Part 4 (2/2)
”They don't know what they're missing.” Lucy slowly shook her head and her deep blue earrings swung back and forth. I always looked forward to finding out what theme Lucy would choose for the day. Today she featured blue: navy slacks and sandals, bright cerulean silk blouse, a necklace of lapis and crystal beads, and a pair of large lapis disks dangling from hooks in her ears. I thought blue was her best color; it made her orange hair look more authentic.
I agreed with my friends. Hand quilting was a long proposition. You must be willing to put in dozens, even hundreds, of hours before finis.h.i.+ng-a good thing in my book. The process of st.i.tching by hand provided time to think, to meditate, and just to slow down. The journey was worth it. In the end, you held a blanket textured with the comfort of thousands of thoughtful st.i.tches, a piece of art.
Birdie returned with a generous thick slice of cake for each of us. I tried to keep from looking at mine. Out of sight, out of mind. Unfortunately, I couldn't turn off my sense of smell.
She twirled the end of her long braid. ”Now, Martha dear, Lucy just told me about your finding the body of that baseball coach practically in your own backyard. I heard on the news he was a family man, the father of three young children.”
”Yes. The body looked pretty gruesome. He was savagely beaten. Even though Dax Martin was universally resented and disliked in our neighborhood, he didn't deserve to die in such a horrible way. I feel sorry for his family.”
Birdie sat and picked up her sewing. ”Lucy said the police suspect your young neighbor.”
”That's right, but I think he's being framed. I can prove it if I can find the homeless people who were camped across from the crime scene. They may have witnessed the murder. Lucy drove me to the police station to give a statement. You'll never believe what happened after she dropped me off.” I hesitated to tell my friends about Hilda offering to take me to meet a dangerous character like Switch, but I wanted their support.
”Oh, Martha!” Lucy put down her needle and looked up. ”You've got to be kidding. You've done some harebrained things before, but this is out-and-out lunacy. Please tell me you're not serious.”
”Actually, I won't have to go in alone.” Then I told them about my plan to take Hilda with me and Crusher's offer to back me up with Ed's other biker friends.
Lucy's voice rose a notch. ”This is just getting worse and worse. You're going to ride with a team of bikers? Really?”
Birdie shook her head, eyes wide. ”Lucy's right. You have no business going to such a dangerous place. No. Absolutely not, Martha dear.”
I sat back and sighed. ”Of course I've thought the same thing, but what else can I do? I'm going to see Hilda this afternoon to get an answer. If she says it's safe, then she and I will go in. If she says I should take Crusher, then he'll go in with us. I'll be safe with him and his guys.”
Birdie looked horrified. ”And what do you think Arlo will say to all of this?”
I narrowed my eyes. ”He doesn't have to find out, unless you tell him.”
”We might just be forced to,” Lucy warned.
My friends were taking sides against me. I reached for the cake.
At two that afternoon, I packed my quilt, hoop, and sewing kit in the tote bag. In bygone times in France, a sewing kit was called an etui, p.r.o.nounced ehTWEE. I loved the feeling of that word in my mouth.
”I've got to leave a little early,” I said, standing up.
Lucy stood and put her hands on her hips. ”You're going to meet Hilda, aren't you?”
I didn't answer.
She looked at Birdie. ”You know, for someone who's so intelligent, sometimes this gal can be dumb as a sack of hammers.”
I still didn't answer.
Lucy threw up her hands. ”Okay, okay. We're going with you. We're not letting you out of our sight. Right, Birdie?”
Birdie got up and grabbed her keys.
Without another word, the three of us got in my car and drove to the Boulevard.
I found a parking spot close to Rafi's restaurant. Temperatures were slightly cooler today, in the upper eighties. Hilda sat in her usual place, looking up and down the street. When she spotted me, she gave a little wave. Then she frowned when Lucy and Birdie emerged from the car.
”Hey, Wonder Woman.” Hilda looked at my friends and back at me, still frowning.
”Hi, Hilda. These are my friends Batwoman and Supergirl. They wouldn't let me come alone. They think I'm about to do something stupid.”
She looked from one to the other. ”They know everything?”
”Yes. You can talk freely.” I stepped close so I wouldn't embarra.s.s Hilda in front of the others and slipped her a twenty.
”Okay. I talked to Switch. He said for two hundred bucks he'd give you a name. You want more-you pay more.”
”Will I be safe going to see him down in the wildlife reserve?”
”No. I talked him into meeting you in the little parking area just west of the Burbank Boulevard off-ramp. It's right out in the open under a streetlight, so you should be safe there.” She eyed Birdie and Lucy warily, then turned back to me. ”You'll have to show up by yourself.”
”What time?”
”Ten tonight.”
”You can't go there, Martha dear.” Birdie shook her head. ”Not in the dark. Not alone.”
Hilda pointed her chin. ”He sees Batwoman and Supergirl, and he won't show.”
That didn't sound good. If Lucy and Birdie couldn't come, what chance did I have to be protected by Crusher and his guys? ”Hilda, will you come with me? He knows you, after all.”
”I would, but I got a shelter bed tonight. Doors close at eight. If I'm not inside, I lose the bed and have to sleep rough.”
I swallowed. ”Well, how will I know him?”
”Don't worry. He'll know you. I need your answer now.”
”Okay. Tell him I'll be there.”
”Got it. Whatever you do, stay in the open. Don't let him draw you into the bushes.”
Lucy waited until we were back in my car. ”What! Are you crazy?”
”Don't worry, Lucy. I'll have Crusher watch my back.”
”Dear G.o.d. Do you even know how to get in touch with him?”
Beavers knew exactly how to get in touch with Crusher, but I couldn't let him know my plans. Ed couldn't help me because, as far as I knew, the police were detaining him still. What had Beavers said? Crusher owned a motorcycle repair shop in Reseda, not far from the police station. I'd search for the address on Google.
I tried to look brave. ”It's all good, Lucy. As soon as I get home, I'm calling Crusher. I've got everything under control.”
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