Part 13 (1/2)
”Providence throbs?”
”Daily.”
”I haven't noticed any throbbing.”
A thought popped into my head, but I suppressed it before it escaped. Instead, I said, ”Buddy Guy's from Chicago, too.”
”Actually, he was born in Louisiana.”
”Well, yeah. But his club's in Chicago.”
”Before I moved here,” she said, ”I used to hang out at his joint all the time. Don't hear music like that anywhere else. Sometimes Buddy even showed up to jam.”
”You're talking about Legends,” I said.
”d.a.m.n straight.” She eyed the colossal coffee stain. ”Maybe you're smarter than you look.”
”I'd almost have to be.”
She smiled at that, but part of her was still in Chicago. ”The chitlins and cornbread at Legends were as good as my mama's.”
I'd never met a chitlin, but it seemed unwise to bring that up. Instead, I played another card.
”My favorite poet's from Chicago. She's West Side, just like you.”
”Gwendolyn Brooks?”
”Patricia Smith.”
Yolanda looked skeptical, so I tossed out a few lines: I always shudder when I pray, so your name must be a prayer.
Saying your name colors my mouth, frees loose this river, changes my skin, turns my spine to string. I pray all the time now.
Amen.
”My, my,” she said. ”Aren't you full of surprises. What next? Maybe warble a verse or two of 'Lift Every Voice and Sing'?”
”I can if you want me to,” I said, ”but Claus would ask us to leave.”
”Better wait till we finish dessert.”
”You know,” I said, ”Patricia reads in Boston every now and then. Next time, we should go see her.”
”Got a thing for sistas from Chi-Town, do you?”
”Just two of them.”
”Maybe you should ask her out.”
”She's married.”
”So are you, last heard.”
”Yeah, but mine's all over except for the lawyering.”
She thought about that for a moment while I idly compared her with Dorcas and almost laughed out loud.
”So Buddy Guy's in Boston next week,” she said.
”Yes, he is.”
”Buddy's no joke.”
”And I have two tickets.”
”Okay, let's do this.”
”Great.”
”But we're just going together. We're not goin' together.”
”Of course not.”
”So you better keep that mouth and those hands to yourself.”
Not the final disposition of the case, I hoped. After a change of venue, perhaps she might entertain a plea bargain.
18.
I was on my way back to the office when Peggi called.
”I didn't find anything weird on his desktop,” she said.
”What about the laptop?”
”He left it behind when he headed out a few minutes ago for a meeting at the Rhode Island Hospital. I've got it open in front of me, but it's pa.s.sword protected.”
”Try his birthday?”
”Yeah. Forward and backward. Also tried his wedding anniversary, his wife's name, his kids' names, his dog's name, and all their birthdays. Except for the dog's. I don't know that one.”
”Well, it's not something random,” I said. ”He would have picked a name or number that means something him. Does he have a boat?”
”Yeah. The Caped Crusader. I tried it already.”