'I think you can tell that we are serious people, Strachey.'
'No, I can't tell that at all. Rude presumption is not the same as seriousness. May I ask who is calling, please?'
'We'll be in touch tomorrow about the delivery. We just want you to know that we know you got it. Keep yourself available and do not leave Albany.'
'Mr. Strachey isn't here. This is the chimney sweep. If you'd like to leave your name and number-' Click.
With two fingers I shoved the receiver toward its cradle and it rattled down into it.
'I sense that you are suddenly preoccupied. Who was that?'
'He didn't say. It was a man with a handkerchief over his mouth, or a large tablecloth. He said I have something that doesn't belong to me.'
'What is it?'
'He didn't mention that either.'
'Public libraries are starting to crack down. Do you have a book overdue?'
'He said I could see that he was a serious person. People'-he said
'serious people.' And he'd be in touch about the delivery.'
'Floral?'
'No, I think I'm the deliverer. Of this thing I have that doesn't belong to me.
He had a hard voice-nasty, even through the hankie.'
'Hell, then give it to him.'
'I haven't got it. I think I haven't.' I extricated myself and reached for an imaginary cigarette.
'Maybe this has something to do with Jack Lenihan. Are you going to call Bowman?'
I struck an imaginary match and took a deep drag. 'In the morning. Ned’s unconscious at this hour.'
He straightened out the covers, looking solemn. 'This thing you're supposed to have-maybe it's what Jack Lenihan was killed for.'
'That passed through my mind.'
'Are you still interested in Guadeloupe? We could drive down to Kennedy and be there in time for an early morning flight, be on the beach by noon.'
'No, now I'm curious.'
'Nnn.'
'Look, let me spend a few days clearing up this obvious misunderstanding, and then it'll be the weekend and we can get the hell off this ice floe for a couple of weeks-fly away and really thaw out. Were you serious about that?'
A little silence. Then: 'I guess not. I can't now. Not while the legislature's in session. You know that.'
I stared over at him for a few seconds, and then I physically assaulted him.
He fought back, in his way, and I didn't mind. Hudson Valley winters were not a total loss.
THREE
The schools were closed, the Capitol and state offices shut down. Eighteen inches of new snow had fallen overnight on top of the foot that had dropped the night before. WGY described a front that had stalled unexpectedly. I called them up and said it certainly hadn't surprised me, and they thanked me for my interest. While Timmy fixed his Wheatena I ran my three eggs through the blender with a pint of orange juice. Each of us found the other's early morning culinary habits nauseating, so we stayed on separate sides of the kitchen.
I phoned Ned Bowman at Division 2 headquarters, where he'd just come in.
'What have you come up with on Jack Lenihan's death?'
'No, no, Strachey, I'm the police officer, you're the material witness. I want you in my office at one P.M. promptly. I want to run over this thing with you one more time at least. Lenihan was one of yours, you know, which gets me to thinking. Oh yes, he was definitely one of yours.'
'I'm childless, so far as I know. Briget, my ex, liked to confide in me, in spite of everything, and she would have mentioned that.'
'You know what I mean, damn well you do. You met Lenihan at some swish tea party last summer at Mr. Herbert Brinkman's house in Niskayuna. You knew the body was Lenihan's last night, but you didn't mention it to me, and I demand to know why. One o'clock, on the dot.'
'You're wrong about my recognizing Lenihan, but otherwise, Ned, you've been quick and you've been thorough. This is unprecedented and I'm impressed. Is there anything from the medical examiner yet?'
'No, except that Lenihan is certifiably dead. Fucking geniuses look at a six-foot icicle and say, 'That man will never bowl again.' I'll get a report later today that might have a little more in it to go on.'
'Has Warren Slonski been notified? He's Lenihan's lover, or was as of last summer-which, incidentally, was the first and last time I ever saw Lenihan.'
'You mean has Slonski been questioned, and the answer is yes. I caught him early before he left for work this morning. Of course, he'd already heard about it on the media, he says. Sort of a stuck-up prick, this Slonski-Mr. Pretty Boy. He claims he hasn't seen Lenihan since Christmas, but I'll be checking that out. He was not what I would call entirely cooperative.'
Bowman's idea of 'entirely cooperative' was a man who brought along a certified stenographer to take down his own confession. I thought, I should have gotten there first. To break the news in a decent way, to find out what I could before Slonski got turned off by the clubfoot crew, and of course to cast eyes on 'Mr. Pretty Boy.'
I said, 'I received a phone call that might be connected to Lenihan's death.
I'll tell you about it when I see you at one.'
'You'll tell me now.'
'No, it can wait. Are the roads passable? I might need to do some moving around today. When can I get my car back? If the city of Albany wants to lease it for five bills a week that's one thing, but-'
'What do you mean, you got a phone call? This is a criminal-'
'One o'clock.' I hung up. The phone rang fifteen seconds later. 'It's Bowman, but don't answer it. I don't want to talk to him again until I've checked on a couple of things.'
Timmy shrugged and went back to meditating over his Wheatena.
'May I use your car? You're not going to work today. Nobody on the public payroll is.' He nodded. 'Don't answer the phone at all, if you don't mind. I'll call my service and they can pick up there. You deserve a day of peace and quiet. Or are you going out to play with your sled and enjoy winter?'
'I might go for a walk in the park. It'll be really lovely. Want to join me later?'
'Sure, if you'll pull my Flexie-Flyer.'
'Yeah, I'll pull your Flexie-Flyer. Isn't that all we're supposed to do these days?'
'And look-if Hankie-mouth should show up at the house, tell him to leave a message with my service and I'll make myself available later today.'
Despite the Wheatena clogging his veins, his eyes grew alert. 'He might come here? You think so?'
'It's possible, yes.'
'Maybe I'll just walk down to the office and spend the day clearing up a few things. It'll be as quiet there as it is here.'
'Good idea.'
'I'll shovel the walk first.'
'Lift with your arms and not with your back. That's what the radio said.
You're past forty now and might have a heart attack.'
'Nah, I'm twenty-seven. I'll always be twenty-seven.'
I kissed him on the little bald spot on the back of his head and left him to his bowl of mush.
The blizzard had moved off into northern New England, leaving a churning gray sky that still spit occasional teasing showers of snow. Cold sunlight broke through in a few places and I brought my shades along for when the sky cleared and the city turned into a million-watt icecap. Instead of digging out Timmy's car, a white lump, I hiked over toward Central Avenue, crunch-crunch, crunch-crunch.
