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Thirteen

Breakfast

Soht, the residents of Pine Cove, especially those who had been withdrawing from antidepressants, found a satisfied calone, but rather that it ran off their backs like warm rain off a naked toddler who has just dis-covered the splash and er in the air - and a euphoric need to share

Morning foundat the local restaurants for breakfast Gathering together like wildebeests in the presence of a pride of lions, knowing instinctively that only one of theht alone

Jenny Masterson had been waiting tables at HP’s Cafe for twelve years, and she couldn’t remember a day out of the tourist season when it had been so busy Shecoffee and decaf, taking orders and delivering food, catching the odd request for lass on her way back to theNo ood - and soed the hell out of her

Jenny was just forty, slender and fair-skinned with killer legs and long auburn hair that she wore pinned up when she worked With her husband Robert, she owned Brine’s Bait, Tackle, and Fine Wines, but after threeto ith the hter A to save her e and today, she had become a bull moose waitress, and she never ceased to wonder how in the hell that had happened How had she becoossip, and how had she beco up her custo them as she moved around the restaurant?

Today the restaurant was full of talk about Mikey Plotznik, who had disappeared along his paper route the day before There was talk of the search and speculation on the kid’s fate At a few of her two-tops were seated couples who seeht before and - if the pawing and fawning were any indication - were going to resuain after breakfast Jenny tried to tune theuy coffee drinkers, ere trading misinformation on politics and lawn care; at the counter a couple of construction workers intent on putting in a rare Saturday’s work read the paper over bacon and eggs; and over in the corner, Val Riordan, the local shrink, was scribbling notes on a legal pad at a table all by herself That was unusual Dr Val didn’t norer than that, Estelle Boyet, the seascape painter, was having her tea with a Black gentlehtest touch

Jenny heard soister and turned to see her busgirl arguing with Molly Michon, the Crazy Lady Jenny made a beeline for the counter

"Molly, you’re not supposed to be in here," Jenny said calhty-sixed for life after she had attacked HP’s espresso et soirl, a fresh "I told her" over her shoulder as she went

Jenny looked at the check It was from the Social Security Administration and it was above the amount she was allowed to accept "I’m sorry, Molly, I can’t do it"

"I have photo ID" Molly pulled a videotape out of her enor and plopped it on the counter There was a picture of a half-naked woman tied between two stakes on the cover The titles were in Italian

"That’s not it, Molly I’m not allowed to cash a check for that much Look, I don’t want any trouble, but if Howard sees you in here, he’ll call the police"

"The police are here" came a man’s voice

Jenny looked up to see Theophilus Croering behind Molly "Hi, Theo" Jenny liked Theo He reic but good-natured

"Can I help here?"

"I really need to get some money," Molly said "For medicine"

Jenny shot a look to the corner, where Val Riordan looked up from her notes with an expression of dread on her face The psychiatrist obviously didn’t want to be brought into this

Theo took the check gently froovernood Just this once? Medicine" He winked at Jenny from behind Molly’s back

"Hoill kill me when he sees it Every ti about spawn of evil"

"I’ll back you up Tell him it was in the interest of public safety"

"Oh, okay You’re lucky we’re busy today and I have the cash to spare" Jenny handed Molly a pen "Just endorse it"

Molly signed the check with a flourish and handed it over Jenny counted out the bills on the counter "Thanks," Molly said Then to Theo, "Thanks Hey, you want a collector’s edition of Warrior Babes?" She held the videotape out to hiratuities"

Jenny craned her neck to look at the cover of the tape

"It’s in Italian, but you can figure it out," Molly said

Theo shook his head and so" She turned and walked out of the restaurant, leaving Theo staring at her back

"I guess she really was in movies," Jenny said "Did you see the picture on the cover?"

"Nope," Theo said

"Aed "Thanks for taking her check, Jenny I’ll find a seat Just so the Plotznik kid?"

