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Because of the sawdust and mess they made while working, they liked to dine out most nights. And they invariably brought home leftovers for their hungry neighbor. Me.
As I stared at their latest sculpture, a massive wooden pyramid with wings, two cats approached me, purring loudly as they rubbed up against my shins. I bent over to scratch their necks. “Hi, Pookie. Hi, Splinters.”
“They love you so much,” Vi
My gaze met Pookie’s and she cocked her head as if to say, Aren’t you glad I can’t talk?
I sent her a telepathic message. Yes, ma’am. I am.
The last time Suzie and Vi
So yeah, I was eternally thankful that cats couldn’t talk, because these two would have spilled their guts about my lackadaisical caretaking skills. And Vi
I couldn’t live with that.
“Have you seen our new neighbors?” Vi
“No,” I said, straightening. “But I heard them moving in. Is it a family?”
“No, two lovely men,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “A chef and a hairdresser. Aren’t we lucky?”
I laughed. “The perfect neighbors.”
“And your new class?” Vi
“Oh, it’s fine,” I said. “But you’ll never guess what happened tonight.”
Suzie walked into the room just then, cracking her knuckles. “Let me guess. Somebody died.”
I was taken aback. “Why would you say that?”
She flopped onto the couch and stretched her arms out. Her spiky platinum hair was still wet from her shower and she wore pink fla
“Suzie, stop,” Vi
“That’s okay,” I muttered. “Minka said the same thing.”
“Minka?” Vi
“She is. But she was attacked at BABA tonight and left unconscious. Somebody must’ve hit her over the head.”
Suzie grimaced. “Oops.”
“Yeah,” I said, pacing now. “And the weird thing is, Minka said the same thing to me earlier this evening, that whenever I show up, somebody dies.”
“You poor thing,” Vi
“Hey, I’m a sweetheart,” Suzie protested.
“Yes, you are,” Vi
“I’m standing right here,” I reminded her.
Suzie snorted. “Yeah, Vi
Vi
“No, you’re never rude,” I said.
“As opposed to me,” Suzie said, “who’s a thoughtless pig.”
I laughed, as she’d meant me to, but the merriment didn’t last as I explained what had happened. “I was the one who found her. I practically fell on top of her. She was still out cold when the paramedics took her to the hospital.”
“Good heavens,” Vi
“Freaky deaky,” Suzie said.
“Yeah.” I nodded, then shivered. “There was blood, so somebody must’ve attacked her. I’ve been trying to figure out who might’ve done it.”
I told them about the irate Asian man, then mentioned how nasty Layla had been to me.
“That woman sounds horrible,” Vi
“Yeah, she’s pretty awful,” I said. “But she gives me work, so I can’t be too critical of her. Well, I can, but I shouldn’t. You know what I mean.”
“Oh, yes,” Vi
“Anyway, I stumbled over Minka on my way to see Layla, to apologize for our disagreement. I don’t want her to be pissed off at me.”
“Oh, balls,” Suzie said. “Why should you care? She’s a bitch.”
“Language, Suzie,” Vi
“I just want everyone to be happy,” I said. Then I saw Suzie’s eyes widen in horror, so I played back what I’d said. “Oh, dear God, I’m cha
Vi
I shook my head and tried to get back on track. “What I meant was, I wanted to make nice with Layla so she’d be happy and continue to give me work.”
Suzie shrugged. “Can’t blame you for that.”
I sat on the edge of the cushy chair across from Suzie. “But Layla wasn’t even in her office, and then I ended up saving Minka’s life.”
“Wow,” Suzie said. “Bad luck. For her, I mean. Because, you know, she owes you big-time now.”
“She doesn’t owe me anything.”
“Yes, Brooklyn, she now owes you her life,” Vi
I made a face. “No kidding.”
“No good deed goes unpunished,” Suzie warned. “She’s about to make your life a living hell.”
Vi
I rubbed my forehead, where a headache was blossoming to life. “Yeah, thanks for that.”
Chapter 4
The following night, I arrived at BABA early, determined to pin down Layla first thing. I was still worried about her and I hadn’t slept well. I wondered what she would think about my idea of buying back the Oliver Twist. She might laugh in my face. Maybe I would just keep my mouth shut. Layla could ruin someone’s reputation with one perfectly tweezed eyebrow raised at just the right moment.
But I knew I couldn’t keep my mouth shut about the book.
I drove around the block twice before I found a parking place three blocks away. When I walked inside BABA, I found out why the area was so congested.
It was happy hour. The central gallery was packed with people partying, laughing, and drinking. A full bar was set up along the far wall and guests were grabbing wineglasses as fast as the two bartenders could fill them.
It was the kickoff cocktail party for BABA’s Twisted festival. I’d completely forgotten. This exclusive, by-invitation-only event was being held for BABA’s major donors, the movers and shakers who contributed so heavily to Layla’s coffers all year long.
I knew this event had been on the calendar for months, but it still seemed tacky to be throwing a party the night after someone was viciously attacked. I wondered, not for the first time, if Minka was still in the hospital or if they’d sent her home already.
The noise level was set at shrill, thanks to the rock music being piped through the sound system. Was it my imagination or was every man and woman in the room wearing black? They all looked artistic and wealthy and ski
I recognized some familiar faces. These were the San Francisco elite, the same people I’d seen barely two months ago at the Covington Library’s gala opening of the Winslow Exhibit. The night my old friend Abraham Karastovsky had been murdered.
It made sense that the same people who supported the Covington would be BABA patrons and donors. They were all book lovers. I just wished I’d remembered about the party tonight. I would’ve dressed a little better.