Part 11 (1/2)

She turned to me. Very firm.

”Will you leave or must I call the police.”

”He is the police,” Dark Hair said.

”He is not. He is a private detective. He's been told already that he's not welcome on campus.”

Pink Rollers said, ”Hey. A private eye?”

I said, ”Here's looking at you, kid.”

”Whoa, is that cool or what. A private eye.”

Mrs. Cameron turned without a word and walked out of the room.

”Cops will be here soon,” I said.

”The campus cops?” Dark Hair said mockingly. ”What are you gonna do?”

”I'll probably go quietly,” I said. ”I don't think I'll shoot it out with them.”

”Oh, d.a.m.n,” Pink Rollers said and we all laughed.

I took several cards from my s.h.i.+rt pocket and handed them around.

”If any of you, ah, undergraduate women have anything to add about Melissa, or think of something later, or want to have a nice lunch paid for by me...”

”You can call us girls,” Dark Hair said. ”Kim's the only one that's really PC.”

The familiar pulsating glow of a blue light showed through the front window and a minute later the front door opened and Chief Livingston came in with two patrolmen. Mrs. Cameron greeted him at the door.

”I ordered him to leave as soon as I discovered he was here,” she said. ”He basically defied me.”

”He probably does that a lot,” Livingston said. ”Come on, Mr. Spenser, time to go.”

”What charge?”

”What charge? Oh, Jesus Christ, excuse me, ladies, it is against college regulations for anyone to visit a domicile without permission of the resident supervisor.”

”Oh, that charge,” I said.

Livingston grinned, and jerked his head toward the door. I got up from the arm of the couch where I'd been sitting and walked to the door and turned. I'd been so successful with my Bogart impression that I tried Arnold Schwarzenegger.

”Ah'll be baack,” I said.

None of them knew what the h.e.l.l I was doing. But they liked me. They all waved and hollered ”good-bye” as I went out the door with the cops.

Chapter 16.

HAWK CAME IN to my office in the morning with some coffee and a bag of donuts.

”Coffee from Starbuck's,” he said. ”High-grown Kenya, bright and sweet with a hint of black currant.”

”They sell donuts?”

”Naw, Starbuck's too ritzy for donuts,” Hawk said. ”Donuts are Dunkin'.”

”With a hint of deep fat,” I said.

We divided up the coffee and donuts. Hawk took his coffee and one of the donuts and went and looked down from my window at the corner of Berkeley and Boylston. He was wearing starched jeans and high top Nikes, and a blue denim s.h.i.+rt under a black leather field jacket. He had on a pair of Oakley sun gla.s.ses with cerulean blue reflective lenses.

”You think my new shades are cool?” Hawk said.

”Cold,” I said. ”Can you see, wearing them indoors?”

”No. But they too cool to take off.”

I drank some Kenya coffee. ”Bright and sweet,” I said.

”Told you,” Hawk said.

”You come up with anything that clears Ellis Alves?” I said.

”No. You adopt a kid yet?”

”No.”

”You been annoying somebody though,” Hawk said.

”That's sort of my job description,” I said. ”You wanna give me a list?”

”Ain't got the time to cover them all, but somebody's looking to have you killed.”

”Moi?”

”Vinnie called me. Said one of the guys works for Gino told him there was a guy looking to have you killed.”

”He want Vinnie to do it?”

”Don't know,” Hawk said. ”That's all Vinnie told me. He's full time with Gino now. He wouldn't be freelancing anyway.”

”How much they paying,” I said.

”Now that's ego,” Hawk said.