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    termined to find the perfect location for Sparky’s II.
    They checked out three locations before lunch. Theo saved the best for last.
    “Holy crap,” said Cy. He was dressed like Johnny Cash—black shirt, black shoes, and black pants. It was his serious jazz club attire, but he had a smile that brought the look to life.
    They were standing in a vacant restaurant with old wood floors, redbrick walls, and high ceilings. On one side of the room was a huge U-shaped bar that would allow the bartender to work three sides; the top of the U was closed off by café doors that led to the kitchen. The bar stools had been sold off in the previous tenant’s liquidation, but Theo could pick up some used ones on the cheap.
    The chandeliers were also gone, but it didn’t take much to imagine a big brass antique casting its moody glow as Theo served up drinks till the wee hours of the morning.The previous tenant had obviously overimproved, the cost of the build-out making profit impossible. The restaurant owner’s downfall was the bar owner’s windfall. Capitalism, 100 proof.
    “You like it?” said Theo.
    “Holy crap,” he said again.
    Theo crossed the room.“This is where the dinner tables used to be.We could put cocktail tables here, and the ceiling is plenty high for us to build a little stage against the back wall for the band.”
    “I can hear that beautiful sax already,” said Cy.
    “I was thinking maybe fifteen tables or so.”
    LAST CALL
    37
    “Twenty,” said Cy.“You need that crowded jazz bar feelin’ with the lights dimmed and the smoke risin’ up—”
    “No smoking,” said Theo. “It’s against the law if we’re gonna serve food.”
    “No smoke in a jazz bar? That’s like no blue in the Blue Note.”
    “Things change,” said Theo.
    “Yeah,” he said wistfully,“they sure do.”Then his face lit up.“Hey, here’s an idea.Why don’t I take you on a tour? Overtown, old Miami, Miami Beach. I’ll show you all the joints I used to play.”
    “Are they still around?”
    “Yeah, every last one of them is still right here,” he said, as he pointed to his heart.“Don’t make no difference if they’ve been turned into parking lots or fancy office buildings. It’s like visiting hallowed ground. It’ll all come back to me when we walk the old streets. Maybe you’ll even pick up some vibes of inspiration for this joint.”
    “I’d like that,” said Theo.“We should have done it a long time ago.”
    Together, they fell into silence, remembering when Uncle Cy had made that very suggestion years earlier—before Theo got mixed up with the Grove Lords and ended up in prison.
    His cell phone rang. He checked the number, and it was Trina.
    “Gotta take this.”
    “You go ahead. I’ll just keep on dreamin’.”
    Theo wandered toward the bar and took the call. He could hear the excitement in Trina’s voice.
    “I figured out what I want,” she said.
    “Huh?”
    “For my birthday. The replacement for the roach brooch.You said I could have whatever I wanted.”
    “Oh, yeah,” he said. She’s actually holding me to this.
    “This may be asking too much,” she said.“But would you even consider getting a Prince Albert for me?”
    38
    James Grippando
    Theo leaned against the bar.“A what?”
    “A Prince Albert.You know what it is, right?”
    “Uh . . . yeah. ’Course I know what it is.”
    “Can you get one?”
    He ran his finger over the bar top and collected a good six months’ worth of dust—a long time for commercial property to sit idle. Room to negotiate on the rent . “Sure. If a Prince Albert is what you want, I’ll get it for you.”
    “Really? Oh,Theo, you are the absolute best.”
    “True. But we already knew that.”
    “Do you know where to go?”
    “I’ll figure it out.”
    “Be careful. There are good ones and bad ones.You can’t just go anywhere.”
    “You think I don’t know that?”
    “Okay. But I’ve researched this. For people who are serious and don’t