“Might have been the orderly she hired. She mentioned him when I was over there. He comes in once a day to help get Gus on and off the toilet and things like that.”
“But why was he sleeping on the job?”
“He might have stayed so she could have a day off.”
“Don’t think so. She was out with Gus running an errand of some kind. Come to think of it, why wasn’t the orderly there to help when she had to get Gus out of the shower?”
“Maybe he’d already come and gone. She said he’s paid by the hour so he probably isn’t there for long.”
“If you see him over there again, let me know. Melanie never said a word about Solana hiring help.”
I went back to my place at 7:00 with a buzz on. A happy consequence of my anxiety was my appetite was gone. In the absence of food, I was turning into a drunk. I glanced at my desk and saw the message light blinking on my answering machine. I crossed the room and pressed the Play button.
“Hey, Kinsey. Richard Compton here. Could you give me a call?”
What was this about? I’d done a couple of jobs for the man in the previous week, so maybe he had more. I was willing to do just about anything to keep myself out of my own neighborhood. I dialed the number he left and when he picked up, I identified myself.
“Thanks for returning my call. Look, I’m sorry to bother you on a Saturday night, but I need a favor.”
“Sure.”
“I have to fly up to San Francisco tomorrow at six A.M. I thought I’d better catch you now instead of calling from the airport.”
“Good plan. So what’s the favor?”
“I got a message from the fellow in the apartment above the Guffeys’ place. He thinks they’re getting ready to decamp.”
“So the unlawful detainer did the trick?”
“Looks that way.”
“That’s a blessing.”
“A big one. Problem is, I’m gone until Friday and I won’t have a chance to do the final inspection and pick up the keys.”
“You’ll be changing the locks anyway, so why sweat the keys?”
“True, but I made them pay a twenty-dollar key deposit, plus a hundred-dollar cleaning deposit. If someone doesn’t go out there, they’ll swear up and down the place was immaculate and they left the keys in plain sight. Then they’ll turn around and want both deposits back in full. Obviously, you don’t have to do it right this minute. Any time before noon on Monday would be fine.”
“I can go tomorrow if you like.”
“No sense inconveniencing yourself. I’ll give ’em a call and tell them you’ll be there Monday. You want to give me a time?”
“Eleven fifteen? That way I can take care of it before I break for lunch.”
“Good. I’ll let them know. I’ll be staying at the Hyatt on Union Square if you should need to reach me.”
He gave me the phone number of his hotel and I jotted it down. “Look, Richard, I’m happy to help you out, but I’m not in the property management business. You should really hire a professional to handle things like this.”
“I could, kiddo, but you’re much cheaper. A management company would take ten percent of the gross.”
I might have responded, but he’d hung up.
When I left my apartment Monday morning, I found myself scanning the street and the front of Gus’s house, hoping to avoid an encounter with Solana. I didn’t trust myself to have a civil conversation with her. I started my car and pulled away from the curb in haste, unable to resist the urge to crane my neck for some sign of her. I thought I caught movement at the window, but it was probably a fresh surge of paranoia kicking in.
I reached the office and let myself in. I gathered the mail from Saturday that had been shoved through the slot and now lay in a wide lake on the rug in my reception area. My answering machine was winking merrily. I separated the junk mail and tossed it in the wastebasket while I punched the Play button. The message was from Geneva Burt, in Lowell Effinger’s office. She sounded harried, but her Mondays were probably like that. I dialed the law firm while I was in the process of opening the bills, the phone pressed between my right ear and my shoulder in a hands-free hunched position. When Geneva picked up on her end I identified myself and said, “What’s up?”
“Oh hi, Kinsey. Thanks for returning my call. I’m having a devil of a time connecting with Mr. Downs.”
“He’s supposed to call you. That’s why I gave him your number in the first place. He doesn’t have a phone so he gets his messages through his landlady. It seemed simpler all around to have him make the contact since he’s so difficult to reach.”