Hot Storage (12 page)

   Friday I was already looking forward to the weekend. It was a tossup between locking the door and watching old movies or taking off for Cambria and running away. For almost two years my day and my social interaction ended at five. The past weeks with Burke and then John had filled a lot of my evenings. I reluctantly admitted to myself that I missed them, or more accurately, I missed the company. When I locked up the office, I headed for Kelly’s in Monarch. Rather a diner full of strangers than an empty living room.

   Being early on a Friday night I had my pick so I took a booth. Kathy, the waitress I knew slightly, came right over to take my order.

   “Hey, good to see you,” she said, pulling out her order pad. “You’re getting to be a regular here. What can I get you this evening?”

   “I’ll have the special and iced tea.”

   “Coming right up.”

   She went back up front to place my order. I opened my Kindle.

   The diner wasn’t full although there were enough people to make a low hum of conversation just audible over the clink of silverware. A comfortable level of white noise.

   I read a few pages before Kathy brought my tea.

   “Here you go,” she smiled, putting down a coaster and a straw. “I’m happy to see you. After the last time, I was afraid you wouldn’t be back.”

   “Wasn’t your fault,” I said, closing the Kindle.

   “No, it wasn’t. You know how it is. Someone has a bad experience they don’t want to go back, you know? Avoid the scene of the crime.”

   “I wouldn’t hold it against Kelly’s,” I said with a smile of my own. “Can’t be responsible for the way others behave. Not likely to run into that guy again.”

   Kathy’s eyes rounded and she took on an owl look.

   “What? Is he here?”

   The woman nodded and flipped her head to indicate the front of the room. “He’s near the door up there. He’s sober, though, so you’re okay. It’s only when he’s drinking that he gets, well, rowdy? The rest of the time he’s a doll, he really is.”

   “Does he drink a lot?”

   “I wouldn’t know,” she backtracked. “He’s come in happy a few times. You know? When he’s had a good day and he wants to share it? He helps his dad at the Gem so sometimes he’s had a few?”

   Her habit of adding a question mark at the end of a sentence made it difficult to know if she was telling me or asking me. I opted for a nod and sipped tea.

   “I’ll get your fish,” she said and left the table.

   I picked up my Kindle again.

   “It’s rude to read at the table,” a voice said and I looked up in time to see Patrick Murphy slide into the booth across from me.

   I closed the Kindle. Now what?

   “Your space is clear,” I said, as politely as possible. “You can bring your motor home down any time. That won’t happen again.”

   “All business, huh? I saw the tow truck,” he said. “I was working in my mom’s unit when he came in.”

   “I’m very sorry that happened,” I said, tired of apologizing.

   “What are you reading?” He turned to signal Kathy, who hurried back to our table.

   “Along Came a Spider,” I said.

   “James Patterson,” he said to me. “Can I get some coffee, Kat?”

   The waitress nodded and hurried away.

   “Yes, it is,” I said, surprised Patrick would know that.

   “Good book. I liked it.”

   “You read?”

   He shook his head and smiled at me. “I’m not ignorant, Miss Montoya. Nor am I stupid. I read a lot.”

   “I meant no offense,” I said, feeling my cheeks warm up. “Most guys like you don’t read,” I stopped in mid-sentence. His eyes were laughing. “There’s no way I’m going to get out of that one,” I said.

   To my surprise he laughed. He had a contagious laugh. I found myself joining in.

   I started again. “I meant guys who look like you don’t usually read.”

   “What’s wrong with the way I look?”

   “Not a thing,” I blurted, before I blushed to my hairline, feeling the heat in my face. “I am so sorry. That didn’t come out right.”

   Patrick Murphy smiled a slow, warm smile, his blue eyes lighting up. “Go ahead,” he said. “It’s fun to watch you blush. Don’t see that much anymore.”

   I ducked my head and sipped tea, listening to his chuckle.

   “Let me try this again. How did you like the book?”

   Patrick leaned forward on his folded arms. “I liked it. That one was similar to a Michael Crichton, another favorite of mine. I have also read most of the classics. I like Rex Stout, Robert Parker and I read the Tarzan series twice when I was a kid.”

   “You like mysteries and adventure,” I smiled.

   “I like books,” he said and sat back for Kathy to set a cup of coffee down in front of him. I had never seen that kind of service. Kelly’s kept a tray of clean mismatched cups next to the front door. If you wanted coffee you chose a cup when you came in and carried it to your seat. Tourists and visitors were marked when they made the return trip to pick up a cup. This was a first, seeing a wait person bring a cup. Patrick must rate around here.

   “Would you like anything else?”

   “Not right now, thanks.”

   The waitress scurried back to the front. If she had a forelock she’d have yanked it out by the roots.

   “How do you like that Kindle?”

   “I love it,” I answered, happy to change the subject. “I read a lot, too. With this I don’t have to drive to a book store, or wait for one to open. I can browse books in the middle of the night and sample them before I pay. I can get a sample for free and if I don’t like it I just throw it away. Sort of like browsing in a book store. Of course I’m limited to Amazon but that’s my favorite place to shop anyway so for me it’s fine.”

   “I’ve thought about getting one. I like the feel of a book, the weight, you know? ”

   “I do,” I agreed. “I wasn’t sure I’d like one until about ten minutes after I bought it. Took that long for me to fall in love.”

   “You do that a lot?”

   “Excuse me?”

   “Fall in love. You do that a lot?”

   Before I could answer Kathy came back and looked at my plate. “Are you finished with that?”

   There was still a couple of pieces of fish and some fries on the plate.

   “Yes, thanks,” I said, although I wanted the fish I didn’t want to eat in front of Patrick. I slid the plate closer to her.

