with a smug smile, then tucked her pad into her apron and sashayed back to the kitchen.
Chapter 21
Outside, the weather had shifted to cold and drizzling. The lampposts burned an eerie, sallow color that did little against the thick fog brewing along the streets. I hurried out of Blind Joe's, grateful I'd looked at the weather forecast earlier and brought my umbrella. As I passed storefront windows, I saw crowds gathering in the bars.
I was a few blocks from the bus stop when the now familiar icy feeling kissed the back of my neck. I'd felt it the night I was sure someone looked in my bedroom window, at Delphic, and again right before Vee walked out of Victoria's Secret wearing my jacket. I bent down, pretended to tie my shoelace, and cast a surreptitious glance around. The sidewalks on both sides of the street were empty.
The crosswalk light changed, and I stepped off the curb. Moving faster, I tucked my handbag under my arm and hoped the bus was on time. I cut through an alley behind a bar, slipped past a huddle of smokers, and came out on the next street over. Jogging up a block, I veered down another alley and circled back around the block. Every few seconds I checked behind me.
I heard the rumble of the bus, and a moment later it rounded the corner, materializing out of the fog. It slowed against the curb and I climbed aboard, heading home. I was the only passenger.
Taking a seat several rows behind the driver, I slouched to keep out of sight. He jerked the lever to close the doors, and the bus roared down the street. I was on the verge of offering a sigh of relief when I received a text message from Vee.
WHERE U AT?
PORTLAND, I TEXTED BACK. YOU?
ME 2. AT A PARTY WITH JULES AND ELLIOT. LET'S MEET UP.
WHY ARE YOU IN PORTLAND?!
I didn't wait for her answer; I dialed her directly. Talking was faster. And this was urgent.
'Well? What say you?' Vee asked. 'Are you in the partying mood?'
'Does your mom know you're at a party in Portland with two guys?'
'You're starting to sound neurotic, babe.'
'I can't believe you came to Portland with Elliot!' I had a sinking thought. 'Does he know you're on the phone with me?'
'So he can come kill you? No, sorry. He and Jules ran to Kinghorn to pick up something, and I'm chilling solo. I could use a wing woman. Hey!' Vee shouted into the background. 'Hands off, okay? O-F-F. Nora? I'm not exactly in the greatest area. Time is of the essence.'
'Where are you?'
'Hang on… okay, the building across the street says one-seven-two-seven. The street is Highsmith, I'm pretty sure.'
'I'll be there as soon as I can. But I'm not staying. I'm going home, and you're coming with me. Stop the bus!' I called to the driver.
He applied the brakes, and I was thrown against the seat in front of me.
'Can you tell me which way to Highsmith?' I asked him once I'd made it to the top of the aisle.
He pointed out the windows paneling the right side of the bus. 'West of here. You planning to go on foot?' He surveyed me up and down. ''Cause I should warn you, it's a rough neighborhood.'
Great.
I had to walk only a few blocks before I knew the bus driver had been right to warn me. The scenery changed drastically. The quaint storefronts were replaced by buildings spray-painted with gang graffiti. The windows were dark, barred up with iron. The sidewalks were desolate paths stretching into the fog.
A slow, rattling noise drifted through the fog, and a woman pushing a cart of garbage bags wheeled into view. Her eyes were raisins, beady and dark, and they twitched their way over me in almost predatory evaluation.
'What we got here?' she said through a gape of missing teeth.
I drew a discreet step back and clutched my handbag against me.
'Looks like a coat, mittens, and a pretty wool hat,' she said. 'Always wanted me a pretty wool hat.' She pronounced the word prit-ee.
'Hello,' I said, clearing my throat and trying to sound friendly. 'Can you please tell me how much farther to Highsmith Street?'
She cackled.
'A bus driver pointed me in this direction,' I said with less confidence.
'He told you Highsmith is this way?' she said, sounding irritated. 'I know the way to Highsmith, and this ain't it.'
I waited, but she didn't elaborate. 'Do you think you could give me directions?' I asked.
'I got directions.' She tapped her head with a finger that strongly resembled a twisted, knotted twig. 'Keep everything up here, I do.'
'Which way is Highsmith?' I encouraged.
'But I can't tell you for free,' she said in a chiding tone. 'That's gonna cost you. A girl has to make a living. Nobody ever tell you ain't nothing in life free?'
'I don't have any money.' Not much, anyway. Only enough for a bus fare home.
'You got a nice warm coat.'
I looked down at my quilted coat. A chilly wind ruffled my hair, and the thought of peeling my coat off sent a flush of goose bumps down my arms. 'I just got this coat for Christmas.'
'I'm freezing my derriere off out here,' she snapped. 'You want directions or not?'
I couldn't believe I was standing here. I couldn't believe I was bartering my coat with a homeless woman. Vee was so far in debt to me she might never get out.
I shucked off my coat and watched her zip into it.
My breath came out like smoke. I hugged myself and stamped my feet, conserving body heat. 'Can you please tell me the way to Highsmith now?'
'You want the long way, or the short way?'
'Sh-short,' I chattered.
'That's gonna cost you too. Short way's got an additional fee attached. Like I said, always wanted me a pretty wool hat.'
I tugged the pink and white beanie off my head. 'Highsmith?' I asked, trying to hold on to the friendly tone as I passed it over.
'See that alley?' she said, pointing behind me. I turned. The alley was a half block back. 'You take it, you come out on Highsmith on the other side.'
'That's it?' I said incredulously. 'One block over?'
'Good news is, you got a short walk. Bad news is, ain't no walk feel short in this weather. 'Course, I'm nice and warm now I got me a coat and a pretty hat. Give me those mittens, and I'll walk you there myself.'
I looked down at the mittens. At least my hands were warm. 'I'll manage.'
She shrugged and wheeled her cart to the next corner, where she took up a post against the bricks.
The alley was dark and cluttered with trash bins, water-stained cardboard boxes, and an unrecognizable hump that may have been a discarded water heater. Then again, it just as easily could have been a rug with a body rolled inside. A high chain-link fence spanned the alley halfway down. I could hardly climb a four-foot fence on a good day, let alone a ten-foot one. Brick buildings flanked me on both sides. All the windows were greased over and barred.
Stepping over crates and sacks of trash, I picked my way down the alley. Broken glass crunched beneath my shoes. A flash of white darted between my legs, stealing my breath. A cat. Just a cat, vanishing into the darkness
