“I don’t want it.”
“It’ll feel like your own hair.”
“I’m not wearing it.”
Tatiana looked up from her screen and slid the phone onto the table. “You’re no fun.” She took the bag with Sammy’s wet shirt and trousers, looking down at Sammy’s shirt. “Why don’t you put that Band-Aid of a bra into here too? It has to be wet.”
“It’s fine.”
“You’re just wound too tight, little bird.” She glided down the hall to the back rooms, pulled a picture frame open across from the bathroom, and dropped the bag.
“What’d you do with my clothes?”
Tatiana pushed back the frame. “You want them cleaned, don’t you?”
“They’re going to get cleaned inside that wall?”
“Usually takes two hours. Gives us a chance to get to know each other,” she said with a smile, walking past Sammy. “Want something to drink?”
Sammy shrugged. “Got any pineapple juice?”
“We’ll have to see, now won’t we?”
The side of the purse bulged out slightly in the shape of the corner edge of a phone.
“All out of pineapple,” Tatiana shouted from the kitchen. “How about orange juice?”
“Sure,” Sammy said, creeping toward the purse.
“You want ice in that?”
Sammy froze, looking over her shoulder. “No.” She bent over, reaching for the purse.
“Change your mind about the wig?” Tatiana was standing behind her.
Sammy shook her head, taking the orange juice.
Tatiana slinked onto the sofa, nestling between the overstuffed arm and the backrest. She rested the tall clear glass over her pelvis, ice stacked under a sheen of effervescence. “It’ll be as light as a feather,” she said, gazing up at Sammy.
Sammy looked down into the glass and took a sip. “What?”
“How about a wig of feathers.” She ran her finger around the edge of her glass. “Little yellow feathers.”
“You got a thing about yellow?”
Tatiana shook her head, still running her finger around the edge. “Just little yellow birds.” She smiled, taking a sip of her drink.
If that ain’t creepy, nothing is.
“Have a seat,” Tatiana said, patting the spot beside her.
Sammy sat on the chair across from her.
Tatiana’s eyes were cast low on her. “Weren’t your panties wet?”
Sammy shoved the shirt between her legs.
Tatiana laughed, swirling the ice in the glass. “What does the little bird do when she’s not stealing things?”
“I tweet until sunset.”
“You want to tweet a little song for me?”
Sammy looked away from her sultry gaze, figuring this would be the longest two hours of her life. She was sure the purse had a phone. Was it her phone?
“You know why birds tweet?”
If Tatiana had taken her phone, that would be beyond creepy. What else would that bulge be if not a phone?
“Who do you sing your song to? Cindy?”
Sammy glanced at her and took another sip of the juice. She couldn’t swipe the purse without Tatiana noticing.
“She’s okay if you like the Pleasure Palace kind of girl.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Tatiana downed the glass, the ice rattling. “Let’s just say her best attributes start from the neck down.”
“She’s smart. She’s plenty smart. She’ll be out of that skin joint in no time and be doing…doing other things.”
“I’m sure floating isn’t a problem for her.” Tatiana tilted the glass and let a cube drop into her mouth.
“I’m sure sinking to the bottom of the sea isn’t a problem for you.”
She crunched on the cube. “That’s the problem with girls like us. We just sink.”
Sammy looked away. Tatiana had that smirky grin going as she rolled the ice in the glass. The purse wasn’t far from the edge of the table. She could knock it off and check the phone.
Tatiana rolled her head back. “Maybe with you being a little bird, you’d just fly off.”
Sammy leaned over to put the glass down, knocking it over. “Sorry.” She dashed to the kitchen for paper towels.
Tatiana laughed. “Fly off, little birdie.”
Sammy sopped up the spilled juice. She folded the towel and wiped down the rest of the table, knocking the purse to the floor. She knelt on one end of the purse and pulled at the zipper. It was binding. She needed to use two hands.
Tatiana stood over her, holding her hand out. Did she want the purse?
“You want another juice?”
Sammy handed her the emptied glass. “Sure.”
Tatiana walked back to the kitchen. “I don’t have any of those spill cups. Think you can drink it without spilling?”
Sammy worked at the zipper. The phone slipped out. “Can I have ice with that?”
“Now you tell me.”
It was cheap enough to be her phone. She flipped it on. It was hers. The psycho took her phone! Sammy scrambled up and slipped out the door. She hurried down the steps and out the front. She ordered the car service and figured it’d be here in less than a minute in this neighborhood. “Four minutes!”
A cool breeze whipped up her ugly yellow T-shirt. She looked back. Still quiet. Three minutes. She rubbed her arms to keep warm, wondering how Tatiana would react to her leaving. Two minutes.
One of the elevator lights flashed. Sammy stood off to the side of the door, peeking in to see who it was.
“Damn, it’s her!” Sammy looked from one end of the block to the other. She’d be easy to see if she ran for it. She leaned back against the building.
Tatiana opened the door and looked from one end of the block to the other, holding a glass of juice. She looked up and smiled. “Fly away, little bird. Fly away.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
______________________________
Sammy put down the bag of groceries to get the key for the door, but it was opened. Cindy wasn’t due back till late tonight. Sammy pushed the door a crack. The hinge whined.
