Painted Ladies

43

I went back to my office and called the number I had found on Prince’s corkboard. A recording answered. A woman’s voice.

“This is the Herzberg Foundation. We can’t take your call, but please leave us a message at the sound of the tone.”

“Succinct,” I said aloud.

Nothing in my office responded.

I called the number every hour for the rest of the afternoon and got the same message. So, at twenty minutes to seven, I shut off the lights, locked up the office, and with my gun in hand, held inconspicuously against my thigh, went down to the alley where I parked. I stopped in the doorway. With my left hand I took out my car keys and, shielded in the doorway, reached out and started my car with the remote. The car did not explode. Encouraged, I walked down to it, got in, and drove to Cambridge.

When I got to Susan’s place and got past the five minutes of Pearl leaping up and lapping and chewing on one of her toys, I went on into the dining area, where Susan had the table set. Tablecloth, good china, nice crystal, a bouquet of flowers in the center, flanked by candles.

I kissed her.

“What’s for supper?” I said.

“I’ve ordered pizza,” she said.

“Pizza?”

“You love pizza,” Susan said.

“I do,” I said. “But the table’s set for duck à l’orange.”

“Doesn’t it look pretty?”

“Suze,” I said. “Pizza is normally eaten from the box, standing up, at the kitchen counter.”

“I got the flowers in the square,” she said. “I think it completes the table.”

“It certainly does,” I said.

The doorbell rang. Pearl barked.

Susan said, “Make us a drink. I’ll get the pizza.”

“I’ll come with you,” I said.

“There’s — Oh,” she said, “of course.”

The three of us went down to the front door, Pearl barking steadily. I had my gun out and stood just to the side, where I could see through the etched-glass window in the door.

It looked like a pizza delivery guy.

“Open the box,” I said to him. “I want a look.”

He glanced at me with a look that said, “You meet all kinds in Cambridge.” But he opened the box, and there was a very large pizza. With mushrooms and peppers.

“Thanks,” I said.

Susan paid him and took the pizza while keeping her leg between Pearl and the door’s opening. Pearl kept barking. But it was just her usual “Hey, who’s that?” bark. I locked and bolted the front door. The pizza guy got back in his car and drove away.

Another hair’s-breadth escape.