I feigned shock. “Do you mean to tell me there’s an actual spider inside?”
Ally David’s eyes skirted the room. She gave the waitress a tight smile, and the two of them exchanged a female look, as if my comment confirmed some sort of conclusion they’d already drawn about me. Ally said, “Perhaps I should translate.”
“Please do,” I said.
“The spider roll is composed of tempura soft-shell crab,” she said.
“Composed,” I said.
“That’s right.”
I may have detected a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Ally wasn’t finished with me. “Spider is the name of the roll,” she said, “and nothing more.” Then, as if she couldn’t stop herself, she added, “Why would you even think such a thing?”
I shrugged. “Eel is eel, right? And tuna is tuna, yes?”
Ally David looked at her watch. “I don’t mean to be brusque, but I’ve got a one o’clock and it’s already twelve fifteen. You wanted to talk to me about Ken Chapman?” she said.
“I did.”
I was not insensitive to the fact that our waitress continued to wait patiently for my order. “I’ll have …” I briefly looked through the menu again.
“Anytime today would be nice,” Ally said.
“I think I’ll try … the spider roll,” I said.
“For the love of God,” Ally said.
“Very, very hot,” our waitress warned. “Not recommend,” she said.
“But it’s on the menu,” I said. “So people must order it.”
“Yes, yes,” she said. She pointed to a large man sitting alone at the sushi bar. “He already order. I bring to him very soon.”
I smiled. “Then I’m sure it will be fine,” I said.
She nodded and sprinted away to place the order.
“Are you always this …”Ally searched for a word, gave up, and tried again. “Could you possibly be this
I shrugged and looked at her but she lowered her eyes and pretended to be intrigued by the place setting. I spoke to fill the silence. “Did you and Chapman date before his divorce became final?”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “No. Ken was legally separated when we met.”
There were delicate white china cups in front of us, and black lacquer soup bowls. I picked up my cup and tilted it so I could see if it said “Made in China” on the bottom. It didn’t.
“How long did you guys date?” I asked.
Ally looked up from the place setting to stare at me. “Can you tell me again what my dating Ken has to do with national security?”
“Like I said on the phone, we’re just building a profile,” I said. “Mr. Chapman is currently engaged to a woman whose former husband was a CIA operative.”
Ally made her eyes big and lowered her voice to an exaggerated whisper. “Is that against the law?” she asked. She rolled her big eyes at me the way my daughter Kimberly does. Only instead of being exasperated, Ally was mocking me.
“Against the law? Not in and of itself,” I said, sounding pathetic even to me.
“And yet,” she said, “simply by dating me and becoming engaged to another woman, Ken has managed to become a threat to national security! Perhaps I ought to call Senator Byrd’s office to sound the alert.”
This wasn’t going the way I’d envisioned. She was trying for smug and achieving it. She was also smarter than me, and I hate when that happens. There was but one thing to do: seize the initiative. I played the trump card God provided: I stared directly into her cleavage.
“During the time you dated Ken Chapman,” I said to her boobs, “did he ever beat you?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Of course I’m sure!”
“But you’re aware of his history, yes?”
She sighed. “I’m up here, perv.”
I reluctantly lifted my focus to her face, and Ally said, “Ken told me about Kathleen’s claims of abuse shortly after we started dating.”
“And?”
“And he explained what happened.”
I waited.
