Angel Food and Devil Dogs (33 page)

I drove down Liberty and across on 12th to my building. As usual, it was easier to park there and walk over to the restaurant.

La Casa Mexicana is an authentic Mexican restaurant just off the Mews on 11th Street, around the corner from Liberty. I put my arm through Kathryn's as we walked together. She was still shivering.

"Tell me everything you did today," I said as we walked to the Mexicana.

"Um, let's see... Went to the Hampshire for something to wear to Carl's service. Went to my office. Read two boring thesis proposals. Worked on some seminar notes. Called my brother Kiernan to say hi and Paul Erickson to talk about his grant. After that, I spent two hours reading Carl's voice program manual, during which I nodded off twice and dreamed about you."

"Sweet dreams?"

"Not exactly sweet, but certainly stimulating."

La Casa Mexicana is a double 1890s row house that was rehabbed in the 1990s by the Estevez family into a restaurant, Mexican grocery and bakery. The restaurant wasn't famous for fast service, just great food. Enticing smells wafted from the kitchen. We chose a small table in a corner.

"What did you do?" Kathryn asked placing her hand on top of mine, lightly tracing her fingers over my knuckles.

"I spent the whole day... imagining what it would be like later, when I have the chance to get you out of your... socks!"

"Oh no!" she laughed out loud then said, "I swear I didn't know that was going to happen... it's never happened before."

"Oh, really? So all the foot massages women have given you in the past haven't produced the same results?"

"
You
have the magic touch. I wonder if you'll be able to do it again?" she winked at me.

"We'll see," I said just as Rafael the waiter appeared.

"
Hola Maggie, ¿cómo estas?"
He handed us both menus.

Rafael doesn't speak much English. I know him and the rest of the Estevez family well. He placed a huge basket of fresh tortilla chips and four kinds of homemade salsa on the table in front of us.

"
Hola chico. ¿Cómo estas? Por favor, conozca mi amiga. Ella se llama Kathryn Anthony. Ella es una nueva persona en la vecindad,"
I said, introducing him to Kathryn and telling him she was new in the neighborhood.

"¿
O, si ella es tu nueva amiga la doctora, no?"
said Rafael.

"
Si, ¿pero quien le dijo eso?"
I asked.

"
Mariana me dijo. ¿Que quieren comer? ¿Quieren mas tiempo?"
he said.

I turned to Kathryn and asked, "¿Do you know what you'd like, or do you want to see the specials?"

Rafael said,
"Si, los especiales,"
and scurried off to get the small marker board he was supposed to have set up next to our table. We considered the choices.

Kathryn said, "I'll have the Veggie Combo with the
chile relleno,
cheese
enchilada,
and
chalupa
."

I ordered the Shrimp
Fajitas
with sides of
nopalito
salad and sweet fried bananas. I also ordered a
Molcajete con Guacamole
. Rafael went off to put in the order.

"¿
Nopalito
salad? ¿And what was the special
guacamole, molca
...?" Kathryn asked curiously.

"
Nopalitos
are marinated cactus. They taste kind of like marinated roasted red peppers. A
molcajete
is a mortar made out of lava rock, they use it to make the
guacamole
and then serve it in the
molcajete
. It's the best
guacamole
ever. I don't know how they do it. Even Jessie can't make it that way."

"Is she a good cook?"

"Excellent."

"What was Rafael saying to you? Something about me being a doctor? He spoke so rapidly, I can usually read Spanish fairly well, but..."

"It seems the nerve center of Mews gossip has done its job. I told Rafael you were a new person in the neighborhood and he asked if you were my new friend
the doctor
."

Kathryn snorted, "Who told him?"

"Mariana. She's the owner."

"But how did she know?"

"Kathryn, it's a small neighborhood, and the news runs through the women." Rafael put the
molcajete
on the table and brought us a new basket of chips. Kathryn tried the guacamole and leaned back in delight. I loved watching her. I reached to hold her hand, but her cheerful expression began to fade.

"I have something to tell you."

