“Sure. Okay.”
Keith punched open a can of Castrol and poured it into the engine. As he did, he put his other hand in the back pocket of his jeans, adopting a posture of studied nonchalance.
“So, satisfy my curiosity,” he said. “Tell me about your boyfriend.”
Chapter 60
I WRENCHED MYSELF OUT of whatever the heck was going on between us and told Keith about Joe: what a great guy he was, how funny, how kind, and how smart. “He works in DC. Homeland Security.”
“I’m impressed,” said Keith.
I saw the kid swallow before he asked, “Are you in love with the guy?”
I nodded, picturing Joe’s face, thinking how much I missed him.
“Lucky guy, that Manicotti.”
“Molinari,” I said, grinning.
“Lucky, whatever his name is,” Keith said, closing the hood. Just then, a black sedan with rental-car plates pulled up to the garage.
“Damn,” Keith muttered. “Here comes Mr. Porsche, and his car’s not ready.”
As I handed Keith my MasterCard, “Mr. Porsche” stepped out of his rent-a-car and into my peripheral vision.
“Hey, Keith,” he called out. “How’s it coming, my man?”
Wait a minute. I knew him. He looked older in broad daylight, but it was that obnoxious guy who’d hit on me and Carolee in the Cormorant. Dennis Agnew.
“Just give me five minutes,” Keith called back.
Before I could ask him about that creep, Keith was heading toward the office and Agnew was walking straight toward me. When he got within spitting distance, he stopped, put his hand heavily on the hood of my car, and shot me a look that hit me right between the eyes.
He followed up the look with a slow, insinuating smile. “Slumming, Officer? Or do you just like young meat?” I was honing a retort when Keith came up from behind.
“You calling me meat?” Keith said, aligning his body with mine. He matched Agnew’s sarcastic smile with a sunny one of his own. “I guess I should consider the source, you dirty old man.”
It was a grin-off, both men holding their ground. A long blistering moment passed.
Then Agnew took his hand off my hood.
“C’mon, meat. I want to see my car.”
Keith winked at me and handed me back my card.
“Stay in touch, Lindsay. Okay?”
“Sure thing. You, too.”
I got into my car and started up the engine, but I just sat for a while watching Agnew follow Keith into the repair shop. The guy was wrong, but how wrong, and in what way, I just didn’t know.
Chapter 61
I’D SLEPT BADLY. WILD, fractured dreams had awoken me repeatedly. Now I leaned over the bathroom sink and brushed my teeth with a goofy vengeance.
I was edgy and I was furious, and I knew why.
By threatening me, Chief Stark had effectively stopped me from investigating leads that might finally solve the John Doe #24 homicide. If I was right, Doe’s killer was still active in Half Moon Bay.