“As long as I’m not under oath.”

“I was wondering what brought you to Santa Teresa.”

“This is my hometown. I grew up three blocks from here. My father taught math at Santa Teresa High back in the forties and fifties.”

I made a face. “Math’s not my strong suit.”

“Nor mine,” he replied. His smile activated dimples I hadn’t noticed before. His teeth were charmingly buckled and flashed white against the dark of his complexion.

“Did you go to Santa Teresa High by any chance?” I asked.

“Yes, ma’am. I graduated class of nineteen and thirty-three, long before you were born. I attended City College for two years, but I couldn’t see the point.”

“Really? Same here. I went two semesters and then quit. Now I wish I’d stuck it out, but I sure don’t want to go back.”

“Better to get an education while you’re young. My age, it’s too late.”

“Hey, mine, too. Did you like school? I hated it. High school, at any rate. I was a low-waller, smokin’ dope half the time.” Low-wallers were the kids who loitered before and after classes on a low wall that ran along the backside of the school grounds.

“I was straight A’s. Then life came along and I guess while you went up in the world, I went down.”

“I wouldn’t call this up.”

“Up from where I stand.”

I didn’t know if he viewed himself as a victim or a realist. I could hear the coffee machine gurgle to a halt and I got to my feet. “What do you take in your coffee?”

“Milk and two sugars, please.”

“Sugar for sure. Milk could be a problem. Let me see what I can do.”

I left the office and went down the hall to the kitchenette, where I opened my pint-size refrigerator and gave the milk carton a sniff. Slightly off, I thought, but I’ve heard that sometimes the residue of milk on the pour spout sours before the rest. I filled two mugs with coffee and added milk to mine, checking for the telltale curdling that suggests beaucoup bacteria at work. No evidence of spoilage, so I added a big dollop to his coffee and returned the carton to the fridge.

I handed him his mug and two paper packets of sugar and resettled myself in my swivel chair. I held up a finger. “Before I forget . . .” I leaned down and extracted the three packs of cigarettes from the shoulder bag at my feet and pushed them across the desk. “Consider this a bribe.”

“Much appreciated. I’ll pass along a pack each to Felix and Pearl.”

“Pearl, in particular. I was hoping to elevate myself in her opinion.”