Time and Trouble (26 page)

He heard himself with horror. When had he become this testy asshole? Maybe he was this way about everything, including Penny. He
’
d try harder. After all, he was older, out of college, employed, and she was none of those things. He went downstairs filled with benign resolve.

He didn
’
t see her, or anybody. Gary and Toto had left hours ago for their jobs, and since Alicia wasn
’
t in her office, she was probably out with a client. He peeked around the corner, to the enclosed porch where Kathryn sat peering intently at a screen. It was her machine, and when she occupied that space, her office as well, but otherwise
—
which was most of the time
—
the entire household could use the room and the computer. Those times that Kathryn worked at home, she was wrapped in a virtual Do Not Disturb sign and she was not to be considered here at all.

Back in the kitchen, he took a mouse out of the freezer, putting it on a paper towel to defrost. Even that made him think of Penny with irritation. Sleeping in a room with a creature who tore up and ate little mammals upset her. The speed with which Morgana devoured her mouse disgusted Penny. The fact that most times, Morgana left the mouse
’
s nose uneaten revolted her. When he bought crickets as a special treat for the bird, Penny shuddered and gagged. But none of this made her go to the living room couch.

Penny insisted she could love the bird, if only it didn
’
t have to eat. Typical of her logic.

He made coffee and oatmeal and luxuriated in the absence of people. It was how it should be with only the finches on the live oak breaking the silence.

Maybe Penny had been pulled outside by the lure of Oliver
’
s tree or the chippering yellow-bellied birds. Or she
’
d gone to
“
his
”
spot up and around the hill. She
’
d loved it when he
’
d shown it to her, a deep-set channel, now a fast-moving stream lined with redwoods and ferns. On such a day, it would be magic to sit in its dappled shadows.

He glanced at the front page of the
Chronicle.
Nothing much and nothing at all about the skeletons. Good. He wished he
’
d never poked that stick in the dirt. All it really meant was that Toto
’
s uncle, who
’
d let them use his pasture, was furious. He
’
d been hassled by the police and had his field chopped up and made hazardous for his cows. The normally placid dairy farmer had banned them for life.

He finished breakfast and thought about going to the beach, taking advantage of this weather before it dissolved into more rain. The water would be way too cold, but hearing and seeing it, reading, maybe running the beach sounded like a full vacation packed into a day.

He
’
d leave now, while Penny was gone.

He added his dishes to the collection in the sink, took the pitiable mouse corpse upstairs with him, and, after he put on a sweater as padding, fed her on his fist. There, in a matter of two, three minutes, he
’
d made the creature happy. She didn
’
t scream protests about his going off without her as he changed into bathing trunks under his jeans, and prepared to leave. He was going to stick to birds from now on.

Back around sundown,
his note said. He could almost taste the clean sea air, hear the silence broken only by the waves, the muffled human noises if, indeed, anybody else was around, the seagulls and the sea lions who floated near shore, people-watching, and he felt muscles from neck to ankles unclench.

Outside, he took a deep breath of the fragrant air, but almost instantly felt it whoosh out of him. He looked again at the empty gravel drive, the spot closest to the garage.. He
’
d left his car there
—
so that he wouldn
’
t block anybody, so nobody would need to wake him up with a request for either his presence or his keys because the car had to be moved.

Good thinking, except it was gone. As were all the others
’
, except Kathryn
’
s, so it wasn
’
t as if somebody
’
s car had broken down and his had been used in the emergency.

Too bad about never interrupting Kathryn. He stormed in and stood by her computer while she waved him away with one hand. Finally when pages flipped out of the printer, she looked up.
“
What?
”
she asked.

“
My car. It
’
s not out there.
”

She blinked, readjusting from appointments and contracts to him.
“
She took it.
”

“
She? Who?
”

“
Who the hell you think? Your cookie.
”

“
Penny?
”

Kathryn shrugged and pulled off her glasses to rub her eyes.
“
You didn
’
t give the okay?
”
She put her glasses back on and looked at her printer.
“
Guess not.
”

The room, Kathryn, the computer
—
everything dissolved into blank emptiness. She
’
d moved in on his life and taken it over, every bit of it, without asking, without permission, without basic human decency.
“
Where was she going?
”
he asked, his voice unfamiliar and hoarse.
“
Where did she take it?
”

Kathryn looked back from the stream of papers coming out of the printer and regarded him quizzically.
“
How would I know? She said she had things to take care of and that she
’
d be back in a while. She had your keys. I thought for sure you knew.
”
She shrugged.
“
That was two hours ago.
”

“
Okay,
”
he said.
“
Okay. She went to the police, about the heart she found.
”

“
Doubt it.
”
Kathryn stood up, checked the time and pulled a sweater off a peg on the wall. Despite her comfortable natural padding, she was always chilly and everybody had stopped making fun of her about it.
“
Unless she had some kind of conversion experience. Last night she was crazed about not doing anything in person with the police, or was I delusional? Did I fantasize that incredibly boring and infantile performance?
”

“
Then to those ladies she baby-sat for?
”
He knew he was being ridiculous.