An
uh oh
flag waved in my brain. She was going to tell me something about herself that she thought would make me feel differently about her.

"Go ahead, Kathryn, nothing you can say will chase me away," I reassured her. But that was a lie. After all, I knew very little about her and there
were
things that could make a difference. Hey, I'm not just being shallow, what if she told me she was... a member of the 700 club, or that she liked to hunt bunnies, or that she voted for...

She went on, "Last year, I was living in California and Irwin College was interviewing for Max's position. The board wanted me to be in on some of the interviews. As it turned out later, Max ended up being the star candidate and since I knew him, I couldn't be impartial..." she stalled, taking a sip of water, "anyway, I came here in the early spring. I sat in on some interviews. Then one evening I was asked to take some of the board members out to dinner. So... I brought them here."

"Here to the Mexicana?" I asked.

"We sat over there," she indicated a large table in another dark corner. "They were all corporate types. Big business, very eager to talk about high finance. Nothing that interested me, but they didn't mind, they had each other to talk to."

I nodded.

"So, I sat in the corner and I thought about my solo life, and... your friends Farrel and Jessie came in. Of course I recognized Farrel from the College. I could tell they were deeply in love and I felt a bit jealous of them. I was alone, wasting a Saturday night with three dull bureaucrats," she paused and took another sip of water. "Then, you came. You hugged them and gave them a present. You laughed and congratulated them and at the end you picked up the check."

The memory of that evening flooded in and I
had
noticed her briefly, sitting in the back corner. "I remember the night," I said softly looking steadily into her eyes.

"You do?"

"It was Farrel and Jessie's anniversary. But, this is your story, go on."

"And you were alone too, so... I cast you in my fantasy," she smiled self consciously, "and though I didn't know you, I thought about you even when I went back to California."

She went on, "I came back to Fenchester and suddenly there you were, in Max's office. I wanted to know you. That's why I went out to see you in the snow. But, I've made all sorts of assumptions that were unfair to make. I have to be honest with you..." she stopped and started again, "last night was wonderful, really wonderful, but if sex now and then is all you're looking for, well, I can't... I need..." she stopped talking and finally looked up at me.

She'd shown her vulnerable side. Not something an
Ice Queen
would ordinarily do. I gathered her hands in mine gently, "Kathryn, I'm so happy you're telling me this, because my biggest fear in the last 24 hours was that you were going to pat me on the head, say:
thanks that was fun,
and disappear. I know things have to progress at their own pace, but if this can work out... Is it too much to ask you to go steady on the second date?"

She said brightly, beginning to relax, "This is our third date, if you count our night in the park, which you have artfully discerned was premeditated, at least by me... and yes, I'd be delighted to go steady with you. Do I get a sorority pin?" she asked smiling at last.

"I'll think of something," I smiled back.

Rafael brought a dozen dishes to the table and while we ate, I told Kathryn about my day. When I got to the part about Bart Edgar's girlfriend Nancy, Kathryn said immediately, "He should marry her, did you tell him that?"

"Yup, first thing. Do you think we sound like Amanda Knightbridge?"

"Oh my," she smirked, "what did she say to
you
? Did she say..."

"That we would..." I added.

"Complement each other?" we both said in unison laughing.

I went on talking about the day's events. When I got to the part about Connie's Yoohoo/Nehi confession, Kathryn's face clouded at the Shel Druckenmacher blackmail attempt.

"That poor girl. She has far more moxie than I'd ever have thought. Do you think she was telling the truth about the whole thing?"

"Yeah, she'd have to have been Dame Judy Dench to have pulled off that story. I think she's out of the running as a suspect."

"Was she a suspect?"

"
Trust no one
..." I said in a low voice.

Kathryn laughed, "... but, really?"

"Sure. In some ways she was the best suspect because she had the best opportunity. Now it has to be that the person who set the fire bomb somehow had to manage juggling the extra bottle back to his or her seat without anyone noticing."

"Is there anything you can do to stop Shel from bothering Connie?"

