Murder Under Cover (9 page)

She took a slow sip of coffee before going on. “So then we were eating and talking, and a while later, he brought it up again. Said he wanted to take me to this new place, Serafina. It’s Italian. On Castro. And somewhere in there, he said he’d heard a lot of great things about the Noe Valley neighborhood and wanted to check it out sometime. And by then we’d finished a bottle of wine, and so I said, ‘How about checking out my neighborhood right now?’ ” She shook her head. “I thought I was being so alluring. What an idiot.”

“You weren’t an idiot,” I said fiercely. “He used you.”

“I guess,” she said. “Anyway, essentially, I invited him over.”

Derek’s eyes were cold as steel as he qualified her statement. “The invitation was from you, but Alex manipulated you into extending it to him.”

“Which means he’d already planned out the whole thing,” she reflected.

“Probably so,” Derek conceded.

“I can’t believe it,” she said, her lips tightening in anger. “That bastard set me up.”

Derek went off to get ready for work while Robin washed the breakfast dishes and I dried and put them away.

I kept an eye on her as she drained the soapy water and wiped off the counter. While we’d talked, Robin’s eyes had sparkled with righteous anger, and I was happy to see it. I’d hated seeing her feeling so miserably guilty about Alex’s death, as though she were somehow responsible for it.

No, it was much better for her to get pissed off and take action.

But now her shoulders drooped and she looked pale and worried.

“How are you feeling?” I asked carefully.

“I’m fine,” she muttered.

“Yeah, right.” I noticed she was staring at her fingers, avoiding my gaze. That couldn’t be a good sign, either. “That must be why you look so perky.”

“Perky. Good one.” She wrung out the sponge more vigorously than necessary, then tossed it into its holder. Clutching the edge of the counter until her knuckles went white, she finally looked at me. “I’m afraid, Brooklyn.”

“Of course you are,” I said, clutching her arm. “You’ve been pushed through the wringer. But you’re also mad as hell, remember? You’re going to bounce back and be ready to kick some ass, right?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m a real ass kicker,” she said sarcastically, and grabbed the dish cloth from me. She dried her hands off, then leaned against the sink. “The truth is, I’m totally freaked out. I don’t want to see or talk to anyone. I just want to hide in my room and sleep.”

“You can stay here as long as you want.”

“What about my apartment?”

I thought about the glimpse I’d gotten of Robin’s place and just managed to control a shudder. “You’ll go back when you’re ready.”

“I’m not sure I want to live there anymore.”

“Not right now you don’t, and I totally get that. But it’s your home. Eventually . . .”

She shook her head as she stared at the floor. “I’m too afraid to go back.”

“So you’ll stay here. But I guarantee, after a few days you’ll be itching to get back there.”

Robin didn’t look convinced. If anything, she seemed to be shrinking into herself. “What if the killer returns? What if I can’t get the blood out of the floorboards or the carpet? I close my eyes and all I see is the blood. I don’t want to live there with all those bad vibes and memories.”

“Okay, first of all, the killer won’t be back, because we’re going to hunt him down and make him wish he’d never been born.” I’d never been more serious in my life. Robin had escaped the killer, thank God, but whoever had murdered Alex had killed something inside my friend, too. And that I couldn’t stomach. Seeing Robin shaken, afraid, was tearing at my heart. “Your apartment can be cleaned. There are companies that come in and take care of that stuff. We can paint every room. We’ll go shopping, buy new carpets, sheets, towels, pillows, new clothes, whatever you need to purge the place of any trace that something bad ever happened there.”

Scowling, she threw the towel on the counter. “That’s easy for you to say.”

“Well, yeah, it is,” I said, glancing around at my own apartment. I’d faced a coldhearted killer, too, right here in my home. I’d managed to avoid spilling any blood, though, thank goodness. It had been hard enough to reclaim my sense of safety and security without having the memory of blood to color everything.

“How about this?” I said. “We’ll have my mom do a purification ceremony. We can all prance around with clumps of burning sage and smudge the place clean.”

She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. Because, really, the image of my crazy mom dancing around, ponytail bouncing, waving sage, and chanting to ward off evil spirits? It was pretty funny.

Her smile was short-lived. “Look, I appreciate the attempt at humor, but you’ve never had to deal with . . .” She stopped talking as she noticed my eyes narrow down to slits. “Okay, um, I take that back.”

