He didn’t stir.

She prodded him more vigorously. “Mouse, wake up. You have to come out of there.”

Nothing. Which made it time to revert to more drastic measures. With a grimace, she bent over, gingerly picked up one filthy ankle, and gave it a shake. “Come on, Mouse. Wake up!”

Nada. If it weren’t for his slurpy snorts, he might have been dead.

She shook him more vigorously. “This happens to be the most important day of my professional life, and I could use a little cooperation here.”

Mouse wasn’t interested in cooperation.

She needed more leverage. Gritting her teeth, she carefully slid up the skirt of the buttercup yellow raw silk suit she’d bought yesterday for 60 percent off at a Field’s Day sale and crouched by the bumper. “If you don’t get out from under there, I’m calling the police.”

Mouse snorted.

She dug her heels into the ground and yanked on both filthy ankles. The morning sun beat down on her head. Mouse rolled over just far enough to wedge his shoulder under the chassis. She yanked again. Beneath her jacket, the white sleeveless shell she’d chosen to complement Nana’s pearl teardrop earrings had begun to stick to her skin. She tried not to think about what was happening to her hair. This hadn’t been the best time to run out of styling gel, and she prayed the ancient can of industrial-strength Aqua Net she’d found under the bathroom sink would tame the bedlam of her red curls, always the curse of her existence but especially so during a humid Chicago summer.

If she didn’t get Mouse out in the next five minutes, she was in serious trouble. She made her way around to the driver’s-side door. Her knees cracked as she crouched down again and peered into his slack-jawed face. “Mouse, you have to wake up! You can’t stay here.”

One grimy eyelid flicked open then slid shut again.

“Look at me.” She poked his chest. “If you come out from under there, I’ll give you five dollars.”

His mouth moved and a guttural rumble oozed out, along with a string of saliva. “G’way.”

The smell made her eyes water. “Why did you have to pick today to pass out under my car? And why my car? Why not Mr. Bronicki’s car?” Mr. Bronicki lived across the alley and spent his retirement coming up with new ways to make Annabelle crazy.

Time was running out, and she was starting to panic. “Do you want to have sex? Because if you come out, we could maybe talk about it.”

More drool and another putrid snort. This was hopeless. She jumped up and dashed toward the house.

Ten minutes later, she managed to lure him out with an open can of beer. Not her best moment.

By the time she’d maneuvered Sherman from the alley to the street, she had only twenty-one minutes left to navigate the traffic into the Loop and find a place to park. Dirt streaked her legs, her shirt was crumpled, and she’d broken a fingernail when she’d opened the beer can. The extra five pounds that had accumulated on her small-boned frame since Nana’s death no longer seemed like such a big problem.