She held out her hand. “Give me your phone. I’ll put my number in it, and if you have any questions or run into trouble you can give me a call.”

“Okay,” Letty said, and took a deep breath. “I guess Maya and I are on the job.”

“MOD,” Ava said.

“Huh?”

“Managers on duty. Good luck.”

10

THE CHIMES ON THE OFFICE door sounded. Her guest was an elderly man with a fringe of silver hair and an aggrieved expression on his suntanned face. He was dressed in one of those violently patterned terry-cloth beach jackets and matching trunks.

“You’re not Ava,” he said, looking over her shoulder.

“No,” Letty agreed. “Ava’s out running errands. Is there something I can help with?”

“Who are you?” He spied Maya, who was busy stapling together the pages she’d finished coloring.

“I’m Letty,” she said.

“Oh yeah. The newcomer. With the kid. I heard about you.”

“Well, I hope you didn’t hear anything bad,” Letty said, flashing him what she hoped was a disarming smile. “And you are?”

“Merwin Maples. Unit four.”

The door opened again and a woman pushed through, leaning on an aluminum walker.

“What’d she say?” the woman asked. “Can we get the Sheehans’ unit, or no?”

He went to the door and opened it wider. “Ava’s not here.” He jerked his thumb in Letty’s direction. “This is the woman Ruth told us about.”

Merwin turned back to Letty. “This is my wife, Trudi.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Letty.”

Trudi Maples had creamy, almost unlined skin and pale blue eyes. She wore a broad-brimmed straw hat, a knee-length snap-front housecoat, and sensible thick-soled lace-up walking shoes. But the oddest thing about her was the white cotton gloves she wore on both hands.

“Don’t I know you?” she asked, studying Letty’s face.

“I don’t think so. We just moved into the pink unit this week. I’m going to be helping out here in the office.”

“Where are you from?” Trudi asked, inching closer to the reception desk. “I could swear I’ve seen you someplace before.”

Letty felt a tickle of fear. “I’ve pretty much lived all over. Most recently in New Jersey.”

“We’re from Jefferson City. Ever spent any time in Missouri?”

“Not really,” Letty said. She needed to change the subject. “You were saying something about moving into the Sheehans’ unit?”

Merwin spoke up. “Yes. Word on the street is that Bill and Alice are moving into the Polaceks’ unit. So we’d like to move into the Sheehans’ unit.”

“Is there something wrong with the unit you’re in?” Letty asked.

“No view,” Merwin said. “You can see the water from the Sheehans’ place.”

“All you see out our window is the ice machine,” Trudi griped.

“Oh,” Letty said. “Ava should be back around lunch, so I’ll tell her you came in and made that request.”