It was a heavy breathing not more than a few steps away.
She backed away, tripped over the side of the casket and fell inside.
20
When Sean Waterfield disappeared into a meeting, Waverly wasn’t quite sure what to do. They were supposed to go out to dinner tonight but hadn’t discussed the time or place, no doubt because he planned on her being around the rest of the afternoon. She almost headed for the elevator but instead took a seat at the reception desk.
Ten seconds later the door swung open and an out-of-breath librarian-type walked over.
“I’m Evelyn from the temp agency,” she said. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”
Waverly’s heart sank.
She was busted.
Then she said, “You’re late.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“They didn’t think you were coming. They got me.”
Silence.
“For tomorrow too?”
“For all week, as far as I know.”
“What agency are you with?”
“That’s not important,” Waverly said. “What’s important is that they have more than one temp agency in their phonebook. Be on time next time, that’s my advice.”
The woman left.
The phone rang.
The caller wanted Bobby Baxter.
The phone had transfer buttons 1 to 10 but none were labeled.
“Do you know what extension he is?”
No.
He didn’t.
“Just give me a minute.”
She asked around until she found him, back in a corner with a drafting pad working on some kind of mathematical or engineering calculation. He had a mean, square face and narrow caveman eyes. “Put him through on line 2,” he said. His mouth smiled and his voice was calm, but he scared her. There was something behind his eyes that he didn’t want anyone to see. She didn’t know what it was but it was definitely something.
An hour passed.
People came and had her do things.
One of the men, a young man named Aaron Gull, sat on the corner of the desk and hit on her for ten minutes. In another time and place she might have been interested.
Another hour passed.
Then Sean Waterfield appeared.
He looked battered but happy, as if he’d been in a fistfight and won.
“I had a meeting with two of the partners and convinced them to throw away the mold and approach the project from a modern perspective,” he said. “We had a conference call with the client. At first they were reluctant but then they came around. They gave us the go ahead to come up with something fresh and present it to them for consideration. They’re going to pay us for all work done no matter which way they eventually decide to go. Now my job is to come up with something they can’t say no to.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I don’t have a clue,” he said. “All I know is that I’m excited as all hell. Help me think about it. We’ll discuss it over dinner.”
Okay.
Fine.
He looked at his watch.
“I have to go and I’ll be gone the rest of the day,” he said. “Why don’t we say seven o’clock?”
She nodded.
Perfect.
“Where do I pick you up?”
She hesitated.
Then she told him.
She was staying with a friend in Chinatown. He could pick her up in front of the Green Dragon Oriental Massage. “Have you ever been there?”
He diverted his eyes and was about to deny it. The words that came out of his mouth though were, “Not recently.”
21
Unless there was something he was missing, River didn’t see January James, the biker woman, as wanting to kill him. She was more like someone who’d been kicked around for a long time and just didn’t want to be kicked anymore. He took her home, showed her where the shower was and threw her clothes in the washer. Then he drove the Indian over to the department store and did a little shopping.
When he got back, the woman was sitting on a rail with a towel wrapped around her.
Gone was the road grime.
Gone were the tangles in her hair.
Gone was the bandana.
Soft hair blew over her face and she didn’t brush it away.
River handed her two May D amp;F bags and said, “I got you some things.”
The words surprised her.
She looked inside, pulled out a pair of shorts and checked the size, which was right. Next came out a pair of jeans, two tank tops, two T-shirts and five button-down blouses. Under all that were a half dozen pair of panties and bras.
She checked the bra size-34C.
“I think you gave me a little more credit than I deserve.”
“I took my best shot.”
She dropped the towel into her lap.
Bouncy breasts came into view, one with the tattoo of a rose on the cleavage side. She paid no attention to River and put the bra on. It was too big but not by much. She tightened the straps.
There.