Kathryn shrugged again.
“
Did you write her
script
?
”
She rolled her eyes.
“
The girl can
’
t make up her own words and say what
’
s obvious.
”
She looked at her watch and gathered the newly printed pages, put a clip around them and slipped them into a leather briefcase that was the most elegant item in Kathryn
’
s mundane wardrobe. When she created her garb, however, she went crazy with ornaments.
“
Listen,
”
she said,
“
I have to go. I
’
m supposed to have this at the office in half an hour.
”

He still felt literally stunned, as if Kathryn had thwacked him with the news. He nodded, and moved away, signaling that he wouldn
’
t hassle her anymore. And then he remembered.
“
Wait
—
I bet I know where she went, and you
—
your office is in Sausalito, isn
’
t it?
”

“
No,
”
she said.
“
They moved it last night.
”

“
I mean
—
could I have a lift? You can drop me off on Bridgeway, anywhere.
”

Kathryn sighed, nodded, and gathered up her papers before turning off the printer.
“
I don
’
t know when I
’
m coming home. There
’
s a meeting
—”

“
Doesn
’
t matter, don
’
t worry. If I don
’
t find my car, I
’
ll get home on my own. Buses and stuff.
”
Whatever happened, she
’
d already ruined his goddamned day.

“
Then I
’
ll see you in a couple years, the way the buses run, but it
’
s your call.
”

“
I
’
ll take the lift.
”
He didn
’
t know, couldn
’
t tell if it would relieve or enrage him to see his big yellow hearse parked where he now suspected it would be.

Sixteen

Billie sat in her car, drinking Styrofoam coffee while considering the innocuous, anonymous building across the street. It didn
’
t look like a fortress, but as she studied it, she felt like the heroes of the fairy tales she read Jesse. Gender issues aside, the king had ordered her to cut through that iron mountain with her piece of straw or die. She had to get far enough in to find Lucas
’
address
—
if he in fact worked here. If he hadn
’
t been lying to Penny, or hadn
’
t been from out of town, building his models in L.A. or elsewhere, up here sightseeing or visiting. And if Luke or Lucas
—
or Stewart
—
was his name.

Quests were thrilling in stories; in the day-to-day, they were a royal pain.

She allowed herself a second to appreciate the clear blue air of this winter morning, tossed her empty coffee container into the litter can and nodded. Time to go. Big day ahead. Find girl, close case, accept applause.

She smoothed her tunic sweater over her tights, tightened the laces of her boots, applied fresh lipstick and fluffed her hair as much as it would cooperate, touched each silver earring for good luck, and soldiered forth, across the street and into the reception area.

The keeper of the gate behind the desk was not the same young woman Billie had confronted during her job search, but of the same vintage and basic design. The last had been a dark blonde beauty. This one had black hair and smoky features. Both past and present were politely disdainful of outsiders.
“
Yes?
”
she asked.
“
Can I help you?
”

Billie took another deep breath, curling the muscles of her shoulders and back into her
“
silly, dithering blonde me
”
persona. She giggled, softly, nervously.
“
This is going to sound really dumb. Embarrassing, too.
”

The receptionist apparently didn
’
t waste energy on verbal or facial responses.

“
Don
’
t laugh, but like, I was at a party last week, and I met this guy. And we hit it off right away
…
except I got a little bombed, you see
—
that
’
s the really embarrassing part.
”
She gestured overly much, pointing at herself, hanging her head, doing the dork.
“
I told him my entire life story, about being robbed and all
—
I won
’
t bore you with that, but it had happened in the City the night before. But I would never have said anything if I hadn
’
t had too much to drink. Which I only did because I was still freaked when I got there. But the thing was, he was nice. I mean, really, and not in like a jerky or dull way. That isn
’
t what I mean. I mean decent, and kind and, oh, nice. You don
’
t meet a whole lot of guys like that.
”
Come on, she mentally telegraphed. Look as if you comprehend, as if you
’
ve been there, too. What
’
s happened to sisterhood?

The receptionist watched with infinite patience and not a trace of any other emotion.

“
I
—
We
—
oh, got a little
…
Anyway, when I wasn
’
t fit to drive myself home, I wound up sleeping in his car, plus he loaned me money. He wrote his name and address on a slip of paper, said I could return the money whenever, and now my parents sent me some, so I could repay him and I really want to, but I can
’
t find that slip of paper anywhere, and I
’
m afraid he
’
ll think of me as a total jerk, a rip-off artist, so I was hoping you
’
d help. I mean, you know how they say nice guys finish last and all? I don
’
t want him to think that.
”

The receptionist allowed two micromuscles in her forehead to contract into a slight frown.
“
Why here?
”
she asked.
“
I don
’
t understand. Why come to me?
”

“
Didn
’
t I say?
”
Billie closed her eyes and tilted her face to the ceiling.
“
Now I
’
m even
more
embarrassed! I must sound like a complete idiot!
”
She certainly hoped so.
“
He told me he worked here. That part I remember, because we talked about special effects, the different kinds of things you do. You know. So that
’
s the one thing I remember, and it wasn
’
t written on that paper. Oh, and his name. Lucas.
”