Skin Deep

zone. Then we came here and fooled around for a couple of hours. Then we went to sleep. Period. Why? What's so bad?'

'What time did you drop Amber off?'

'Ten, ten-thirty, eleven. Early, you know?'

'What time did you get to Toby's?'

'I don't know, about eleven, eleven-thirty. Maybe twelve.'

'Any phone calls?'

'Oh, come on,' she said. 'It never stops.'

'Did he answer any of them?'

'Not until now.'

'You've been with Toby the whole evening?'

'Sure.'

'You're willing to swear to that?'

'What do you mean, swear? Swear to who?'

'So you weren't together all the time?'

'Pretty much. He left me at the restaurant for about half an hour to score a couple of loads. That's all.'

'Did he find any?'

'Sure. They were super, the best I've had in a week, real pharmies, not street shit. We're still rolling.'

'What time did he leave to get them?'

'Who knows? Nine-thirty, probably. Listen, Charlie, that's enough from me. I want to know what's going on.'

'So nine-thirty to ten or so. That's the only time he wasn't with you. And Amber was with you then.'

'I just said so.'

'No,' I said. 'You said probably.'

'What do you think?' she said. 'You think I've got a digital watch tattooed on my arm? You think I'm Big Ben? What is this shit, anyway?'

'Let me talk to Toby.'

'First tell me what's happening.'

'Just give him the phone.'

There was a pause. 'You creep,' she finally said. She dropped the phone deafeningly onto a hard surface. After a moment, I heard Toby's voice.

'I'm not really crazy about this, champ,' he said. 'I've just been sitting here at home, you know, lighting candles and burning incense and having a little private fun, and suddenly you're acting like Norman in one of his moods.'

'Amber's dead,' I said. 'She's been beaten to death. Guess who suspect number one is.'

Toby covered the mouthpiece with his hand and said something muffled. I could hear Saffron's voice, but I couldn't make out the words. Behind me, leaning against the far stage, Nana was crying.

'Where are you?' Toby asked.

'At the Spice Rack. She's laid out on one of the stages.'

'I'm with Saffron,' Toby said quickly. 'You know I'm with Saffron. We've been together the whole evening.' He covered the phone again and said something else. 'What do you mean, beaten to death?'

'I mean, for example, that her nose was broken. I mean that all her fingers have been snapped backward. In about thirty places. Toby, she looks like something junior sadists look at to earn their merit badges.'

'You don't really think I could have done that.'

'Compared to some of the things I think you could do, this is a Valentine's Day card.'

'He did it,' Nana said loudly. She had gotten as far away as possible by now, and her back was pressed against one of the glittering, blood-colored walls. Her slender back was mirrored behind her. 'I know he did it.'

'I heard that,' Toby said. 'That's my old buddy Nana. Nice to know what people really think of you.'

'Great,' I said. 'You're agonizing over your self-image. Amber's been pounded into paste and you're worried about what people think of you.'

'Don't get dramatic,' Toby said. 'I know it's terrible, but I've been here, old buddy. I've been with Saffron since we dropped Amber off. What do you want from me, blood?'

'No. We've got enough of that right here.'

'She's really dead?' His voice finally sounded a little thinner. The fear was beginning to float to the surface, and he couldn't keep it down, not even with his actor's training. 'She didn't just OD?'

'Sure she did,' I said. 'She OD'd on her own fists. Just before she broke all her own fingers.' I realized I'd turned to stare at Amber again, and I tore my gaze away from her, swiveling my whole body to the left. I tried to focus on the wall in front of me. On it someone had written in pencil THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE GARDEN OF EDEN IS BETWEEN A WOMAN'S LEGS. THE BAD NEWS IS THAT YOU CAN'T GET IN.

Toby breathed heavily once or twice. 'Jesus. So what do you want me to say?'

'Right now, nothing. Not to anyone.'

'But you're not going to mention my name to the cops.'

'Maybe you can explain to me how I'm supposed to do that. Especially since everyone working here saw you leave with Amber.'

'Nobody saw me. Nobody except Tiny, and he won't say nothing,' he insisted, his grammar slipping a notch. 'Hell, Simeon, I'm more than an hour from there, even the way I drive. You want to talk to Saffron again? She'll tell you, we've been here all night.'

'I'll talk to her later,' I said. 'Now I've got to call the cops.' The prospect was not an exhilarating one, but part of me was still capable of doing mathematics, and the math came out more or less in Toby's favor. One hour, I thought. One to two hours ago, Amber had been alive, or whatever imitation of alive Amber had been doing.

'Toby,' I said, 'you'd better treat Saffron like a queen. She's the only thing between you and no more fan club, as far as I can see. Not to mention jail. You know how popular you'd be in jail, Toby? You know what a little delicacy you'd be in prison? You'd have to tie the soap to your wrist so you wouldn't drop it.'

'I'm treating her fine,' Toby said a little shakily. 'Saffron.' I heard him snap his fingers. 'Saffron. Any complaints?'

An electronic version of a contented murmur insinuated itself into my ear. Saffron didn't sound too torn up about Amber.

'Okay,' I said. 'You're out of it, at least for the moment. I'm going to hang up and call the cops now. But Toby, this is important. If I'm not going to mention you tonight, you've got to promise me. You're not going anywhere tomorrow, you're not going to take Saffron home, you're not going to go to the bathroom alone, you're not going to do anything by yourself before you call me. Otherwise, you're on your own. You're under house arrest, understand?'

'I'm a suspect,' he said dully.

'You're the suspect,' I said. 'Sleep on that.' He was talking, but I hung up.

My arm ached as if the receiver had weighed fifty pounds. I put one hand on the sticky surface of the bar to steady myself and then turned around.

'Nana,' I said, 'do you trust your buddy Saffron?'

'It depends,' she said in a low voice, 'on whether I can see her or not.'

'Well, great. That's just great.'

The phone started to ring. 'Toby knows this number?' She nodded. It rang again.

'Well, shit,' I said, 'let him sweat.'

Nana's lower lip was trembling. 'Poor baby,' she said. 'Poor little junked-out baby. She had so much bad luck.'

'Whatever it's worth, that's over now.' The phone kept ringing.

An enormous tear rolled down Nana's cheek. Another followed. She didn't bother to wipe them away. Her hands were still behind her. The tears dropped from her chin and left long dark tracks down the front of her blouse. She lowered her head. 'That bastard,' she said. 'And you're going to protect him.'

'Nana.' She sniffled, childlike, but she didn't respond. 'Come here. Come here, please.'

She looked at me, but she still didn't move. The phone finally shut up, and I went to her, stepping wide