Page 59 (1/1)

I pulled into the lot and parked I got out of raphed dance of their own Geese honked along the shore in search of cru out ripples around theray, the ruffled silver surface of the lagoon reflecting the rising wind

I was glad when Lieutenant Dolan’s car pulled in be-side mine We chatted idly until Terry appeared, and then the three of us waited Lyda Case never showed At 8:15, we finally gave it up Terry took Dolan’s number and said he’d be in touch if he heard from her It was a bit of a letdown, as all three of us had hoped for a break in the case Terry seeoing to be hard for hiht alone He’d been in the hospital Friday night and with his mother-in-law on Saturday while the boation and a work crew came in to board up the front wall of the house

My own sense of melancholy had returned in full force Funerals and the new year are a baddulledsomewhat disconnected frohts and noise and a good din-ner so except death I fancied myself an independent soul, but I could see how easilyDaniel would appear again With hiht years before, he hadn’t even left a note He didn’t like to deal with anger or recrimination He said it bummed him out to be around people ere sad, de-pressed, or upset His strategy was to let other people cope with unpleasantness I’d seen his that no longer interested hiht not see him for two years By then, you couldn’t even remember why you’d been so pissed off

Soe, which Daniel usually found puzzling Strong emo-tion is hard to sustain in the face of baffles to say Most of the ti hi to discipline a cat for spraying on the drapes He didn’t "get it" Fury didn’t make any sense to him He couldn’t see the connection between his behavior and the wrath that was generated as a consequence What the man did really as play He was a free spirit, whimsical, inventive, tireless, sweet Jazz piano, sex, travel, parties, he onderful at those… until he got bored, of course, or until reality surfaced, and then he was gone I had never been taught how to play, so I learned a lot fro I really needed to know

I found a parking spot six doors away Daniel’s car was parked in front of ainst the fender There was a paper bag with twine handles near his feet, a baguette of French bread sticking out of it like a baseball bat

"I thought you one by today," I said

"I talked to my friend It looks like I’ll be here a couple days more"

"You find a place to stay?"

"I hope so There’s a little hbor-hood that will have a roo out"

"That’s nice You can reclaim your stuff"

"I’ll do that as soon as I know for sure"

"What’s that?" I said, pointing at the baguette

He looked down at the sack, his gaze following ht I’d play the piano so have you been here?"

"Since six," he said "You feel all right? You look beat"

"I am Come on in I hope you have wine I could use so as he followedon the floor in his living rooed those around the roo in the middle of a birthday cake We had wine, pate, cheeses, French bread, cold salads, fresh raspberries, and sugar cookies the size of Frisbees I stretched out afterward in a food-induced rev-erie while Daniel played the piano Daniel didn’t playup , eround was in classical piano, so he war over into improvisation without effort

Daniel stopped abruptly

I opened my eyes and looked at him