“Fine, thank you.”
“Tyler?” his mother called from the far end of the hall.
“I’m here, Mama,” he bellowed.
“Whoa, who’s doing all the yelling?” My neighbor Suzie strolled up carrying a large white plastic trash bag. “Yo, Brooklyn, howzit?”
“Hi, Suzie,” I said. “Have you met Tyler?”
“Hey, munchkin,” Suzie said, grinning at the boy. “Are you our new neighbor?”
“Yes, sir,” Tyler whispered. He stared in fascination at Suzie, whose fashion choice today was a sleeveless black leather shirt with matching bell bottoms and spike-toed boots. Her white blond hair was short and spiked, and she wore at least ten different earrings and studs in her ears. Happily, none of her other parts were pierced. At least, none that showed. She looked like a scary but sexy lesbian chain-saw artist, which was exactly what she was.
Tyler’s mom came jogging around the bend. “Tyler, I called you to-Oh, hello.”
“Hi, Mama,” Tyler said. “This is our new neighbor.”
“Good morning, Lisa,” I said. “Have you met Suzie Stein? She has the place closest to the elevator on the east side of the building.”
Lisa bowed. “How do you do?”
“I’m dandy,” Suzie said. “I think you met my better half yesterday. Vinnie.”
Lisa cocked her head. “I met Vinnie. She is half of you?”
Suzie chuckled. “No, she’s my better half. That’s a kind of silly way of saying we’re a couple.”
“Ah. She is your roommate.”
“That’s another way to say it.”
“I am still have problems with some colloquialisms.”
“You’re doing great. Where in China are you from?”
“My mother is American. She moved to China and met my father. I was born and raised in Beijing. That’s where I met my husband.” She laughed. “My mother lives back here now and would love to rid me of my Chinese accent.”
“It’s charming,” I assured her.
She went on to explain that her husband was a diplomat and they had moved here because of his new job with the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. His last assignment had been at the embassy in Khartoum for five years. The whole family had been taking English-immersion classes for the past three years in anticipation of her husband obtaining the San Francisco assignment.
“Sudan, huh?” Suzie said, chuckling. “Guess he earned this plum gig after all your time there.”
“Naturally, we are happy with whatever assignment he is given.”
“Of course,” Suzie said lightly, but one of her eyebrows shot up and she sneaked a glance at me.
Lisa looked down at Tyler. “You must go pick out a book to bring with you to the doctor’s office.”
“Okay, Mama,” he said, and ran down the hall and disappeared around the corner.
“Hey, speaking of books,” Suzie said, anxious to change the subject, “Brooklyn here is a bookbinder, so if you have any books that need mending, she’s your gal.”
“You mend books for fun?” Lisa said.
“Occasionally for fun, but mainly for money. It’s my job. I repair and restore rare books. I also make new ones.”
“She teaches classes-that’s how good she is,” Suzie said, sounding like a proud parent. “You should see her studio. It’s amazing.”
“Everyone on our floor is creative,” I demurred. “Suzie and Vinnie are sculptors. Sergio is a chef. Jeremy is a hairdresser.”
“My goodness, so much talent,” Lisa said, then rolled her eyes as her children came laughing and running down the hall to find her. They gathered around her and Lisa pulled them closer. With a sigh, she said, “These little monsters are my works of art.”
“Oh, that’s sweet,” Suzie said.
“I brought my book.” Tyler held up a worn copy of Where the Wild Things Are.
“You have read that book over one hundred times,” Lisa said.
“I like it.” His grin faltered as the front cover separated and fell to the ground.
“It is falling apart,” she said, then looked at me. “Do you repair these kinds of books?”
“I’ll be glad to fix it for Tyler.”
“Oh, dear, that was rude,” Lisa said, waving away her comment. “It’s not worth your time. I can buy another copy for ten or twelve dollars.”
Tyler seemed not to have heard as he gazed up at me with a rapturous smile. “You can fix my book?”
I laughed. “Yes, I can fix it.”
Lisa shook her head. “We can talk about it later. We are going to our new doctor for checkups.” She urged the children toward the elevator. “Good-bye, Brooklyn. It was nice to meet you, Suzie.”
“Have fun, y’all,” Suzie said.
Tyler walked backward all the way to the elevator, his gaze trained on me the entire time. “Bye, Miss Brooklyn.”
As the elevator door lumbered to a close and the family disappeared, Suzie chuckled. “Wow, kid’s got a crush on you.”
“I’m not sure why,” I said.
“It’s cute.” Then she grimaced. “Guess I stuck my foot in it with the Sudan comment.”
“Don’t sweat it,” I said, as we headed back toward her place. “She probably has to be discreet. Doesn’t mean we have to be.”
“Right on, chiquita.” She slapped my shoulder in solidarity. “Listen, I’m glad I ran into you. Splinters has been sick, so we’ve got him on some medication.”
“I’m sorry. Is he going to be okay?”
“Yeah, no worries, but the vet says we should separate Pookie from him while he’s on the medication. So we were wondering if you’d mind keeping Pookie for the next ten days or so. I know it’s a lot to ask, but we know you love the cats as much as we do, and we’ll come by every day and feed her and stuff.”
“Are you kidding? I’d love to have Pookie stay with me.” It was true, despite the fact that I was the world’s worst pet sitter. But everyone deserved a second chance, right? And it wouldn’t be for very long. I was pretty sure I could keep one cat alive for a week and a half, especially if Suzie and Vinnie came by to feed her every day.
“Thanks, pal,” Suzie said, and pounded my arm. “I’ll let Vinnie know it’s a go. I’ll bring Pookie and her stuff by in a little while. She’ll be ecstatic.”
My smile was tremulous. “Me, too.”
It was two o’clock before inspectors Lee and Jaglom finally came by. Suzie had dropped off Pookie and her paraphernalia a while earlier, and the cat had already glommed onto Robin. When she lay down on the couch to take a nap, Pookie curled up next to her.
I was glad to see Robin drop off to sleep so easily despite being frightened out of her mind. She hadn’t slept well the night before, and I would’ve offered to get up and keep her company, but once I fall asleep, I tend to sleep soundly. My dad always claimed I slept like a dead tree, which sounds appalling, but Dad is an outdoor kind of guy. To him, a dead tree is a thing of beauty. That’s the story he fed me, anyway.
As he’d promised, Derek returned home a few minutes after the cops arrived and I breathed a silent sigh of relief. Despite my best intentions, I’d been anxious to have him be present while the police were here. I simply wasn’t at the top of my game this time around, probably because it was Robin who was the chief suspect. The situation shook me, and I found myself depending on Derek to run interference. He didn’t seem to mind at all, but my dependence on him was starting to annoy me. Damsels in distress could get boring really fast.
I offered the inspectors coffee and they both accepted, so everyone hung out around the kitchen bar while the coffee brewed.
“Derek thought you might be handing the case over to the Department of Homeland Security,” I said.
“I may have spoken too soon,” Lee admitted. “Our guy might not have been here illegally, like the feds first thought. According to Ms. Tully here, he attended school at Berkeley, so he might’ve been in the U.S. ever since. We’re still checking records. Depending on his status, we may keep the case or we may have to pass it along.”