Twenty minutes later, I walked to my car. I felt a sudden chill, and that was when I noticed Minka standing across the street, glaring at me. She held up two fingers, pointed them at her eyes, then pointed them at me, as if to let me know she would be watching me. It gave me the spookiest feeling and reminded me that she was more dangerous than she looked-although she looked pretty lethal. Those fake-leather plastic pants she wore could kill anyone.
I checked my tires before I got into my car. It wouldn’t have been the first time she’d slashed my tires, even though I was never able to prove it was her dirty work. As I drove away, it hit me. Now I remembered who the vicious Galina reminded me of. Minka LaBoeuf.
“That was my mom,” I announced to Robin later that afternoon after hanging up the kitchen telephone. “She insists that I take you up to stay at her place for a few days.”
Robin wandered over and sat on a barstool. The look she flashed me was skeptical, to say the least. “I’m supposed to believe your mom came up with that idea all by herself?”
“Why not? You know she loves you.” I smiled brightly as I continued chopping garlic for a steak marinade recipe I’d stolen from my dad. “Okay, fine. I might’ve suggested that you needed a quiet place to rest and recuperate. Preferably outside of the city. After that, it was all her idea.”
Robin groaned. “I don’t want to burden your poor mom with my problems.”
“My poor mom? You’re kidding, right? She thrives on this kind of stuff. She did such a great job nursing Gabriel back to health that he still shows up for lunch and dinner almost every day.”
“She must love that.”
“You know it.” Scooping up the garlic bits, I tossed them with grated ginger into a heavy-duty plastic bag that held three rib eyes. After pouring healthy doses of olive oil and organic tamari into the bag, I zipped it closed, mushed everything around, and placed it in the fridge to do its thing.
Robin closed her eyes and breathed in the pungent fragrances. “That smells so good.”
“You can’t go wrong with garlic and ginger.”
“You’ve been cooking a lot. You don’t have to, you know. We could do takeout.”
“It’s nice to have people to cook for.” I met her gaze. “And Mom feels the same way. She’d love to have you stay there. It’s just her and Dad in that huge house.”
“I’m not really good company right now, Brooklyn. In this mood I could even depress your mom.”
I shook my head. “Impossible. You know she’s itching to slather her latest concoctions all over your face. Probably whipping them up right now.”
She winced and lifted one hand to her face. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Can’t blame you for that.” I found the bag of lettuce in the fridge and emptied it into the salad bowl, then grabbed a tomato from the vegetable basket. “She said she’s been practicing enchantment spells and wants to try them out on you.”
Robin’s good eye widened. “Oh, God.”
“You know she chanted away my sister Savannah’s acne. Just think what she can do for your lovely bruises.”
“I do long to have skin as clear as your sister’s.”
I chuckled as I chopped the tomato. “Dad says she did a rain dance the other day.”
“Did it rain?”
“Of course.” I sifted through the vegetable bin and pulled out half a cucumber. Before chopping it, I pulled three glasses from the cupboard. “I thought we’d have sparkling water tonight instead of wine. Okay?”
“Good idea,” she said. “I already have a headache, so alcohol would only make it worse.” Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on the bar’s smooth wood surface. “I really hate this. I hate being dependent on you. Or your mom, or Derek, or anybody.”
“I know, but you need to get over that.” I walked around the bar and sat on the stool next to her. “Look, you were just brutally attacked by some nut job with a stellar right hook. The fact is, you may still be in danger.”
“I doubt it.” Her lips tightened. “What the hell did I do to piss off that bitch?”
“You didn’t do anything.” I grabbed hold of her hand. “She’s just nuts. But look, they could release her from jail at any time, and even if they don’t, she might have cohorts watching the place. Remember the black Town Car?”
“I’d forgotten about it.” She grimaced. “Thanks for replanting that scary seed.”
“I’m sorry. But that’s why it can’t hurt to leave the city for a few days. At least while you’re in Dharma, you can get out of the house, take walks, enjoy nature. If you stay here, there’s no way I’ll let you leave the confines of these four walls.”
Her shoulders slumped as she accepted the reality of her situation. “Fine, I’ll go to Dharma. But I’ll drive myself.”
“Not a good idea.”
“I don’t want to be there without my car.”
“I know, and I have the perfect solution.”
“Why am I not surprised that you’ve already got this whole thing planned out?”
“Because I’m a genius. We all recognize that, right?”
She laughed. “Okay, genius. What’s the plan?”
“I drive your car and Derek will follow us there.”
“He won’t want to do that. He’d rather drive up there with you.”
“He’s already offered to follow us. I asked him this morning.” I patted her hand and stood. “Besides, it’s only an hour’s drive. We can survive without breathing each other’s air for sixty minutes.”
She sat back and considered the plan. “Okay, I guess it’s a good idea. Except for the part where you drive my car.” Robin owned a vintage Porsche Speedster. She never allowed anyone but herself to drive it.
I rubbed my hands together. “See, that’s the best part of the plan.”
“No way.”
“No offense, but you’re a little too jumpy to drive. And there’s the small detail of your eye being swollen shut. That’s going to make it hard to focus on the road.”
She harrumphed and flounced for a minute, then gave me a grudging nod. “Fine.”
“Great.” I moved back into the kitchen to start on the cucumber. “It’s settled.”
The doorbell rang and Robin flinched. “Who’s that?”
“I don’t know.” I headed for the front. “Probably Vinnie or Suzie.”
She followed me into the workshop. “Look through the peephole first.”
“I will.”
She moved to my desk and grabbed the phone. “I’m ready to dial nine-one-one.”
“Stop worrying. We would’ve heard the elevator if it was someone from outside the building.” I stared through the peephole but didn’t see anyone. That was weird. Maybe they took off.
“Who’s there?” she whispered.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” I swung the door open.
Robin let out a tiny shriek and brandished the phone receiver above her head.
Six-year-old Tyler blinked in surprise. “Miss Brooklyn, I brought you my book.”
“Hi, Tyler. Please come in.” With a smile, I waved him inside. “Do you remember my friend Robin?”
“Hello,” he said, and nodded solemnly. “Did you hurt yourself?”
Robin’s hand went to her cheek as she remembered her swollen face. “Um, yes, I did.”
He continued to stare at her. “Are you playing a telephone game?”
“A telephone-Oh.” She waved the receiver, then placed it in its cradle. “Yes. But we’re finished playing.”
“Tyler, does your mother know you’re here?” I asked.
He nodded again. “She’ll be here in a minute, but I didn’t want to wait.” He thrust the book at me. “See? Because the pages are falling out now.”
There was another knock at the door. Robin’s shoulders jerked.
“Easy,” I whispered.
“You know what?” Robin said, shaking her head. “I’ll be in the other room.”
“Do you want me to fix another ice pack for you?”