Quoth the Raven(19)
She came to rest in the exact center of the foyer floor, looked at the ceiling, looked at her feet, and said,
“Gregor? Can I ask you something?”
“Ask away.”
“Well. Okay. Um. Look, it’s been, what, two months since my mother died?”
“About ten weeks.”
“You always did have a better sense of time than I have. Anyway, the house belongs to Yale University now, and they’re getting antsy. I’ve got to find a new place to live.”
“You know how I feel about that, Bennis. I thought you should have found a new place to live last New Year’s.”
“Yes. Well. I had obligations. Gregor, I don’t know if you’ve realized it, but the second-floor apartment in this building is for sale.”
“Ah,” Gregor said.
“Oh, for God’s sake, don’t say ‘ah.’ ” Bennis threw up her hands. “Look, I don’t want to impose on you, all right? I don’t want to push things where they shouldn’t go. It’s just that Donna and I have been talking, you know, and I spend half my time here anyway, and we were thinking it might be the perfect solution. The apartment isn’t even very expensive.”
“You’re the only person I know who could describe a quarter of a million dollars as ‘not very expensive.’ ”
“I make a lot of money. Gregor, would you mind? I absolutely promise not to cook for you any more than I already do—”
“That’s a threat.”
“—and if I’m seeing some man, I’ll go to his place—”
“I’d rather have you bring him here. You tend to date psychopaths.”
“—and if I’m working later than two o’clock in the morning, I’ll put a towel under the typewriter so you can’t hear it and I won’t wake up old George downstairs—”
“Worry about old George, not about me. I’d be relieved to hear you were back at work.”
“—and all that sort of thing,” Bennis finished up. “Would you mind, Gregor? Would it bother you?”
“No,” Gregor said. “But Bennis, this is a fine time to tell me.”
“A fine time? Why?”
“Because you closed on that apartment yesterday. I ran into Stephen Telemakian last night and he told me all about it.”
Bennis took her cigarettes slowly, carefully, deliberately out of her shirt pocket, extracted one from the pack, lit up, and blew a stream of smoke at the foyer ceiling.
“Never try to surprise a detective,” she told him solemnly. “All it does is get you kicked in the ass.”
3
HALF AN HOUR LATER, they were standing out on the curb, loading picnic baskets into Donna Moradanyan’s van while Donna stood by with Tommy in her arms, looking wistful. The sun was still shining brightly and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but the day had grown sharply colder. Bennis had tucked her shirt back into her jeans and put on a pair of L.L. Bean’s Maine Hunting Shoes.
“I wish you were coming with us,” she was saying to Donna. “I know it would have been problematic with Tommy along, but Father Tibor loves Tommy. We could have found a way to make do.”
“Lida has me signed up to tell fortunes at eight o’clock tomorrow night. It’s all right, Bennis. I’ve got all that work to do on my portfolio. Besides, if I’m not here, who will sign for your furniture?”
“Old George?”
“He’d send it all back and get his grandson Martin to buy you a set of new.”
“I need a set of new.” Bennis climbed into the van, counted to seven twice—checking out the picnic baskets, Gregor thought—and climbed out again. “Remember, if Mitzy Hansen from Doubleday calls, you want fifteen hundred for cover art and no less. Don’t worry about what’s-his-name from Random House. They always pay all right for artists.”
“Okay.”
“What about you, Gregor? You ready to go?”
Gregor was definitely ready to go. Cavanaugh Street was beginning to get to him. Howard Kashinian had given up handstands for a prancing little vaudeville act that was positively surreal. Little Susan Lekmejian, aged six, was hopping up and down on the bottom step in front of her parents’ town house, dressed as a potato plant. Any minute now, somebody was going to decide to tie himself to the top of a tall tree and swing through the air like Peter Pan.
Bennis slammed the side door of the van shut. Gregor climbed into the front passenger seat and hooked himself into his seat belt. Donna Moradanyan caught Bennis by the sleeve and said, “Don’t forget about the downshift. It sticks.”