   “More tea? Some dessert? We have apple, berry and peach fruit pies and banana and coconut cream. From Cora’s bakery right here in town.”

   “I’ll have the apple,” Patrick said. “How about you?”

   “I’m good,” I said.

   “Come on,” he smiled. “Pick one or I’ll pick it for you.”

   I thought for a second. “Peach,” I said.

   “Ice cream?”

   “No, the pie is fine.”

   Kathy left again leaving me and Patrick looking at each other.

   “You want to talk more books? Move on to movies? History? Foreign language? I am well versed I assure you.”

   I felt the heat climbing up my neck again, the flush like a sunburn. “I’m kinda boring,” I said finally. “I read a lot, I like the old movies on TV.”

   “Me too. What are your favorites?”

   “Most of the black and white ones from the forties and fifties. The mysteries. I love the funny ones, the ones where everyone gets stuck in an old house and picked off one at a time.”

   His eyes glowed bright blue. “Where the eyes in the picture on the wall move? And there’s about eight bedrooms with secret passages and one creepy butler?”

   My turn to nod. “That’s them. And the Thin Man, Charlie Chan, all those.”

   “Topper? I loved the Topper movies. I collected them. Topper and W.C. Fields.”

   “I love those! Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. I remember them and the westerns. So many westerns.”

   “No brothers or sisters?”

   “Two of each. I was the youngest. We had one of those aerials on top of the house. No cable or dish so it was old movies or nothing. I got parked in front of the TV while they all worked.”

   I stopped when Kathy slid our desserts onto the table. She didn’t even glance my way, focused on Patrick. “More coffee?”

   “Yeah, thanks. How about you? Would you like coffee?”

   I nodded, my mouth full of luscious golden peaches.

   “She’ll have coffee, too,” he told the waitress who once more hurried away only to return with another cup and the pot of coffee. A double first – two cups brought to the table. I’d have to remember that my next trip, see if it was a new policy.

   “Will there be anything else?”

   “Should do us,” Patrick said, forking up a chunk of apple pie. “I’ll wave if we need anything else.”

   Kathy left again, with a wistful look over her shoulder that was wasted on Patrick. He was watching me.

   We continued to chat about old movies while we ate our desserts.

   Kathy brought our checks and Patrick picked up both slips.

   “I can get mine,” I said. “After all you didn’t have dinner.”

   Patrick smiled and handed over the checks and his credit card. “My pleasure,” he said. “It’s been a while since I had the company of a lovely woman.”

   Again the heat flashed up my neck into my face like filling a glass, even the tips of my ears were burning.

   To my complete embarrassment Patrick burst out laughing. He laughed for a couple of minutes before taking a napkin and wiping his eyes.

   “I’m glad you find me so amusing,” I said.

   He reached across the table and took my hand, giving my fingers a squeeze. “I apologize,” he said, still grinning. “It’s just fun to watch you blush. Like a thermometer the way it climbs up your neck. I couldn’t resist.”

   I tossed my napkin on the table and gathered my keys and Kindle.

   “Thanks for dinner,” I said, scooting to the edge of the bench seat.

   He held on to my hand. “Don’t go away mad,” he said. “I said I was sorry.”

   “I’m not mad. I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”

   He looked at me for a full minute, holding me there by the hand. “What’s on the agenda for tomorrow? You working?”

   “I don’t work weekends,” I answered. “A very nice man named Steve runs the facility on weekends.”

   He nodded and released my hand. “I know. I sign his paycheck, too. He talks too much.”

   My turn to smile. “Yes, he does. He’s reliable though. He’s never late and he’s always there.”

   “Probably looking for a captive audience,” he smiled back.

   I stood up. “Thank you for dinner. That was very nice of you.”

   “I’m a nice man,” he answered with those dancing blue eyes. “Don’t believe all you hear.”

   “I never do,” I said and headed for the front door. Behind me a warm chuckle followed me to the door.

   On the short drive back to Jade Beach my mind chased its tail. I’m tall for a Latina, most of our women are short. I have black hair and brown eyes, the lighter caramel colored eyes not the deep mysterious brown ones. I stay in shape without effort, being on the slender side, a gift from my Indonesian mother, along with the almond shaped eyes tipped up at the corners and the paler, ivory skin. Without vanity I know I look good for my age which is closing in on forty. For almost two years that went unnoticed. Now, of a sudden, I find not one, not two, but four handsome men want to share my meals. I wondered why. I don’t put a whole lot of eggs in the coincidence basket.

   Meeting Burke was bizarre. The whole beach scene and the guys chasing him into my car was weird. Then he showed up at my door.

   The cartons of drugs brought Burke back into the picture. Also added John Kincaid as the local liaison so two connected to the drugs.

   I had dealt with Paul since I took this job. Why his sudden interest? Was it finding Burke in my apartment first thing in the morning? Did that somehow trigger their old rivalry?

   Patrick the playboy, the perpetual bachelor, hunted like prey by the single women in town. What caused him to come at me out of the blue? He never bothered to introduce himself until recently, our few meetings were official and cool. Why did he join me for dinner?

   And where was Burke? Had something happened to him? Had his undercover persona been exposed? Two men had been murdered and dumped near the freeway, the first murders here in many years. Was that connected to the drugs? Was Burke dumped somewhere with a bullet to his head?

   My mind whirled like a roulette wheel. Round and round and round we go, where we stop nobody knows. I began to feel like Alice in Wonderland – curiouser and curiouser.

   It was a long time before I fell asleep.

   Saturday morning I drove to San Luis Obispo and spent the day wandering around the narrow, tree shaded streets doing a little shopping and catching a movie. I returned tired and rested if that makes any sense.