Page 44 of Things We Hide from the Light
Knox cut me off. “Shut it. She’s one of the best people I know. So are you. Fix things with her and then leave her alone. I’m not lettin’ you two play games with each other. And stop pinningher to goddamn walls. The woman hates to be touched. I can’t believe she didn’t detach your balls on her way out.”
Lina hated being touched? This was news.
“We’re goin’ out tomorrow night. You, me, and Lucy,” my brother continued.
I shook my head. “I’ve got a lot on my plate—”
“We’re goin’ out tomorrow night,” he repeated. “Honky Tonk, 9:00 p.m. It’s your day off, and if you try and cancel, Lucy and I are gonna show up at your place and drag you out. We’ve got shit to discuss.”
NINE
A NEIGHBORLY COCKBLOCKING
Nash
Iflipped the bird to my federal shadow in the parking lot, dropped Piper off at my place, and then grudgingly headed next door. Lina’s door loomed in front of me like a castle wall. There was music coming from inside. Something with a driving beat. Something that said “Beware: Angry Woman.” I hesitated for a second, then knocked hard.
The door swung open almost immediately, and I blinked in surprise when Mrs. Tweedy appeared in the doorway. She was holding her usual evening glass of bourbon on the rocks and dressed in her usual uniform of workout tights, tunic, and frosty pink lipstick. Her white hair was tall and poufy, adding another four inches to her five foot even frame.
I checked the apartment number, wondering how in the hell I’d knocked on the wrong door.
“Well, if it isn’t Studly Do-Right,” she said in her southern twang. The ice in her glass clinked merrily.
2B. Right next door to my place. I hadn’t gotten the wrong place. Mrs. Tweedy was answering the wrong door.
“Lina here?” I asked.
“Nope. I’m breaking and entering. Wanna cuff me?” She held up her hands, wrists together, and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
January Tweedy was feisty enough at 76 that I shuddered to think what she’d been like as a teenager.
Lina appeared in the doorway behind her and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“What can I do for you, Chief ?” Lina asked. Her tone was icy. “Do you need to know what I had for lunch today? A list of every person I’ve spoken to since I got here?”
“I’m on that list. We’re BFFFs,” Mrs. Tweedy piped up.
“BFFFs?” I repeated.
“Best fuckin’ friends forever,” she said. “You got a problem with Lina here? You’ve got a bigger problem with me. Oh, also I need you to stop by and fish my watch out of the garbage disposal again.”
Lina’s lips quirked. But all amusement vanished when she caught me looking at her.
“Mrs. Tweedy, if you let me speak to Lina in private, I’ll stop by after to get your watch out of the sink.”
“And hang my new shower curtain.”
“Another new shower curtain? What the hell happened to the last one?”
She took a rebellious sip of bourbon. “That sounds like a no to me, don’t it, Lina?”
“It sure wasn’t a yes,” she agreed.
“Fine. Watch and shower curtain. Now go away,” I said.
Mrs. Tweedy patted me on the cheek. “You’re a good boy, Nash. Try not to leave your head up your ass for too long. Sooner or later, the condition’s permanent.” She turned to Lina. “See you at the gym tomorrow morning. Bright and early!”
“It was nice meeting you,” Lina called after her.
