‘Don’t give me any of your ‘I see’ bullshit. If I tell you she can see the future, she can see the future, all right?’ Her voice had risen to just below a scream.
‘All right.’
‘And she was getting these vibes about Jimmy. She didn’t want to tell him because that would just freak him out. Jimmy is very sensitive.’
‘When’s the last time you saw Jimmy?’
‘Two nights ago. If it’s any of your business.’ She crossed her legs. Then uncrossed them. Then crossed them again. ‘What the hell are you staring at?’
‘You. I just want to make sure you’re all right.’
‘Oh, I see. Maybe you want to come over here and sit next to me. Maybe slide your arm around me. Maybe grab a cheap feel. Something like that?’
‘I like women a little older.’
‘What, eighty or ninety?’
‘That’s a nice range.’
She sort of flounced in place. Then threw her head back and stared at the ceiling. She had a classic neck. ‘He’s dead; Jimmy’s dead. Jimmy’s fucking dead. No way I can believe this.’ Her head snapped back into its normal position and she glared at me. ‘You’re not making this up, are you?’
‘Why would I make it up?’
‘Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because I walk in here and find you doing God-knows-what to his apartment. How do I know you’re not some robber?’
‘Exactly what would I take from this place? His Captain America poster?’
‘You making fun of Jimmy, you bastard?’
‘No. I’m just pointing out that there isn’t anything in here that would have much resale value.’ Then: ‘How old are you?’
‘Not old enough to interest you. Thank God.’
‘C’mon. How old?’
‘Nineteen. Wanna see my license?’
‘Yeah.’
She flung her purse at me. I opened it and lifted her wallet free. The license read Jennifer Kelly Conners. Her Goth photo was ominous. She had to have worked hard to get it that way. Her age was listed as nineteen. I dropped wallet back into purse and sent purse sailing through the air to couch.
‘Jimmy keep any liquor here?’
‘You gonna drink his booze?’
‘I’m not. You are. So where is it?’
‘There’s beer in the fridge and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s black in the cupboard. I gave it to him for his birthday but he hasn’t ever opened it. He likes beer.’
I found the Jack and poured a shot into a Transformers glass that was a promotional item when the second film came out. I brought the glass to her then took the tattered armchair across from her.
‘You think this is going to make me tell you all his secrets?’
‘Something like that.’
‘Well, you’d have to do a hell of a lot better than this.’ To prove it she knocked it off in a single gulp.
‘I’m impressed.’
‘Screw you.’
‘So what were Jimmy’s secrets?’
She had a wild, somewhat deranged laugh. ‘God, you’re too much of a dork to be a robber.’
‘Thank you. By the way, why did you borrow Pierce’s key and come in here?’
‘Because I used to have a key of my own but I lost it in some club. Jimmy loved to come home and find me waiting for him. And anyway, who the hell are you?’
I explained why I was in town and that I was supposed to have met Jimmy tonight for dinner. Then I gussied up the reason for the dinner. ‘He said there was something he needed to tell me. Something he was worried about. My impression was that he was afraid about something.’
She dropped her cigarette into the glass I’d given her. The fiery end of it sizzled. ‘If you’re asking me what he was afraid of I couldn’t tell you.’
‘But you knew he was afraid.’
‘I suppose I did.’
‘Did he ever give you a clue about anything?’
She rolled the glass back and forth in her black-nailed fingers. ‘He said he was going to have enough money to take off to Europe and maybe get lost over there. Which pissed me off.’
‘Why would that piss you off?’
‘Hello — have you been listening to me? We were supposed to be collaborators. How could we be collaborators if he was in Europe?’
‘I see.’
‘I also pointed out to him that every time he talked about the money he’d get real nervous. His voice would go up an octave. And sometimes he’d stutter a few words. It was kind of pathetic. I said, what’s the point of getting all this money if you’re so scared of it?’
‘Was your relationship strictly platonic?’
‘Wow. A voyeur. I’ve got some dirty pictures if you want to see them.’
I sat there, silent.
‘Yes, we slept together. He got drunk one night and told me that he’d only had sex three times in his life before me. At his age. Wow. But I brought him along. I taught him a lot of things. And he taught me things, too. He was real smart, unlike the dweebs I usually sleep with. And he was real sweet. Until lately. He was really bummed about something. Maybe about the money or something. He didn’t even cheer up when I bought him that Captain America jacket two weeks ago.’ She wasn’t the type to sob but tears silvered her eyes now and her voice shook. ‘And I come up here and you tell me he’s dead.’
‘I’m sorry I had to tell you.’
‘Yeah, I know, everybody’s always sorry about everything.’ She wiped her tears with her knuckles. ‘But sorry isn’t gonna bring him back.’
‘So he never mentioned any enemies or anything like that?’
That wild laugh again. Unnerving in this situation. Maybe any situation. It hinted at the same kind of estrangement I was sure Jim Waters had lived with. There was nothing merry about the laugh. It was pure pain.
‘Jimmy have enemies? Twenty-seven-year-olds with Captain America posters on their walls don’t have enemies unless they’re into video games.’
‘Good point.’
She must have appreciated my smile because she smiled right back. ‘Actually, I’m the video gamer. Jimmy didn’t like them. He said they stressed him out. He was always talking about finding a place where he could be real peaceful. That’s part of what our book was going to be about. This warrior roaming this planet looking for a place where he could lay down his arms. And just be kind of gentle the rest of his life.’
I stood up and punched in the number of headquarters. Kathy answered. ‘Is the man there yet?’ She said no. ‘Tell him I’d like to see him tonight. Tell him where my room is.’ She told me this sounded like an order. ‘It probably is.’
Jenny smiled; a kid smile. ‘That was pretty cool. It was like code. I don’t have any idea who you were talking to. Or what you were talking about. You must be a superspy.’
‘Something like that. C’mon, we need to get out of here. Unless you want to talk to the police.’
She was up from her seat and slinging her purse over her shoulder.
‘Have you told me everything?’
She was bold, even brazen, but she wasn’t particularly good at making her eyes say what her voice said. ‘Sure.’
‘I don’t believe you.’