Tatiana stood by the dining room window, looking out. She turned. A bag dangled limply from her hand. “About time, little bird. I almost gave up on you.”
“How did you get in here?”
“Fly home okay last night?”
Sammy grabbed the bag and closed the door. “Yeah, after I found my phone in your purse.”
“Did you take anything else? I’m missing my little friend.”
Sammy breezed by her and into the kitchen. She opened the bag and found sausage links, peppers, and onions. “Nobody buys chicken anymore.”
Tatiana leaned over the counter. “You sure you didn’t take a little something to remember me by?”
“Don’t want anything from you.”
“Feathers ruffled about something?”
Sammy put the links into the refrigerator. “My phone?”
“I was going to give it back to you,” she said with a wave of a hand. “I thought it’d be fun to steal from a thief.”
“Hope you had a blast.”
“Do you think I have a career in crime?”
Sammy shoved the bag of peppers and onions into the counter’s corner. “I think you’ve had a few years’ head start.”
Tatiana smiled. “I do have a light touch.”
Sammy took the pineapple juice from the refrigerator and poured a glass.
“Nothing for me, little bird, not even a drop of milk?”
“All out of milk.”
“What’s the matter? Cindy’s running a little dry this week?”
Sammy rolled her eyes and took a sip of the juice.
“If it’ll make you happy, I’ll strangle a few oranges for fresh juice next time.”
Sammy plopped down on the sofa and cradled the glass in her lap.
Tatiana strolled to the back of the other chair, dangling the bag as she went. “If it’l
l unruffle your feathers, I’ll get you a new phone. One that’s not disposable. I wouldn’t want it to die when you reach out to me.”
“Yeah, wouldn’t that be a shame.”
“That settles it,” Tatiana said. “Let’s go shopping.”
“You can start without me.”
“How about new clothes and we’ll top off the night at the club’s grand opening? You can watch Cindy bounce around. I’ll let you lick a few pills and whatever else you want.”
Sammy took a sip of the juice.
Tatiana tossed the bag onto the sofa. “Your clothes. You flew the coop before they were done.”
Sammy tilted the bag, and her T-shirt and trousers slid out cleaned and pressed. “You had them pressed?”
She shrugged. “It’s part of the service. I’m sure it cost more than those clothes. Talk about thievery.”
Something else was in the bag. Sammy pulled on the bottom of the bag, and out slipped a box a couple of inches thick and about a foot on all sides. It was light with a thick royal-blue ribbon.
“Light as a feather, isn’t it?”
Sammy shook the box. “Is there anything in here?”
Tatiana seemed almost giddy. “Go ahead. Open it.”
Sammy slid off the ribbon. The lid pushed open and out sprang a ball of yellow feathers.
Tatiana’s face seemed to glow. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
“What is it?”
“I’ll help you.” Tatiana stood in front of her and gently removed the feathers from a wire-mesh ball.
Sammy pressed down on the ball, flattening it.
Tatiana laid it on her head and pulled it down, tucking strands of hair under it.
“Is it some kind of hat?”
Tatiana pulled it down flush against her scalp.
It felt a little tight. Sammy thought of pulling it off, but Tatiana was still adjusting it.
Tatiana sat on the edge of the low table, admiring her work. “It’s even better than I thought.”
That could mean anything with her.
Tatiana stood, pulling Sammy up. “Prepare to have your breath taken away.”
“You’re going to strangle me next?”
“Charming,” Tatiana said, dragging her to the mirror in Cindy’s room.
It was a feathered wig. Sammy had the urge to start clucking.
Tatiana stood transfixed, running her fingers along the side of Sammy’s neck. “Pretty little bird.”
Yeah, she’s normal. Sammy marched out, pulling the wig off. She tossed it on the box and fluffed her hair.
“You took it off?” Tatiana asked, looking horror-stricken.
Sammy grabbed her glass and dropped onto the sofa. “Don’t you think you’re taking this bird thing a little too far?”
Tatiana sat on the other side of the box and puffed up the wig, then gently rested it on the mesh ball. She patted it as though she were petting a cat. “It’s a work of art.”
“Where did you get it?” Sammy asked. “Some gag shop?”
She glared at Sammy. “You have a lot to learn, little bird.”
“If you like it so much, why don’t you wear it?”
Tatiana pressed the lid over it and slipped the ribbon on. She ran her fingers along the ribbon. “It’s for you.”
Sammy leaned back and sipped her juice.
Tatiana placed the box on the low table as if it were something delicate. She sat erect, not looking at Sammy. “I have much to teach you.”
Sammy grinned. “What? How to cluck like a chicken?”
She gave Sammy a cold sideways glance, pushing the box farther away from the edge as if it were in danger of falling. She stood, tugging on her sleeves.
Good, maybe she’d leave now. Sammy downed the rest of the juice.
There was a knock at the door.
That was all she needed now—Leo.
The door crept open. “Hello?” Igor popped his head through.
For once, she was happy to see him.