“Damn straight you’ll take that back.” I leaned against the refrigerator door and folded my arms. “You know what I went through when that psycho killer showed up at my house.”

She held up her hand. “I know, Brooklyn, but you have to admit this is different.”

“Okay, you’re right. I wasn’t sleeping with the victim.”

“Yes, that. And because . . . you know, the blood.”

“Blood can be cleaned,” I reiterated, trying to keep the exasperation from my voice. It’s not that I was mad at her. I knew what she was feeling, and honestly, a part of me wanted to curl up in a ball and hide, just like she did. But another part knew that the only way to buck Robin up was to be tough. “Look, here’s the deal. You can’t allow some murdering creep to chase you out of your own home. You love that place. You’ve been there for years and you know all your neighbors and you’ve got all your favorite places to shop and eat.”

“Yeah, I guess.” She blew out a breath, but she was standing a little straighter. “Oh, hell, I don’t know.”

I grabbed her shoulders. “And think about it. Who in their right mind would give up a two-bedroom rentcontrolled flat in the heart of Noe Valley?”

She smiled at that. “Now, that’s the best reason you’ve come up with so far.”

“There you go.” I pushed away from the refrigerator and straightened the soap dish on the sink. “Look, I was scared to death to come back to this place after they carted the killer away in handcuffs. Intellectually, I knew there was nothing to worry about, but I still had to beg my mom and dad to stay here with me for three nights. Finally I realized I was being silly. It was over. I was safe. And besides, Derek stopped by every day for a week.”

“He’s so nice,” she said wistfully.

“Yes, he really is.”

“You’re so lucky.”

“I know.”

And with that, she burst into tears.

 

After we’d managed to calm Robin down, Derek left for his office and I convinced Robin to take a long, soothing bubble bath. Then I cleaned up around the house and took out the trash. We have a trash chute in the building, so I walked down the hall and around the corner to the small trapdoor in the wall. I tossed the bag through the opening and waited, listening for the satisfying thud as it fell into the garage Dumpster six floors below.

“Hello, Miss Brooklyn.”

I turned and saw the little boy I’d met last night. “Hi, Tyler. How are you?”

“Fine, thank you.”

“Tyler?” his mother called from the far end of the hall.

“I’m here, Mama,” he bellowed.

“Whoa, who’s doing all the yelling?” My neighbor Suzie strolled up carrying a large white plastic trash bag. “Yo, Brooklyn, howzit?”

“Hi, Suzie,” I said. “Have you met Tyler?”

“Hey, munchkin,” Suzie said, grinning at the boy. “Are you our new neighbor?”

“Yes, sir,” Tyler whispered. He stared in fascination at Suzie, whose fashion choice today was a sleeveless black leather shirt with matching bell bottoms and spike-toed boots. Her white blond hair was short and spiked, and she wore at least ten different earrings and studs in her ears. Happily, none of her other parts were pierced. At least, none that showed. She looked like a scary but sexy lesbian chain-saw artist, which was exactly what she was.

Tyler’s mom came jogging around the bend. “Tyler, I called you to—Oh, hello.”

“Hi, Mama,” Tyler said. “This is our new neighbor.”

“Good morning, Lisa,” I said. “Have you met Suzie Stein? She has the place closest to the elevator on the east side of the building.”

Lisa bowed. “How do you do?”

“I’m dandy,” Suzie said. “I think you met my better half yesterday. Vinnie.”

Lisa cocked her head. “I met Vinnie. She is half of you?”

Suzie chuckled. “No, she’s my better half. That’s a kind of silly way of saying we’re a couple.”

“Ah. She is your roommate.”

“That’s another way to say it.”

“I am still have problems with some colloquialisms.”

“You’re doing great. Where in China are you from?”

“My mother is American. She moved to China and met my father. I was born and raised in Beijing. That’s where I met my husband.” She laughed. “My mother lives back here now and would love to rid me of my Chinese accent.”

“It’s charming,” I assured her.

She went on to explain that her husband was a diplomat and they had moved here because of his new job with the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. His last assignment had been at the embassy in Khartoum for five years. The whole family had been taking English-immersion classes for the past three years in anticipation of her husband obtaining the San Francisco assignment.

