by Sue Grafton
He shrugged, mouth full, waiting till he could speak. "She was there. My granny, too. The four of us traveled in an old station wagon with our gear shoved in the back. Everything I know my mom or my granny taught me in a moving vehicle. Geography, geology. We'd buy these old textbooks and work our way through. Usually, they'd be drinking beers and cutting up, laughing like lunatics. I thought that was neat and learning was a hoot. Put me in a classroom, I withered from the quiet."
I smiled. "You were probably the kind of kid I was afraid of in school. Boys mystified me. I never understood where they were coming from. When I was in fifth grade, we used to give these plays every Friday afternoon. Improvisational stuff we'd rehearse in the cloak room. The girls would always do love stories full of tragedy and self-sacrifice. The boys had sword fights... lots of mouth noises and bumping. They'd stagger against the wall and then fall down dead. I couldn't figure out why that was fun. I didn't much like what the girls did, but at least people weren't getting stabbed with imaginary rapiers."
He smiled. "Were you raised in Santa Teresa?"
"I've lived there all my life."
He shook his head in mock amazement. "I couldn't even list all the places I've been."
"Were you in the service?"
"I was spared that, thank God. I was too young for Korea and too old for Vietnam. I'm not sure I could have passed the physical in any event. I had rheumatic fever as a kid..."
The waitress returned and started clearing our plates.
"Can you tell me where the ladies' room is?" I said to her.
"Gracias," she said, smiling at me happily while she loaded the tray.
"El cuarto de damas?" Dietz supplied. "Oh si, si!" She laughed at herself when she understood her mistake. She gestured toward the kitchen. I pushed back my chair. Dietz made a move as though to accompany me, but I stopped him. "God, Dietz. There are limits here, you know?"
He let it pass, but I noticed that he watched me carefully as I moved toward the back door. The damas did their business in a mop closet in the rear. While I was washing my hands afterward, I caught sight of myself in a shard of mirror that was propped up on the sink. I looked worse than I had the night before. My forehead was black and blue, my eye sockets smudged now with lavender. The red streaks beneath my eyes made it look like I had conjunctivitis. The dry desert climate had affected my hair, causing it to look like something I'd swept up from under the bed. I couldn't believe I'd been out in public without having people shriek and point. My head was starting to pound again.
By the time I reached the table, Dietz had paid the bill. "You okay?" he asked.
"You don't happen to have any pain pills, do you?"
"I have some Darvocet in the car."
He bought a can of Coke and we took it with us when we left. I watched him scan the parking lot as he unlocked the car. He opened the door for me, waiting until I was safely tucked in before he moved around to the driver's side. Once in his seat belt, he searched the glove compartment for the vial of pills.
"Let me know if this doesn't do the job. I've got prescriptions for everything." He checked a label or two, found what he was looking for, and shook a pill out onto his palm. I murmured a thank-you. He popped the can of Coke open for me and I washed the medication down. Within minutes, the pain began to recede. Shortly after that, I fell asleep.
I woke as we crossed the Ventura County line. I could smell the ocean before I even opened my eyes. The air was moist and briny, the surrounding countryside lush with green, a peculiar juxtaposition of junipers and palms. After the lean monotony of the desert, the coastal vegetation seemed lavish and strange. I could feel every cell in my body respond, drinking in the damp. Dietz glanced over at me. "Better?"
"Much." I sat up and ran my hands through my hair, scratching at the flattened strands. The medication had erased the pain, but I was feeling slightly out of it. I leaned my head back again and slouched down on my tail bone. "How's the traffic been?"
"We're through the worst of it."
"If I don't get a shower soon, I'll have to kill myself."
"Twenty-five miles to go."
"No sign of a tail?"
His gaze crept up to the rearview mirror. "Why follow us? He probably knows where you live."
"A happy thought," I said. "How long is this whole thing likely to go on?"
"Hard to say. Until he gives up or gets caught."
"And who's doing that?"
He smiled. "Not me. My job's to look after you, not catch bad guys. Let's leave that to the cops."
"And what's my responsibility in all of this?"
"We'll talk about that in the morning. Most of what I want is 'obedience without whining.' Very few women master it."
"You don't know me very well."
He peered over at my face. "I don't know you at all."
"Well, here's a hint," I said dryly. "I was raised by my mother's sister. My folks were killed in an accident and I went to live with her when I was five. This is the first thing she ever said to me... 'Rule number one, Kinsey... rule number one...' – and here she pointed her finger right up in my face – 'No sniveling.' "
"Jesus."
I smiled. "It wasn't so bad. I'm only slightly warped. Besides, I got even. She died ten years ago and I sniveled for months. It all came pouring out. I'd been a cop for two years and I gave that up. Turned in my uniform, turned in my nightstick..."
"Symbolic gesture," he interjected.
I laughed. "Right. Six months later, I was married to a bum."
"At least the story has a happy ending. No babies?"
I shook my head. "Not a one."
"With me, it's just the opposite. I never had a wife, but I've got two kids."
"How'd you manage that?"
