where you want to go,” John said, leaning away from the door for a moment.

Gabe tensed next to Ruby, preparing for the guy to make a run for it or pull a gun, or anything he needed to react to quickly.

Instead of a weapon, he handed Ruby a postcard sized piece of paper. It looked like it had been used as a coaster, but it was still legible.

“Pete's Purgatory,” Gabe read over her shoulder, “one night only.”

“Looks like they added a last-minute appearance,” Ruby said. The familiar image of Marcia's band was printed in black and white over the bar's address.

A concert at a place called Pete's Purgatory. If they left immediately, they could still make it.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Pete’s Purgatory lived up to its name. Ruby definitely felt like she was well on her way to hell.

Lights slashed through the venue, occasionally flashing directly into Ruby's eyes. It cut through the heavy layer of haze. It was nearly impossible to tell how much of it was stage effects and how much was the crowd smoking up while the band played on stage.