Killing Pretty (Sandman Slim 7)

“We’re fine. I’m sorry I flew off the handle. I know you were trying to help, and I’ll take what you said under advisement.”

“Good.”

“I can head over to Bamboo House later and see if there are any Cold Cases around. And I’ll call Brigitte.”

“Good. Chihiro and I have a meeting later. She’s doing a great job.”

“She’s a smart girl. Smarter than me.”

“I’ll have to tell her you said so.”

“She already knows.”

I take off, stopping in the stairwell to light a Malediction.

Outside, I draw the smoke in and let it out slowly, pacing up and down the

block, checking the parked cars. I don’t see any Honda Civics, blue or otherwise. Anyway, most of the what’s happening is on the sidewalk or in the street. Not many ­people hanging out in parked cars or loitering on the block. No one obviously casing Julie’s office. I check the door to her building, making sure it locked behind me.

I think about Candy, but I call Brigitte and tell her to make time between auditions to come by the office. She sounds happy. I think I made her day.

At least someone in L.A. is happy.

“A LITTLE BIRD told me you’ve been talking to Julie about me.”

Candy glances up, then back to the laptop. She reaches out and half closes it.

“Just about the other night.”

I dumped the Crown Vic a few blocks away on Hollywood Boulevard so I could walk off some anger.

“But you did it in secret. I thought we weren’t supposed to have secrets.”

She shifts around on the sofa.

“Everyone has secrets.”

“You think there’s something you can’t tell me? You think I’m that shockable?”

She looks up at me, two sets of eyes—­Candy’s and Chihiro’s—­nervous and wounded.

“Don’t make this into a bigger thing than it is. I only talked to her because she can say things to you I can’t.”

“Like PTSD. Because you probably have it too after Doc Kinski and all the shit that went down at Christmas. Are there other things you haven’t told me about?” I don’t want to sound angry, but I am even if I’m not sure it’s fair.

She shakes her head, the expression on her face changing.

“Nothing I want to talk about now.”

“But sometime.”

She puts her hands together and nods.

“Probably sometime.”

“I guess that’s the best we can hope for in this life.”

“Don’t be mad.”