"I lived with a woman who refused to marry me. She swore I 'd leave her in the end and sure enough that's what I did."
I stared at him for a while, but he subsided into silence Soon afterward, the outskirts of Santa Teresa began to speed into view and I felt an absurd rush of joy at the notion of home.
Chapter 10
* * *
We found a parking spot for the Porsche two doors down from my place and unloaded the trunk. By the time we pushed through the gate and rounded the corner to the rear, Henry had emerged from his back door to welcome me home. He stopped in his tracks, his smile faltering as his eyes shifted from my face to Dietz's. I introduced the two of them and they shook hands. Belatedly, I remembered what my battered visage must look like.
"I was in an accident," I said. "A guy ran me off the road. I had to leave the car in Brawley and Dietz gave me a ride back."
Henry was visibly dismayed, especially as he was in possession of only half the tale. "Well, who was the fellow? I don't understand. Didn't you file a report with the police down there?"
I hesitated, uncertain how much detail to get into at this point. Dietz settled the matter for me. "Let's go inside and we'll fill you in on the rest of it." He was clearly uneasy about standing around in the open air, exposed to view.
I unlocked the door and pushed it open, moving into the apartment with Henry behind me and Dietz at the rear, herding us like a sheepdog.
"I'll just be a second. I want to get things squared away," I said to Henry. And then to Dietz, "Henry designed the place. It was just finished two days ago. I've spent exactly one night here."
I set my duffel down and cranked open a window to let in some fresh air. The apartment still smelled of sawdust and new carpeting. The space felt like a Barbie-doll penthouse in its own carrying case: scaled-down furniture, built-ins, spiral staircase, the loft visible above.
"I brought your mail in," Henry said, his eyes on my guest. He sat down on the couch, perplexed at the liberties Dietz seemed to take. The contrast between the two men was interesting. Henry was tall and lean, the blue eyes in his narrow, tanned face giving him the look of an ascetic; someone otherworldly, aged and wise. Dietz was compact, more muscular, a pit bull of a man
with a thick chest and a brazen manner, his face marked by life, as if he'd had lessons hammered into him since birth. Henry had a stillness about him where Dietz was restless and energetic, the air around him charged with a curious tension.
Dietz circled the place without comment, automatically checking security, such as it was. I had latches on the windows, but not much else. He pulled the shutters closed, checked closets, peered into the downstairs bath. He snapped his fingers, idly popping them against his palms in a gesture that suggested some inner agitation. His manner was authoritative and Henry shot a look at me to see how I was taking it. I made one of those faces that said, Your guess is as good as mine, pal. It's not like I enjoyed someone taking over like this, but I wasn't fool enough to protest with my life on the line.
I turned my attention to the mail. Most of it looked like junk, but before I could sort it properly Dietz removed the stack from my hands and set it on the counter.
"Let it be till I can take a look at it," he said. Henry couldn't stand it. "What's going on here? I don't understand what this is about."
"Someone's been hired to kill her," Dietz said unceremoniously. I don't think I would have been so blunt, but Henry didn't fall backward on the couch in a faint so maybe he's not as easily upset as I assume. Dietz filled in the picture, laying out the circumstances by which the Carson City DA's office had first gotten wind of Tyrone Patty's assassination plot. "The police in Carson City are doing what they can to control the situation up there. Obviously, Kinsey's position is a little bit more perilous..."
"Why's she here at all?" Henry burst out. "Why not take her someplace out of town?"
"I was out of town," I said, "and what good did it do? Three people knew where I was going and the guy was right there. Hell, he even managed to get there before I did at the first rest stop on the road." I told him briefly about spotting my assailant at the rest area near Cabazon.
"There has to be someplace," Henry said stubbornly.
"Frankly, I think we're better off right here as long as we take a few elementary precautions," Dietz said. "I've got a portable alarm system with me... receiver, siren, 'panic button' for her in case someone tries to break in and I'm not actually on the premises. If it seems useful, we can wire in pressure mats for selected doorways, both here and at your place. I want us all to keep an eye out for strangers. And that includes the mailman, gas man, delivery people, meter readers... anyone." He turned to look at me. "We'll vary your schedule as much as possible. Take a different route to and from the office every day. I'll be with you for the most part, but I want you to understand the basic strategy. Stay away from public places and public events. By the same token, I don't want you anyplace isolated or remote."
"What about jogging, or going to the gym?"
"Stow that for now. Any guy with a canvas bag could probably walk into the gym."
"Should I have a gun?" Henry asked, moving right into cops-and-robbers mode.
"Henry, you hate guns!"
"It may come to that, but I doubt it," Dietz said to Henry, ignoring me completely. "We're looking at prevention. With luck, we won't have anybody to shoot at."
"Hey. Excuse me. Do you guys mind if I voice an opinion?" Dietz turned to me. I said, "If the guy in the truck wants to kill me, he'll kill me. I'm willing to be careful, but let's don't go nuts here."
Dietz shook his head. "I disagree. He'll do it if you're foolish and give him the chance, but he's not getting paid enough to stick his neck out."
I turned to Henry, filling him in. "He's a cut-rate killer. Fifteen hundred bucks."
