D E A R LY D E V O T E D D E X T E R
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I tried to remember when I had heard Deborah say she felt pretty good and actually sound like she meant it at the same time. I came up blank. “You sound very unlike yourself, Deborah,” I said. “What on earth has gotten into you?”
This time her laugh was a bit longer, but just as happy.
“The usual,” she said. And then she laughed again. “Anyway, what’s up?”
“Oh, not a thing,” I said, with innocence blooming from my tongue. “My only sister disappears for days and nights on end without a word and then turns up sounding like she stepped out of Stepford Sergeants. So I am naturally curious to know what the hell is going on, that’s all.”
“Well, hell,” she said. “I’m touched. It’s almost like having a real human brother.”
“Let’s hope it goes no further than almost.”
“How about we get together for lunch?” she said.
“I’m already hungry,” I said. “Relampago’s?”
“Mm, no,” she said. “How about Azul?”
I suppose her choice of restaurant made as much sense as everything else about her this morning, because it made no sense at all. Deborah was a blue-collar diner, and Azul was the kind of place where Saudi royalty ate when they were in town. Apparently her transformation into an alien was now complete.
“Certainly, Deb, Azul. I’ll just sell my car to pay for it and meet you there.”
“One o’clock,” she said. “And don’t worry about the money. Kyle will pick up the tab.” She hung up. And I didn’t actually say AHA! But a small light flickered on.
Kyle would pay, would he? Well, well. And at Azul, too.
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J E F F L I N D S A Y
If the glittery ticky-tack of South Beach is the part of Miami designed for insecure wannabe celebrities, Azul is for people who find the glamour amusing. The little cafés that crowd South Beach compete for attention with a shrill clamor of bright and cheap gaudiness. Azul is so understated by com-parison that you wonder if they had ever seen even a single episode of Miami Vice.
I left my car with the mandatory valet parking attendant in a small cobblestone circle out front. I am fond of my car, but I will admit that it did not compare favorably to the line of Fer-raris and Rolls-Royces. Even so, the attendant did not actually decline to park it for me, although he must have guessed that it would not result in the kind of tip he was used to. I suppose my bowling shirt and khaki pants were an unmistakable clue that I didn’t have even a single bearer bond or Krugerrand for him.
The restaurant itself was dark and cool and so quiet you could hear an American Express Black Card drop. The far wall was tinted glass with a door that led out to a terrace. And there was Deborah, sitting at a small corner table outside, looking out over the water. Across from her, facing back toward the door in to the restaurant, sat Kyle Chutsky, who would pick up the tab. He was wearing very expensive sunglasses, so perhaps he really would. I approached the table and a waiter materialized to pull out a chair that was certainly far too heavy for anyone who could afford to eat here. The waiter didn’t actually bow, but I could tell that the restraint was an effort.
“Hey, buddy,” Kyle said as I sat down. He stretched his hand across the table. Since he seemed to believe I was his D E A R LY D E V O T E D D E X T E R
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new best friend, I leaned in and shook hands with him.
“How’s the spatter trade?”
“Always plenty of work,” I said. “And how’s the mysterious visitor from Washington trade?”
“Never better,” he said. He held my hand in his just a moment too long. I looked down at it; his knuckles were en-larged, as if he had spent too much time sparring with a concrete wall. He slapped his left hand on the table, and I got a glimpse of his pinkie ring. It was startlingly effeminate, almost an engagement ring. When he finally let go of my hand, he smiled and swiveled his head toward Deborah, although with his sunglasses it was impossible to tell if he was looking at her or just moving his neck around.
Deborah smiled back at him. “Dexter was worried about me.”
“Hey,” Chutsky said, “what are brothers for?”
She glanced at me. “Sometimes I wonder,” she said.
“Why Deborah, you know I’m only watching your back,”