Theo shook his head as he walked away

Gabe

Skinner barked once to warn the Food Guy that he was about to collide with the crazy woman, but it caood-hearted Food

Guy didn’t get thework and going to get so around in thewas important

Gabe, covered with ging in his backpack for his wallet as he approached HP’s Cafe Co at all where she was going She heard Skinner bark just as they conked heads

"Ouch, excusewhere I was going"

Skinner took the opportunity to sniff Molly’s crotch "Nice dog," Molly said "Did he produce B rabbed Skinner by the collar and pulled him away

Molly folded her hts "Hey, you’re the biologist, huh?"

"That’s ?"

"What?"

"A sow bug You know, roly-polies, pill bugs - gray, lotsa legs, designed to curl up and die?"

"Yes, I knohat a sow bug is"

"How rams of protein in one?"

"I have no idea"

"Could you find out?"

"I suppose I could"

"Good," Molly said "I’ll call you"

"Okay"

"Bye" Molly ruffled Skinner’s ears as she walked off

Gabe stood there for a second, distracted from his research for the first tied his tail to say, "Let’s eat"

Dr Val

Val Riordan watched the lanky constable coh the restaurant toward her She wasn’t ready to be official, that’s why she’d taken herself out to breakfast in the first place - that and she didn’t want to face her as-sistant Chloe and her newfound nymphomania She was months, no, years behind on her professional journals, and she’d packed a briefcase full of the a few over coffee before her appointan She tried to hide behind a copy of Pusher: The Aical Practice, but the constable just kept co

"Dr Riordan, do you have a estured to the chair across froht in "Are you sure that Bess Leander never said anything about proble ho?"

"I told you before I can’t talk about it"

Theo took a dollar out of his pocket and slid it across the table "Take this"

"Why?"

"I want you to be my therapist I want the sa Bess Leander Even though that privilege isn’t supposed to extend beyond the grave I’ you as my therapist"

"For a dollar? I’m not a lawyer, Constable Crowe I don’t have to accept you as a patient And payo away She had tried to bend people to her will since she was a child She’d spoken to her therapist about it during her residency Go away

"Fine, takeany new patients"

"One session, thirty seconds long I’m your patient I promise you’ll want to hear what I have to say in session"

"Theo, have you ever addressed, well, your substance abuse proble to say, but Croasn’t exactly being professional either

"Does that mean I’ht I saw Joseph Leander engaging in sexual relations with a young woman in the park" Theo folded his hands and sat back "Your thoughts?"

Jenny couldn’t believe she’d heard it right She hadn’t ossip borave, and her straitlaced Presbyterian husband was doing it with so her tables, waited for a second, then slid theelse?"

"Not right now," Theo said

Jenny looked at Val Riordan and decided that whatever she needed right noas not on thethere wide-eyed, as if someone had slapped her with a dead mackerel Jenny backed away from the table She couldn’t wait for Betsy to come in to relieve her for the lunch shift Betsy alaited on Joseph Leander when he cauy with two children who had never been laid She’d be bloay

Betsy, of course, already knew

Gabe

Gabe tied Skinner up outside and entered the cafe to find all the tables oc-cupied He spotted Theophilus Crowe sitting at a four-top with a wo himself to their table, then de-cided it would be better to approach Theo under the pretense of a rat news update and hope for an invitation

Gabe pulled his laptop out of his shoulder bag as he approached the table

"Theo, you won’t believe what I found out last night"

Theo looked up "Hi, Gabe Do you know Val Riordan? She’s our local psychiatrist"

Gabe offered his hand to the wo away from his muddy boots "Sorry," Gabe said "I’ve been in the field all day Nice to ist He has a lab up at the weather station"

Gabe was feeling uncomfortable now The woman hadn’t said a word She was attractive in a s, stunned perhaps "I’m sorry to interrupt We can talk later, Theo"

"No, sit down You don’t mind, do you, Val? We can finish our session later I think I still have twenty seconds on the books"

"That’s fine," Val said, see to come out of her haze

"Maybe you’ll be interested in this," Gabe said He slipped into an empty chair and pushed his laptop in front of Val "Look at this" Like ave a rat’s ass about research unless it could be expressed in terms of dollars

"Green dots?" Val said

"No, those are rats"