Igor stood at the door, dressed in a suit. He fiddled with his hands, then shoved them into his pockets. His face glowed as he watched Tatiana sashay toward him.
Tatiana walked right by him, saying something in Russian.
The warmth of his smile washed away. “What did you tell her?”
“Didn’t even know she spoke Russian.”
He spun, calling after her. Sammy closed the door and locked it.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
______________________________
Sammy waited as Jonathan stood outside by the back door, reading a tablet given to him by the restaurant-supply bot. He tapped on the display and handed it back, then hurried inside. Sammy raced behind him. “You can’t just keep ignoring me, Johnny.”
“I told you I don’t have your money.”
An older lady called out to him. She was a darker-haired version of Gladys with a better disposition. “Just got a call from City Hall. There’s going to be a surprise inspection tomorrow.”
“Liquor and narcs?”
She nodded. “That pill machine puts us in the manufacturing business.”
“We’ll run an overnight, then put it in storage. I’ll talk to the mad scientist to ramp up production.”
Sammy followed him to the basement. “It looks like you’re doing pretty good to me, Johnny.”
“Every supplier gives me thirty days. Bother me then.”
“Thirty days? I got to eat.”
He grabbed a bag from a box on the shelf and tossed it back. It was a small bag of pretzels.
“I can’t live on this.”
“There’re some potato chips back there. That’s a vegetable.”
Sammy had a mind to toss it back at him. Maybe she’d get lucky and knock off the toupee.
“You want to see where your money is?” Jonathan asked, reaching for the door to Leo’s office. “It’s in here.” He swung it open and disappeared inside.
Sammy stood at the doorway, not sure she wanted to go in. The door closed behind her, nudging her inside.
Leo stepped up to her. “Sam, how are you doing?”
“A lot warmer and dryer, no thanks to you.”
“You’re not still upset—”
“We’re talking here,” Jonathan said, lurking behind him.
“Yes, yes, ramp up production.”
“Well?”
“It’s a simple concept, yet it lacks the understanding of biological systems.”
Jonathan rolled his eyes.
“Reproduction patterns don’t change on a whim. If you want a larger production, you need a larger facility.”
“Knew it would come down to more equipment.”
“You pay me first before you buy anything else.”
Jonathan picked up a brick-shaped chrome device. “How much is this?”
Leo shrugged. “Offhand, I couldn’t tell you.”
He handed it to Sammy. “Consider it a down payment.”
Leo snatched it back. “I need that.”
Jonathan sighed. “Can you make a little more at least?”
“I suppose I could alter the—”
“I don’t care how. Just do it.”
“You can at least give me a thousand. Must make twice that much in an hour.”
“I’m in a big hole because of all this shit. I owe a guy who charges interest by the week, and it’s not good for my health if he doesn’t get his money.”
“It’s not good for my health if I don’t get paid either, not that you care.”
Jonathan stood by the door, looking over the place. “There’s an inspection coming tomorrow. I’m going to have to do something with this room.”
“I don’t need to remind you how sensitive this equipment—”
“Yeah, yeah, if you fart the wrong way, it takes a week to recalibrate. You’ll be here to tell them what to do.”
“How reassuring.”
“You can’t sleep here either. They’re sensitive about that stuff,” Jonathan sai
d, puckering his lips. He looked to Sammy, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wad of bills. “I’ll give you two hundred if you take him in for a couple of days.”
Leo turned to her, blinking and twitching as if trying to give her a secret message.
“I come here to get my money, and instead you pawn off your problems on me. Must’ve been crazy to think you’d ever pay me.”
Jonathan waved the bills. “It’s either this, or you can help yourself to the pretzels and chips.”
Sammy held out her hand.
He slapped the bills into her palm. “I’ll have Cindy come in early to take him to your place.” He was out the door before she could tell him to go choke on his toupee.
Leo was halfway into a cabinet, rummaging about. “This’ll be a great opportunity to do further tests.”
Sammy stuffed the money into her pocket and slammed the door behind her. She tossed the pretzels back into the bin and shot up the steps.
Cindy rushed over. “Did you get your money?”
“Got two hundred.”
“That’s something at least.”
“Got to take Leo in for a couple of days, though.”
“Where is he going to sleep?”
Sammy shrugged. “Probably sleeps standing up.”
Cindy looked back. “Tatiana’s here with Bernardo.”
Bernardo? Was she talking about Golden Boy?
“She says she has something for you.”
“How did she know I was here?”
“She was asking about you.”
Sammy sighed and walked to the back door.
Cindy grabbed her arm. “Don’t you want to know what it is?”
“No, not really.”
“I told her you were here.”
“So tell her I left.”
Cindy gave her one of those disapproving looks. “It won’t hurt to say hello, and I’m just dying to know what it is.”
“It’s yellow, or it has feathers, or both.”
Cindy tugged her arm. “Come on.”
Sammy walked stiff-legged to the table. The lights were low. A show was on, playing an upbeat tune. Golden Boy leaned back in his chair, puffing on a cigar. Tatiana had a sultry, bored look, gazing toward the stage but not really watching. She turned slowly toward them as if someone had whispered into her ear. She smiled, but it was the kind of smile after a long day.
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