“Sudan, huh?” Suzie said, chuckling. “Guess he earned this plum gig after all your time there.”

“Naturally, we are happy with whatever assignment he is given.”

“Of course,” Suzie said lightly, but one of her eyebrows shot up and she sneaked a glance at me.

Lisa looked down at Tyler. “You must go pick out a book to bring with you to the doctor’s office.”

“Okay, Mama,” he said, and ran down the hall and disappeared around the corner.

“Hey, speaking of books,” Suzie said, anxious to change the subject, “Brooklyn here is a bookbinder, so if you have any books that need mending, she’s your gal.”

“You mend books for fun?” Lisa said.

“Occasionally for fun, but mainly for money. It’s my job. I repair and restore rare books. I also make new ones.”

“She teaches classes—that’s how good she is,” Suzie said, sounding like a proud parent. “You should see her studio. It’s amazing.”

“Everyone on our floor is creative,” I demurred. “Suzie and Vinnie are sculptors. Sergio is a chef. Jeremy is a hairdresser.”

“My goodness, so much talent,” Lisa said, then rolled her eyes as her children came laughing and running down the hall to find her. They gathered around her and Lisa pulled them closer. With a sigh, she said, “These little monsters are my works of art.”

“Oh, that’s sweet,” Suzie said.

“I brought my book.” Tyler held up a worn copy of
Where the Wild Things Are
.

“You have read that book over one hundred times,” Lisa said.

“I like it.” His grin faltered as the front cover separated and fell to the ground.

“It is falling apart,” she said, then looked at me. “Do you repair these kinds of books?”

“I’ll be glad to fix it for Tyler.”

“Oh, dear, that was rude,” Lisa said, waving away her comment. “It’s not worth your time. I can buy another copy for ten or twelve dollars.”

Tyler seemed not to have heard as he gazed up at me with a rapturous smile. “You can fix my book?”

I laughed. “Yes, I can fix it.”

Lisa shook her head. “We can talk about it later. We are going to our new doctor for checkups.” She urged the children toward the elevator. “Good-bye, Brooklyn. It was nice to meet you, Suzie.”

“Have fun, y’all,” Suzie said.

Tyler walked backward all the way to the elevator, his gaze trained on me the entire time. “Bye, Miss Brooklyn.”

As the elevator door lumbered to a close and the family disappeared, Suzie chuckled. “Wow, kid’s got a crush on you.”

“I’m not sure why,” I said.

“It’s cute.” Then she grimaced. “Guess I stuck my foot in it with the Sudan comment.”

“Don’t sweat it,” I said, as we headed back toward her place. “She probably has to be discreet. Doesn’t mean we have to be.”

“Right on,
chiquita
.” She slapped my shoulder in solidarity. “Listen, I’m glad I ran into you. Splinters has been sick, so we’ve got him on some medication.”

“I’m sorry. Is he going to be okay?”

“Yeah, no worries, but the vet says we should separate Pookie from him while he’s on the medication. So we were wondering if you’d mind keeping Pookie for the next ten days or so. I know it’s a lot to ask, but we know you love the cats as much as we do, and we’ll come by every day and feed her and stuff.”

“Are you kidding? I’d love to have Pookie stay with me.” It was true, despite the fact that I was the world’s worst pet sitter. But everyone deserved a second chance, right? And it wouldn’t be for very long. I was pretty sure I could keep one cat alive for a week and a half, especially if Suzie and Vinnie came by to feed her every day.

“Thanks, pal,” Suzie said, and pounded my arm. “I’ll let Vinnie know it’s a go. I’ll bring Pookie and her stuff by in a little while. She’ll be ecstatic.”

My smile was tremulous. “Me, too.”

 

It was two o’clock before inspectors Lee and Jaglom finally came by. Suzie had dropped off Pookie and her paraphernalia a while earlier, and the cat had already glommed onto Robin. When she lay down on the couch to take a nap, Pookie curled up next to her.

I was glad to see Robin drop off to sleep so easily despite being frightened out of her mind. She hadn’t slept well the night before, and I would’ve offered to get up and keep her company, but once I fall asleep, I tend to sleep soundly. My dad always claimed I slept like a dead tree, which sounds appalling, but Dad is an outdoor kind of guy. To him, a dead tree is a thing of beauty. That’s the story he fed me, anyway.