unlocked until this rumor dies.”
Mary grumbled something I couldn’t hear and then added, “Well, be careful, willyah? I hate to see bad things happen to good people.”
“I am taking all precautions.”
“Ooo.” She began rummaging through a pile of paper. “Where the hell did it get to? The guy was just here this morning.”
“Who was here?”
“Some guy. Like a cop, you know?”
“
Like
a cop?”
“He smelled of cop. Or a detective. He was looking for a guy.”
“I don’t understand. What has this to do with me?”
“He was asking about the house you cleaned on Vanderhoosen.”
I put a thoughtful hand to my chin. “Yes?”
“
Yes
. He wanted to know if somebody had come around asking about the owner of the house. Aha.” She slid a crumpled piece of paper at me. “He said he’d reward anybody who could help him find this guy. Did anybody like that come by the house while you were cleaning it?”
“You didn’t tell him I was the—”
“What? Am I an idiot? If you have seen the guy, I want ten percent of this reward.”
It was a photocopy, with a grainy mug shot of a dark-haired young man. Below was a full description—height, weight, age—but no name. “It says this man is my age, thirty-three. This picture does not look like—”
“Morty, didja see him or din’t you?”
I shook my head. “Nobody came by as we were cleaning.”
“Sure?”
“Positive.” The man I saw standing in front of the house on Vanderhoosen Drive was not eighteen years old and did not look like the mug shot to me. I had no reason to connect the two.
Mary looked unhappy.
“You could ask Frog. He was working in the neighborhood, atthe place next door. Maybe he saw this man, and you could get the ten percent from him?”
“Hmm. Long shot, but . . .”
“Worth a try. Look, I better be going. We haven’t seen you over at Oscar’s. I owe you a drink.”
“A drink? Probably a hundred drinks is what you owe me, Morty, you lucky bastard. Get out of here.”
As I went out the door I heard her call after me, “And for Christ’s sake, be fucking careful, willyah? I hate to see bad things happen to good people.”
CHAPTER
TEN
IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN long after I left when Danny walked into Upscale Realty. Mary was still alone. It was maybe ten in the morning.
She probably smiled at him—she liked the tall, dark, handsome ones, like me, like Danny.
“Can I help you, sir?”
“Yes, thank you. I’m interested in the house on Vanderhoosen Street.”
“You have good timing, my friend.” Mary would have struggled to her feet, her glasses dropping to her belly. She was not comfortable talking to people sitting down, especially potential clients. “We just cleaned it out and put the sign up yesterday.”
“Cleaned out, huhn? Not moved?”
“Died a month or so back. People pile up a lot of stuff in a lifetime, kids can’t take it all in, so the rest has to be cleaned out. Would you like me to have one of our agents show you the place?”
“Any available now? I was just passing by, not sure when I’ll be back around here.”
“Ooo.” I can picture Mary chewing a lip in thought. “Let me see if I can raise one.”
“Or if I could have the key, I could just take a look myself, and if I’m, you know, interested, I’ll come back for another look.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want you to miss any of the features of the house.”
“There’s nothing to steal, right? Promise I’ll bring the key back. Just around the corner.”
“We trust you, it’s not
that
. . . my name is Mary, by the way.”
“Tom.”
“Let me find the key . . .”
He watched as she tugged the keys from her boobs and opened a cabinet on the wall next to her desk. Then she fumbled with the ornamental chain around her neck and got her glasses on her face so she could read the little labels. The inside of the key box, like the rest of the place, was a mess.
“If you’ll just bear with me,
Mary grumbled something I couldn’t hear and then added, “Well, be careful, willyah? I hate to see bad things happen to good people.”
“I am taking all precautions.”
“Ooo.” She began rummaging through a pile of paper. “Where the hell did it get to? The guy was just here this morning.”
“Who was here?”
“Some guy. Like a cop, you know?”
“
Like
a cop?”
“He smelled of cop. Or a detective. He was looking for a guy.”
“I don’t understand. What has this to do with me?”
“He was asking about the house you cleaned on Vanderhoosen.”
I put a thoughtful hand to my chin. “Yes?”
“
Yes
. He wanted to know if somebody had come around asking about the owner of the house. Aha.” She slid a crumpled piece of paper at me. “He said he’d reward anybody who could help him find this guy. Did anybody like that come by the house while you were cleaning it?”
“You didn’t tell him I was the—”
“What? Am I an idiot? If you have seen the guy, I want ten percent of this reward.”
It was a photocopy, with a grainy mug shot of a dark-haired young man. Below was a full description—height, weight, age—but no name. “It says this man is my age, thirty-three. This picture does not look like—”
“Morty, didja see him or din’t you?”
I shook my head. “Nobody came by as we were cleaning.”
“Sure?”
“Positive.” The man I saw standing in front of the house on Vanderhoosen Drive was not eighteen years old and did not look like the mug shot to me. I had no reason to connect the two.
Mary looked unhappy.
“You could ask Frog. He was working in the neighborhood, atthe place next door. Maybe he saw this man, and you could get the ten percent from him?”
“Hmm. Long shot, but . . .”
“Worth a try. Look, I better be going. We haven’t seen you over at Oscar’s. I owe you a drink.”
“A drink? Probably a hundred drinks is what you owe me, Morty, you lucky bastard. Get out of here.”
As I went out the door I heard her call after me, “And for Christ’s sake, be fucking careful, willyah? I hate to see bad things happen to good people.”
CHAPTER
TEN
IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN long after I left when Danny walked into Upscale Realty. Mary was still alone. It was maybe ten in the morning.
She probably smiled at him—she liked the tall, dark, handsome ones, like me, like Danny.
“Can I help you, sir?”
“Yes, thank you. I’m interested in the house on Vanderhoosen Street.”
“You have good timing, my friend.” Mary would have struggled to her feet, her glasses dropping to her belly. She was not comfortable talking to people sitting down, especially potential clients. “We just cleaned it out and put the sign up yesterday.”
“Cleaned out, huhn? Not moved?”
“Died a month or so back. People pile up a lot of stuff in a lifetime, kids can’t take it all in, so the rest has to be cleaned out. Would you like me to have one of our agents show you the place?”
“Any available now? I was just passing by, not sure when I’ll be back around here.”
“Ooo.” I can picture Mary chewing a lip in thought. “Let me see if I can raise one.”
“Or if I could have the key, I could just take a look myself, and if I’m, you know, interested, I’ll come back for another look.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want you to miss any of the features of the house.”
“There’s nothing to steal, right? Promise I’ll bring the key back. Just around the corner.”
“We trust you, it’s not
that
. . . my name is Mary, by the way.”
“Tom.”
“Let me find the key . . .”
He watched as she tugged the keys from her boobs and opened a cabinet on the wall next to her desk. Then she fumbled with the ornamental chain around her neck and got her glasses on her face so she could read the little labels. The inside of the key box, like the rest of the place, was a mess.
“If you’ll just bear with me,
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