Ask the Parrot

4

When they drove past the boarded-up house, coming into Pooley at last, Lindahl frowned at it and said, “You really got in there.”

“We’ll look at it tomorrow,” Parker said. “We both need sleep.”

It was nearly five-thirty in the morning, false dawn smudging the sky up to their right, suggesting the silhouettes of hills. The only lights showing in the town were down at the intersection, the streetlight and blinker signal and night-lights of the gas station.

Lindahl parked in his usual place and got out of the car, yawning. Parker, getting out on the other side, paused to listen. Not a sound anywhere. He followed Lindahl inside, where at first the television set was the only light source, but then Lindahl switched on a floor lamp beside the sofa, switched off the television, and said, “That sofa isn’t bad. I’ll get you a pillowcase and a blanket.”

“You got an alarm clock?”

“Sure. What time should I set it?”

“Ten.”

Surprised, Lindahl said, “That doesn’t give us much sleep.”

“You’ll sleep when we’re finished,” Parker promised him.