‘She walked in just like that. My friends and I were having a quiet night at the bar and she walked in. Bruno always keeps watch at the door but somehow she came in and sat there at the bar like nothing was going on.’
‘So far, it doesn’t sound so strange to me.’
‘Well, I’m getting to that part. My friend Gino asked her to leave but he stood there a moment then he left her alone. Me and the boys were surprised, ’cause what could she tell Gino to let her stay?’
‘A girl. A girl came in your bar last night and took a seat. What’s so weird about that?’
‘You don’t understand, detective. The bar ain’t just for anybody. It’s private. We don’t allow strangers. But this girl, she just came, sat at the bar and ordered a whole bottle of scotch and a glass. That’s when I got angry. I went up to her to tell her to get out. The bar is private and no one just walks in like that. That’s when it got weird, detective!’
‘I am listening.’
‘You see, I only saw the girl from a distance. When I got closer, I saw the girl was not all right. She was bleeding, detective. She was wearing black clothes but there was blood all over her. The girl was barely breathing. She fell off the chair and I panicked, told her I don’t want her to die in my bar! That’s just trouble! She sat on the floor against the bar and looked at me. And, then, guess what she said, can ya guess?’
‘What?’
‘She said give me ten minutes and I’ll be on my way. Ten minutes? She was bleeding like a pig, dying, all pale, was leaving a pool of blood on my floor and she was telling me she’d be fine in ten minutes?’
‘What did you do?’
‘I didn’t know what to do, just didn’t want her blood on my hands, on my suit. I just bought this suit yesterday morning, you know!’
‘Then what happened?’
‘What could I do? I left her there. She was gonna be dead soon. Told my boys we’ll bury her somewhere then clean up the mess.’
‘You could have called the hospital?’
‘The hospital? The hospital? I was about to call the loony bin! The girl took her shirt off and we were all looking at her. She had bullets in her chest, all over! Bullets in her arms, neck…I ain’t never seen anything like it. She drank from the bottle of scotch then she looked at the bartender and asked for a knife. Imagine! A damned knife!’
‘What was it for?’
‘Mario gave her the knife. I don’t know why he did it. And then she, get this, I swear on my mother, she cut the wounds and with her hands took out the bullets, one by one. She dropped them in a glass after. We were all watching. What the hell was that? How can she do that? She was bleeding on and on but her face was calm and she was pulling the damned bullets out. When she finished, the glass was full, only blood and bloody bullets in it!’
‘Are you sure it wasn’t fake blood?’
‘I know fake blood when I see it, trust me, detective! It wasn’t no fake blood! I could smell it! And the knife in the wounds…that ain’t fake. Now, tell me, detective, don’t ya get infected if you don’t use clean tools? Now I had my share of bullets but I ain’t never pulled them out using a knife! She pulled not one but like fifty of them and she was still alive, calm and everything, didn’t even scream of pain or did nothing.’
‘Ok, then what?’
‘Then she sat there for maybe two more minutes, drank from the bottle. Then she got up. Just like that!’
‘Just like that?’
‘Yeah, left a damned mess on my floor and the bullets in the glass and all but she was back on her feet. She paid Mario, took the bottle and left.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Yeah, I swear, that’s it!’
‘You are telling me, a girl walked in half dead, pulled out her own bullets, put them in a glass, stood up, paid then left?’
‘It’s all true.’
‘Just like that?’
‘Just like that. My boys are gonna tell you the exact same thing. And before she got out she even said something like, it’s full moon out there, boys. Better watch out!’
‘Full moon?’
‘Yeah, it was full moon but why would she say that?’
‘Full moon, huh?’
‘Yeah, detective, the damned fool moon…’
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