Dietz amplified. "For that kind of money, he's not going to hang around for long. If he's quick about it, it may be worth it to him. Otherwise forget it. It's not cost-effective."
"Yeah," I said. "We don't want him to get chewed out by his accountant."
Dietz said, "Listen. The guy's trying to make a buck. Every day he's in Santa Teresa, it's costing him something. Food, lodging, gasoline. If he has a kid with him, the expenses mount up." He was rattling his car keys. "I'm going over to the police station and have a chat with the cops. You have any plans for tonight?"
I started to answer when I realized he was talking to Henry. I raised my hand like a schoolkid. "I don't mean to be argumentative, but could I have a vote?" I hated being so obnoxious, but this was driving me nuts. These guys were riding right over me.
Dietz smiled at me briefly. "Sorry. You're right. I have a tendency to overorganize."
I murmured something, backing down of course. The truth was I didn't have any idea what to do. I just didn't want to be pushed around.
Dietz put his keys in his pocket. "What about groceries? Let me know what we need and I can stop by a supermarket on my way back."
I didn't even have to look. The refrigerator was empty and my cupboards were bare.
"Any requests?"
"Whatever you want. I don't really cook."
"Me neither. We'll have to fake it. I want us eating in whenever possible. While I'm gone, please stay here and keep the door locked. We'll set up the alarm in the morning first thing. I don't want you going out. And no answering the telephone. You have a machine on it?"
I nodded.
"Let the machine pick up."
"I can stay with her if you think it's wise," Henry said.
Dietz looked at me to check my reaction. The guy was a quick study. I'd have to give him that.
"I'd like to have some time by myself," I said. Who knew when I'd ever get to be alone again?
Dietz was apparently willing to honor the request. Henry offered to cook for us, but I really didn't feel up to it. I was tired. I was sore. I was irritable. I just wanted to grab a quick supper and go to bed. My culinary repertoire was limited to peanut-butter-and-pickle sandwiches and hot sliced hardboiled egg with lots of mayonnaise and salt. I'd have to quiz Dietz later on his specialties. Surely, he could do something.
I showered while Dietz was gone, remembering numerous items I wished I'd asked him to pick up. Wine for one. I gave my hair a quick shampooing, feeling antsy and distracted. The sound of running water masked other sounds in the apartment. Someone could be breaking one of my windows out and I wouldn't hear it. I should have had Henry baby-sit. I cut the shower short, wrapped myself in a towel, and peered over the loft railing. Everything looked just as it had before – no broken window, no bloodied hand reaching through to turn the latch.
I put on jeans and a fresh shirt, found clean sheets in the linen closet and made up the sofa bed. It was odd to have a houseguest even in the guise of a bodyguard. I wasn't used to living in the place by myself, let alone with a guy I'd only met that day.
I unpacked the duffel and tidied up the living room. Dietz had told me not to answer the telephone, but he hadn't said anything about phoning out. It was only 6:15. I needed the comfort of business as usual.
I put a call through to Mrs. Gersh. "Irene? This is Kinsey Millhone. I just wanted to touch base and check on your mother. Is she up here yet?"
"How nice of you. Yes, she is. Mother arrived about three this afternoon," she said. "We had an ambulance meet her at the airport and take her right to the nursing home. I just got back from seeing her, as a matter of fact, and she seems fine. Tired, of course."
"The trip must have been hard on her."
Irene's voice dropped slightly. "They must have sedated her, though nobody said as much. I expected her to be raising Cain, but she was very subdued. At any rate, I can't tell you how grateful I am you were able to locate her, and so quickly, too. Even Clyde seems relieved."
"Good. I'm glad. I hope everything works out."
"What about you, dear? I heard about your accident. Are you all right?"
I squinted at the phone with puzzlement. "You heard about that?"
"Well, yes. From your associate. He called here this afternoon, wondering when you'd be home."
All of my internal processes came to a dead halt. "What associate?"
"I don't know, K
insey. I thought you'd know that.
He said he was a partner in your agency. I really didn't catch the name." A note of doubt had crept into her voice, probably in response to the chilly note in mine.
"What time was this?"
"About an hour ago. I told him I hadn't heard from you, but I was certain you'd be driving back this afternoon. That's when he mentioned that you'd had an accident. Is something wrong?"
"Irene... I don't have a partner. What I have is some guy hired to kill my ass..."
I could practically hear her blink. "I don't understand, dear. What does that mean?"
"Just what it sounds like. A hit man. Someone hoping to murder me for money."
There was a pause, as if she were having to translate from a foreign tongue. "You're joking."
"I wish I were."
"Well, he seemed to know all about you and he sounded very nice. I never would have said a word if he hadn't seemed so familiar."
"I hope you didn't give him my home address or phone number," I said.
"Of course not. If he'd asked me that, I'd have known something was amiss. This is awful. I feel terrible."
"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. If you hear from the guy again, or from anyone else, please let me know."
"I will. I'm so sorry. I had no idea..."
"I understand. There was no way you could know. Just get in touch with me if you hear from him again."