Part 24 (2/2)
”You sent them, didn't you, you sonuvab.i.t.c.h!”
”Sent who?”
”You know who!”
”I'm afraid I don't.”
”I thought they were gonna kill me.”
”What? Okay, why don't you calm down and tell me what happened?”
”Like you don't f.u.c.kin' know!”
”I really don't.”
She drew a deep breath. ”There were two of them,” she said. ”They knocked on the door, and when I opened it they pushed me aside and forced their way in.”
”Are you hurt?”
”No, but I'm still shaking.”
”What did they look like?”
”Big. Really, really big.”
”John Goodman big or WWF SmackDown! big?”
”You trying to tell me you don't know anything about this?”
”Of course I don't.”
”You're a f.u.c.king liar,” she said. And then she hung up.
What the h.e.l.l was that about?
I went to my bedroom window, opened it, sucked in a lungful of frigid air, and slowly let it out. I'm not sure how long I stood there before I heard a police siren cut the dark. It sounded close, but all I could see were the black windows of the tenement next door. I closed the window, flopped on my bed, and read for an hour. Then I put down the book and fiddled with the cell phone, trying to decide on a ringtone for Yolanda. I finally settled on a spare acoustic version of ”Dance with Me” by Tuck & Patti. Of course, I had no reason to think Yolanda would call.
First thing next morning, she did.
36.
”Mulligan? Are you okay?”
”I'm fine, Yolanda.”
”You don't sound fine. Where are you?”
I was slumped on a stool at my favorite diner, reading Mason's update about the murders on the paper's Web site and struggling to keep Charlie's scrambled eggs down.
”Sit tight,” she said. ”I'll be there in a few minutes.”
I finished Mason's story and then checked the other headlines. The bishop was enraged at an enterprising young man who had leased an abandoned Fotomat drive-through across the street from St. Mark's in Cranston, laid in a new line of merchandise, and renamed it the Condom Shed. According to a survey of top fas.h.i.+on designers, cleavage was back in style again. And a national newsmagazine was reporting that New Jersey was the most corrupt state in the Union but that Little Rhody led the nation in scandals per capita. Finally we were number one at something besides doughnut shops. I was checking the betting line for the Patriots-Panthers game when Yolanda strolled in on those long, long legs.
She was wearing a frown and a gray business suit with the top two b.u.t.tons of her blouse undone. When she bent to kiss my cheek, Charlie sneaked a peek. She plopped her alligator tote on the counter, took the stool next to mine, and asked for black coffee.
”I read the story on the Web this morning,” she said.
”The one about how cleavage is in this season?”
”Good news for the fry cook,” she said, ”but it's not the one I meant.”
Mason had done a fine job with the murder update, laying out the facts and going easy on the gore. Still, it was grim reading.
”It must have been horrible for you,” she said.
”A police reporter sees lots of blood, Yolanda. You get used to it.”
”Bulls.h.i.+t. This wasn't a car crash or a Mob hit. A murdered child is not something you get used to. It's haunting you. I can hear it in your voice.”
My phone was on the counter beside my cold, half-empty mug of coffee. It began to play ”Dirty Laundry.” I reached for it and grabbed a fistful of air.
”Mr. Mulligan's office,” Yolanda said. ”How may I be of a.s.sistance?... I'm a friend of his.... Yes, I'm with him now.... He says he's fine, but he's not.... Actually, I think a couple of days would be better.... Okay, I'll let him know,” she said, and flipped the cell closed.
”What did Lomax want?” I asked.
”He said to take today off. I tried to get you a couple of days, but he insisted he can't spare you that long.”
”Of course he can't. I'm indispensable.”
”Is 'Dirty Laundry' your ringtone for everything, or just for your editor?”
”Just him.”
”Perfect choice,” she said. ”Do you have a special one for me, too?”
”Maybe I do.”
She dug her BlackBerry out of her purse and punched in my number.
”That sounds like 'Dance with Me' by Tuck and Patti,” she said.
”It is.”
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