Chasing Stanley by Deirdre Martin Page A

Thursday suddenly felt like a long time away.
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    â€œ Heads up , here comes the mayor.”
    Jason turned from where he sat with Eric at an outdoor café, expecting to see Rudy Giuliani or Michael Bloomberg strolling down the street. Instead, a wizened old man in a shabby suit was slowly ambling their way, pausing every few feet to stop and chat with everyone who crossed his path. Jason and Eric were no exceptions.
    â€œHello, boys, hello.”
    â€œHello, Mr. Mayor,” said Eric. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
    â€œA rare September gem,” the mayor said before continuing on his way. He was barely out of earshot before Eric turned to Jason. “Total lunatic. Makes the rounds every day. He’s harmless, though.”
    Jason nodded, watching the mayor until he’d toddled completely out of view. Eric waved to a willowy woman clad like a Bedouin across the street, piquing Jason’s curiosity. “Who’s that?”
    â€œSheena. She lives in my building. She’s some kind of puppet master or something.”
    â€œHow the hell can anyone make a living as a puppet master?”
    â€œYou’d be amazed at some of the ways people make a living in this city.”
    â€œYou seem to know everyone,” Jason observed, making sure he sounded impressed.
    â€œWell, I have been living here awhile,” Eric replied with the boastfulness Jason had deliberately sought to stoke.
    â€œDo you know that dog walker?” Jason asked casually.
    â€œWho, that cute little chick who walks around covered in dog hair and drool?”
    Jason nodded, mildly annoyed by Eric’s use of the word cute . His physical description of Delilah wasn’t very flattering, either. Jason hadn’t noticed either dog hair or drool.
    â€œI’ve seen her around,” said Eric, breaking off a piece of crumb cake from Jason’s plate and popping it in his mouth, a habit from childhood that still drove Jason up the wall. “But I can’t say I know her.” He looked at Jason. “Why? You know her?”
    â€œShe’s training Stanley.”
    â€œNo kidding. How’s it coming? Has Oscar Mayer called to thank you for keeping his empire afloat?”
    â€œHar-har.” Jason stretched out his legs. “I was just wondering what the word around the neighborhood is about her, that kind of stuff.”
    Eric grinned at him. “You’re hot for her.”
    â€œ No. I just like to know as much as I can about the person who’s going to be taking care of my dog.”
    â€œMmm.” Eric seemed distracted as he watched a leggy blonde in a short skirt saunter by. “Man, they sure don’t make ’em like that in North Dakota, eh, bro?”
    â€œThe dog walker?” Jason prompted.
    â€œOh. Right.” Eric turned back to him. “All I know is that she loves her dogs and everyone else’s, but keeps them in line. You know, the whole tough love thing that Mom and Dad tried with us but didn’t work.”
    Jason laughed appreciatively.
    â€œSometimes I see her at the Starbucks around the corner with some tall, skinny, black guy.”
    â€œHer boyfriend?” Jason asked, hoping he wasn’t too obvious.
    â€œNah. He’s a queen. I think he’s a coworker or something. I’ve seen him out walking dogs, too.” Eric narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “You gonna ask this chick out or what?”
    â€œWill you quit calling her a chick? This isn’t an episode of The Mod Squad .”
    â€œNice attempted deflection,” Eric drawled. “What’s the deal?”
    â€œI already told you,” Jason replied, playing up his exasperation. “She’s probably going to wind up spending more time with Stanley than I am. I need to get as much info on her as I can.”
    Eric looked skeptical. “Didn’t you interview her?”
    â€œOf course I did. I’m looking for off-the-record