Jan Burke - Nine

There, he approached the woman who was seating newly arrived customers. “Mr. Logan,” she said, smiling at him. “I saw your friend arrive. So did all the men in the place. Is your party ready to be seated now?”

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “But I’m afraid we’re going to have to leave without dining.” He took two one-hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and gave one to her. “Someone may come in and ask for Ms. Taggert-his name is Fred. He’s an old boyfriend who has followed her up here. Rather than make a scene in the restaurant, I’d like to treat him to dinner. That’s what the hundred’s for.”

“Generous of you,” she said. “I don’t get it, though.”

“He might try to tell you that he’s her brother. He may even claim that he’s with the FBI.”

“The FBI!”

“Ridiculous, isn’t it? He may even have some realistic-looking ID. If he says that he’s with the FBI, offer to verify that with the local FBI field office, and I think he’ll take the next tram downhill. But if he says he’s her brother or gives his own name, please seat him at my table-without letting him know I’m here, please. Perhaps you could pretend she’s been waiting for a gentleman to join her, and tell him the table’s hers and that she’ll be right back?”

The hostess laughed and erased “Logan-3” in her reservations book, then replaced it with “Taggert-2.”

He smiled and gave her the other hundred. “That one is for your trouble.”

“Mr. Logan-that’s not necessary.”

“No, I know it’s not. So you don’t need to feel bad about taking it. One other thing-could I use the service road?”

“No problem.”

He told her to watch for a young man with light, short hair, blue eyes, and wearing an aviator jacket. “He might be wearing sunglasses,” he added.

“Indoors?”

“Oh yes.”

He hurried outside.

Kit stood still and listened. Meghan said Freddy was with a group of hikers, and now he heard the voices of a group of people gathering to the left of where he stood. He walked around the building until he saw them. He casually approached one of the men who seemed to be a group leader and began asking questions.

A moonlight hike. Yes, it was a big group, but they had another fifteen who had started a little later and would probably be coming up on the next tram. Yes, a hiking club based in Albuquerque. Freddy? No, he didn’t think there was a Freddy in the group.

After waiting to make sure his little boyakina wasn’t going to come back toward the tram platform, Frederick entered the restaurant, looking self-assured. He achieved this by asking himself, “What would James Dean do in this situation?”

The answer came to him immediately. James Dean would be cool. You would look at James Dean and say, “That guy is so cool, I will give him whatever he wants.”

He walked up to the hostess, who was smiling delightedly at him, and said, “Ms. Taggert is waiting for me-I’m her brother.”

“Of course,” she said, her eyes twinkling. He wondered if he should have used the FBI routine instead, but then the hostess said, “She’s been waiting for you. Let me take you to her table.”

He couldn’t believe how easy this was. But as they neared the table, he didn’t see Meghan.

“She just went to use the ladies’ room,” the hostess said. “She said to tell you that she went ahead and ordered, and that you should do the same while you wait for her. Shall I send a server over?”

He ordered a beer and said he’d wait until he saw Meghan before he ordered anything more.

“Coming right up,” the hostess said.

He could make women happy, he decided, just by smiling at them.

Spooky was making faces at herself in the mirror when Meghan came into the restroom. She quickly stopped and turned to frown at Meghan.

Meghan could see how it was that Kit had mistaken Spooky for a boy. Three years after he had found her in a men’s room, she still looked as if she could have walked into one without causing anyone to doubt that she belonged there.

“You’re Meghan,” Spooky said, and went back to making faces.

“Yes. I have your jacket.”

Her face squished between her hands, she looked at Meghan and said, “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“I have a note for you from Kit.”

Spooky raised a brow, then crossed her arms. “Let me guess. ‘Dear Spooky, Get your ass out of the bathroom. Now that Meghan is here, we can finally get on with life.’”

“No, but-I’m sorry, am I making you late for something?”

Spooky said, “To take a dump. Excuse me, I have to use the can.” She closed herself into a stall.

Meghan didn’t think it likely that Spooky had delayed bodily functions on her account, but since Kit wanted them to wait in here anyway, she didn’t object to this part of the drama. In fact, she was glad they’d get the business of meeting each other over with, without Kit hovering protectively in their midst as some sort of referee.

“How did you recognize me?” she asked.

“Wouldn’t your big ego like to know?”

“I recognized you because Kit has told me about you,” Meghan said. “I don’t think there’s anyone else he cares more about than you.”

“He cares more about his dead dog.”

Meghan didn’t say anything for a moment. “I was sorry to hear about Molly. She had been with Kit for a long time.”

“She was old. Older than me.”

“When she died, it must have been hard on you, too.”

“You know what I’m not going to do? I’m not going to sit on this crapper talking to you about my dog, okay?”

“Okay.”

Spooky faked farting sounds.

“Charming.”

“Isn’t it, though? I fart all the time. Maybe you should find somebody else to take you to California, because I’m probably going to fart all the way there. You’re probably too prissy to fart.”

“Most of the time, good manners do keep me from doing that when I’m around other people, but I can see that manners don’t matter to you at all-so get ready, because if we’re all going to be so free about it, that car’s going to smell like the bean factory’s company picnic.”

She heard a little snort of laughter from behind the stall. It was quickly suppressed, but Meghan figured she had made some progress.

She waited in silence, then heard Spooky say angrily, “You can’t fix him, you know.”

“Kit? I don’t think he’s broken.”

“He’s crazy.”

“No, he’s not.”

“Shows what you know.”

“He makes mistakes, that’s all. He told me you were thirteen.”

“I am.”

“Could have fooled me. Aren’t you a little old for potty humor?”

“You tell me, bean eater. And he is crazy.”

“Why do you live with him, then?”

“Craziness runs in our family.”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but Kit isn’t crazy. He has problems, but who doesn’t? He’s not like everyone else, but I think that’s why I like him.”

“Do you love him?”

“You won’t talk about Molly in here, I won’t talk about what I feel for Kit. Maybe another time.”

“Shit. You do love him.”

Meghan didn’t answer.

After several minutes, Spooky said, “I knew you were Meghan, because he has pictures of you.”

Meghan was surprised by this and was glad Spooky couldn’t see her face.

“You’re prettier now,” Spooky said, then added quickly, “but don’t let it go to your head. It probably makes other women hate you.”

“A few I don’t worry about. Maybe I should meet everyone in bathrooms. They could get to know me without seeing my face.”

“You should work at a place for the blind.”

“I have.”