“What? Oh, might as well. Look, I’m in the middle of something right now—Sharansky, did you say your name was? Why don’t I call you in the morning.”

“Warshawski.” I started to spell it but he’d broken the connection.

Todd waited around until Byron cut me off. “So what’s he going to do?”

“He’s not catching the first plane out. Mrs. Hellstrom will look after the dogs. Why don’t the rest of us just go home and give it a rest.”

Like Mrs. Hellstrom, I was anxious to change my clothes. Carol had already gone while I was trying the second Frizell. Mr. Contreras had wandered out to the kitchen to put out fresh food and water for the dogs. He was anxious to get back to Peppy, but was too chivalrous to leave me alone here.

“You think they’ll be okay, doll?”

“I think they’ll be fine,” I said firmly. I was damned if he’d saddle me with five more dogs to look after.

As I shut up the house we could hear them whining and scratching at the front door.

7

Signing Up a New Client

The next morning, before leaving for work, I put two hours into cleaning and polishing my apartment. Pichea’s remark last night had flicked me on the raw. Not about finding myself alone at eighty-five—I could envision worse fates—but finding myself like Mrs. Frizell: my stacks of newspaper and dustballs crumbling into lung-choking dirt; so cantankerous that the neighbors didn’t want to call even when they thought I might be ill.

I baled a month’s worth of newspapers in twine and set them by the front door to drop at the recycling center. I polished the piano and the coffee table until they would have met even Gabriella’s high standard, washed the dishes piled on the sink and kitchen table, threw out all the moldy food in the refrigerator. That left me with a choice of peanut butter or canned minestrone for supper, but maybe I could squeeze in an hour at the grocery on my way home.

I skipped my run and took the el downtown. The work I’d planned for the day would take me to a variety of government offices scattered around the Loop; the car would only get in my way. By four I was able to call Daraugh Graham to report on Clint Moss. He really was anxious for information: his secretary had word to interrupt the meeting he was in to receive my report.