forty

The next morning I stumbled into the shower. I’d slept way past the time I usually wake. I downed some coffee, fed Wizard his morning meal, and threw on jeans and a sweater. Once the coffee kicked in, I spent the next couple of hours catching up on emails, client appointments, and the Zodia column. By then I was famished. I made some toast and sat down to review the notes I’d made of my conversations with everyone who knew Moira.

Again, there was something niggling at the back of my mind and I couldn’t quite get hold of it. Rita had seen Moira getting into a large dark car in the parking lot of the Alibi. She was sure Moira had been picked up by a man. Was it the same black sedan that had followed me last night? Did Rita know more about cars than I? Maybe she’d noticed the make and just hadn’t mentioned it.

It was past noon, so Rita might be at work. I slipped on my jacket and headed back to the Haight. When I reached Waller, I drove around the block and pulled into the Alibi’s rear lot. A few cars were parked on the cracked asphalt behind the bar. At the far end was an older, dark blue two-door. I drove closer. It was Rita—I could see her curly dark hair through the window. She was turned sideways, gathering her things. I climbed out and walked over to the driver’s window.

I tapped on the glass but Rita didn’t move. Her face was turned away from me and her head lay against the headrest. I stood still for a moment and then slowly circled the car, moving around to the passenger side. Something was very wrong. My heart was skipping beats. Against my will, I forced myself to look inside. Rita was propped up, facing the passenger window. Her swollen tongue extended from her mouth and raw bruises marked her neck. Her eyes were open and sightless.

I backed away and bumped into a chain-link fence at the side of the parking lot. Nausea threatened to overwhelm me. I hung on to the fence for support and bent over to catch my breath. Shuddering, I took deep breaths until my stomach was under control. I staggered back to my car, found a bottle of water in the trunk, and downed a large mouthful. I had to walk slowly. My legs were stiff and the world was spinning. Inside the Alibi, the bartender, a partially bald older man in a white T-shirt, was wiping down the bar. He looked up as I approached.

“Please call the police,” I croaked.

“What’s that, lady?”

“The police. Call the police, right away,” I managed to say. “Rita’s in her car in the back. She’d dead.”

He stood staring at me for a moment, trying to take in my words. Then he ran to the end of the bar and out to the parking lot. I followed him, watching him run to Rita’s car. He stopped a few feet away and then slowly backed up. He turned to look at me.

“Did you see what happened?”

I couldn’t speak. I opened my mouth but no words came out. I shook my head. “I just pulled up and found her.”

“Stay here. I’m calling the cops. Don’t touch anything.”

He returned a moment later and waited with me. Ten minutes later we heard sirens. A cruiser pulled down the alley and a man and woman emerged from the car.

They too walked slowly around Rita’s car, and then the female officer returned to the cruiser and radioed it in. I gave the other officer my name and information. Told them I’d only met Rita once or twice at the bar, didn’t see anything, and had no information. My speculation that Rita had known something important about Moira would seem too far-fetched. They would never understand and it would take too long to explain. When another patrol car and a police van pulled into the parking lot, I slipped away and climbed into my car. No one was paying the slightest attention to me.

I started the engine and drove off, careful not to look in Rita’s direction. I’d contact the police later, but I didn’t want to stand there waiting to explain things to local cops on the beat. I drove home, pushing the thought of Rita’s face out of my mind. She had known something. She knew the car or she could identify it, or she’d seen the man who’d picked up Moira that night. And that’s why she was dead.