She shook her head. He’s always been the best at what he does. That’s his whole—it’s who he is. If he gets to thinking about what Danco did to him— She bit her lip and another tear rolled down her cheek. He has to stay who he is, Dexter. Or I’ll lose him.

All right, I said.

I can’t lose him, Dexter, she said again.

There was a different doorman on duty at the Mutiny, but he seemed to recognize Deborah and simply nodded as he held the door open for us. We walked silently to the elevator and rode up to the twelfth floor.

I have lived in Coconut Grove my entire life, so I knew very well from gushing newspaper accounts that Chutsky’s room was done in British Colonial. I never understood why, but the hotel had decided that British Colonial was the perfect setting to convey the ambience of Coconut Grove, although as far as I knew there had never been a British colony here. So the entire hotel was done in British Colonial. But I find it hard to believe that either the interior decorator or any Colonial British had ever pictured something like Chutsky flopped onto the king size bed of the penthouse suite Deborah led me to.

His hair had not grown back in the last hour, but he had at least changed out of the orange coverall and into a white terry-cloth robe and he was lying there in the middle of the bed shaved, shaking, and sweating heavily with a half-empty bottle of Skyy Vodka lying beside him. Deborah didn’t even slow down at the door. She charged right over to the bed and sat beside him, taking his only hand in her only hand. Love among the ruins.

Debbie? he said in a quavery old-man voice.

I’m here now, she said. Go to sleep.

I guess I’m not as good as I thought I was, he said.

Sleep, she said, holding his hand and settling down next to him.

I left them like that.

Dexter 2 – Dearly Devoted Dexter

CHAPTER 27

I SLEPT LATE THE NEXT DAY. AFTER ALL, HADN’T I earned it? And although I arrived at work around ten o’clock, I was still there well before Vince, Camilla, or Angel-no-relation, who had apparently all called in deathly ill. One hour and forty-five minutes later Vince finally came in, looking green and very old. Vince! I said with great good cheer and he flinched and leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. I want to thank you for an epic party.

Thank me quietly, he croaked.

Thank you, I whispered.

You’re welcome, he whispered back, and staggered softly away to his cubicle.