“Lily married her cousin?” Sharon asked.
“Well he wasn’t her first cousin. And their kids turned out pretty normal, except for the youngest with the real bad crossed eyes.”
“Go to the office and try to sell a house,” Cate said to Sharon. “Julie and I will try to think of a way for you to meet 2B.”
Sharon was holding four packs of cigarettes. “Are you sure the smoke is a bad idea?”
“Yes,” Cate said. “Bad idea. Selling a house is a good idea.”
Cate and Julie locked arms with Sharon and walked her into the elevator. Cate pushed the lobby button, and when the doors opened Cate and Julie walked Sharon out of the building.
“Go!” Cate said. “Be a realtor.”
“If you want I could take a couple of your cakes and give them to the old folks on the trolley tonight,” Julie said to Cate.
Cate was always caught by surprise when she entered Julie’s apartment. She knew ahead of time what to expect, but the reality of the bare apartment was always shocking.
“I can see you’re surprised,” Julie said, carrying two cakes into the kitchen. “I guess you noticed right away that I got a new piece of furniture.”
The new addition was a fold-up chaise longue with aluminum tubing and plastic webbing. It had taken the lawn chair’s place in front of the television, and the lawn chair was now permanently in front of the window.
Cate followed Julie with more cakes. “You mean the chaise longue?”
“Yeah. We were going down the street in the trolley, and there it was, sitting out next to a Dumpster. So Fred stopped the trolley, and we folded the little devil up, and I took it home. It’s real comfy. I can even recline when I watch television if I want.”
Cate set her cakes on the counter next to Julie’s. “It’s nice of you to take these cakes. I hate to see them without a home.”
“Sorry everything’s such a mess,” Julie said. “I got papers everywhere. I’m not much of an organizer.”
Cate looked at the assortment of pads and loose pages on the counter. They were all filled with writing. “What is this?” Cate asked. “This looks like your handwriting.”
“It’s my observations. It’s what I do all day until trolley time. And sometimes I come home and write at night, except it’s hard on account of I only have one lamp.”
Cate read one of the loose pages. It was about Julie going out on a date and coming home with her panties in her pocket and having them fall out when she was crossing Newbury Street. An elderly man had stopped traffic and retrieved Julie’s panties, and as luck would have it, the party trolley had been first in line for the spectacle. Everyone on the trolley applauded, Julie took a bow and thanked the man who rescued her panties. The next day Julie applied for a job with the trolley and was instantly hired.
Cate read two more pages and thumbed through one of the pads. “Julie, this is good. It’s funny and heartwarming and real. And it sounds just like you. It’s engaging. You should do something with all these pages. Make a book or something.”
“I thought of that,” Julie said, “but I don’t know where to begin. I think I’m good at writing things down but no good at putting them together.”
“I have a lot of free time this week,” Cate said. “I could type these into my computer and print them up for you. Maybe I can help organize.”
“Wow, that would be so great,” Julie said. “But only now when you have free time. I don’t want to take up any time when you got classes. It’s wonderful that you’re gonna be a teacher.”
Cate stacked the pads and looked at the loose pages that were scattered everywhere.
“I have a system,” Julie said, collecting pages. “The crumples are throwaways.”
Pugg was pacing outside the condo building when Cate flew out the door and hit the ground running, late for work.
“Pugg’s been worried about you,” Pugg said. “Pugg read about the dead man in the paper this morning. Shocking news. Pugg is dismayed. Pugg thinks he might have sold the man tires. Steel-belted.”
“Were you out here last night, waiting for me?”
“No. Pugg had to work late last night. Pugg went to the bar, but you weren’t there.”
“I had the night off.”
“Pugg found that out. Pugg went to the condo to see you, but couldn’t get in. Everyone gets in but Pugg. Pugg saw the dead man go in.”
Cate stopped short and stared at Pugg. “What?”
“Pugg saw the dead man go into the building. He got buzzed in. Pugg knows this because there was a picture of him in the paper.”
“Do you know who buzzed him in?”
“No. Pugg was afraid it might have been you.”
“It wasn’t me. Was the man alone?”
“Yes. Pugg saw the man walk down the street. He was definitely alone.”
“Do you remember the time?”
“It was seven thirty. Pugg tried to go in with the man, but Pugg was rebuffed. Pugg thinks the man might have remembered that Pugg jacked the price up a tad on the man’s tires.”
“Do you remember anyone else going into the building?”
“A very beautiful, very tall woman. Looked a little like a giant Judy Garland. If Pugg hadn’t already promised himself to you, Pugg would have pursued her.”
“The giant Judy Garland sounds familiar,” Cate said. “And she’s a man.”
“Pugg is sure you’re mistaken. Pugg came close to growing wood for her. Pugg would be very upset to learn he almost grew wood for a man.”
“Did the woman arrive before the dead man?”
“Yes. She came in a town car, and she had one of those gizmos that opens the door.”
“Did you see her leave?”
“No. Pugg went home after the dead man said he’d call the police on Pugg if Pugg kept trying to get into the building.”
Tending bar can be a lot like driving a car, Cate thought. Without even realizing, sometimes you switch to autopilot, and next thing you know, you’re in your garage, and you can’t remember how you got there. Cate was working on autopilot tonight, moving from one end of the bar to the other, filling orders, making conversation, and the whole time she was reviewing facts about Marty. If he was back in town (and Cate was pretty sure he was) where was he staying and what role did he play in Irwin’s death? And what was the deal with the missing knife?
Cate gave a small squeak of surprise when a hand clamped onto her wrist.
“Earth to Cate,” Kellen said. “You just gave me a glass of Chardonnay. And it’s got two olives in it.”
“Wasn’t thinking.” Cate swapped the wine out for beer. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“Anything you want to share?”
Cate told him about her conversation with Pugg.
“Not a lot of giant Judy Garlands walking around these days,” Kellen said.
“Assuming Marty has returned, what will you do?”
“I’ll stick close to you. You’re living in his condo. He came back once. I’m betting he’ll come back again. And he can’t get in without you. You have the new lock.”
“I thought you had the lock changed for my safety.”
“That too,” Kellen said.
“If Marty is a master thief I’m guessing he’s also good with locks.”
“He’ll have a hard time with this lock. He’ll have to use a computer. And I doubt he has what he’ll need. From what I’ve been able to determine, Marty can open a door, but not a safe. Marty is an opportunist. He looks for a necklace left on the bathroom vanity or a safe left unlocked. It’s one of the reasons he’s survived. He takes things that are available to anyone walking into the room… a waitress with the caterer, a guest, a member of the household staff. And Marty’s hits are spread all over the country, so no one saw a pattern. No one suspected a professional thief.”
