Las Gaviotas Hotel had a steady flow of customers, most of which were guests that actually paid for their stay.  Room 13 had seen its fair share of customers over the years, including those who paid by the hour rather than a whole night.

    “My name’s Min, what’s yours?”  asked the petite Asian girl standing in the doorway.

    “Jim.”

    “Well, Jim,” she said.  “You gonna invite me in?”

    Jim leaned forward and scanned the parking lot for anything suspicious.  An old Lincoln Town Car the color of beet juice sat near the parking lot entrance with the engine running.  The windows were tinted deep purple, and a brawny, unshaven Mexican man with a white hat sat in the driver’s seat and puffed a cigarette.  Smoke billowed through the half-open window with a lazy swirl.

    “He with you?” Jim asked.

    “You could say that,” she said.  “It’s more like I’m with him.”

    “I got it.  How long?”

    “Twenty minutes.  If I don’t come out by twenty-five, we’ll have visitors.”

    “Fair enough,” said Jim.  “Let’s go.”

    Jim reached for the girl’s arm, but she stepped quickly backward.

    “That’ll be thirty in advance, and the clock starts when I get it.”

    Jim put his hand in his right pocket and produced a crumpled wad of bills.  He carefully thumbed through them with the fingers on his freshly-bandaged left hand and pulled out a twenty and a ten, which left only a few other bills and some change.

    “What happened to your hand?” asked Min.

    Jim looked up at her with a menacing squint.  “What happened to your face?”

    Min said nothing as she stared at the thirty dollars in Jim’s hand.  Jim surveyed her face and likened her makeup job to a whitewashed picket fence.  Her acne scars were covered with a pale, white paste, and the redness of new blemishes dotted her cheeks liberally.

    Min snatched the thirty dollars from Jim’s outstretched hand and waved at the Mexican in the Town Car.  The man flicked his spent cigarette to the ground and rolled up his window.  Jim grabbed Min’s arm, gave it a yank, and both disappeared inside Room 13.