"Shel's in jail," I said idly as I carefully filled another flour tortilla with shrimp and some of Kathryn's black beans.

"But how did..?"

I told her about the plan Arturo Murciélago roped me into and about the police coming to make the arrest.

Her fork clattered to her plate. "Shel tried to stab you?" she said flatly. She seemed angry. "You promised me you'd be careful."

"Kathryn, please understand that a mostly drunk guy in a situation like that is not a big threat to me. I didn't get hurt, I didn't even get winded. I really wasn't in any danger," I explained calmly.

"Really?" she said doubtfully.

"Yes, really. I have a black belt in karate and ten times more hours in martial arts training than you probably spent on your dissertation. Believe me, I wouldn't have done it if I'd been in danger. Trust me Kathryn, there are some physical things I can do quite well."

"Well, I have to concede that," she smiled.

We were both full and there was still a ton of food on the table. I asked Rafael for some take-home cartons. While we were putting the leftovers into boxes Kathryn asked, "So you spoke to Bart, Connie, and Miranda, was that everyone?"

"I left both Rowlina and Leo phone messages. No word from Rowlina but I bumped into Leo in front of your building. He's upset about Carl."

"Oh, that reminds me, I read most of Carl's VTS manual. It certainly does have a high opinion of itself and dull directions. I wasn't kidding when I said I nodded off twice. Of course, I had a lot of exercise last night..." Kathryn smiled mischievously. "Anyway... I think the way Carl was able to get it to work so well was by frequently using the
keyword macro function
. Did you read about that?"

"Uh huh."

"The manual says you can do a
needs scan
for any of the user based files. That might be a way to find Carl's password. Also I think you're right about Carl having a high sensitivity microphone. Did you speak to Jimmy about that argument I overheard? The one he had with Carl?"

"No, but I'll set something up."

I could tell Kathryn wanted Jimmy to be cleared. I took out my cell phone, punched in Jimmy's number and got him on the third ring. He hemmed and hawed, but I insisted on a meeting the next morning, before Carl's memorial service. He finally agreed to 10:00 AM.

Rafael brought us a big plastic bag to carry the boxes of leftovers. He also brought Kathryn back her change. She left him a very generous tip. That was another plus in her column. I'm suspicious of tip cheapskates.

As we were just about to leave, my cell phone rang. I peered at the tiny screen. "Oh gee, it's Cora Martin, Farrel and Jessie's senior citizen neighbor who's watching their house while they're away. I'm sorry I have to get this... Cora?" I said into the phone.

"Maggie? It's Cora, dahling. I'm so glad you're home."

"Well, I'm on the cell phone Cora. I'm at the Mexicana."

"You are, dahling? Say hello to Mrs. Estevez for me."

"Cora, do you need me to do something?" I looked at Kathryn who was chuckling softly while picking up her water glass.

"Oh yes, dahling, yes. I was at Farrel and Jessie's. There's an electrical problem there. I want you to look at it, dear."

"Electrical? What happened?"

"I went to feed the kitties and I turned on the light in the front hall and the bulb exploded. To death it scared me."

"Exploded... you mean the glass broke? Or it just popped and went out?" I asked patiently.

"Well, it was a big pop. Do you think it just burned out? I could go and put in a new one. I'd have to stand on a chair."

"No, no Cora, don't stand on a chair!" I put my hand over the receiver and mouthed,
she's very short,
to Kathryn who smiled broadly. "Cora, I'll go and fix it right now. I can do it on my way home, I have their key."

"Oh good dahling, I don't want the girls to come home and be in the dark... So, Maggie, Mrs. McCourt tells me you have a new
friend
... and that she's a doctor!"

I looked right into Kathryn's eyes while I said clearly to Cora, "Yes, I do, but she's not a medical doctor Cora, she's a professor at the College."

Kathryn nearly choked on her water. Her look of astonishment was hilarious.

After I'd said goodbye to Cora, Kathryn demanded in amazement, "Who told her?"

"Mrs. McCourt... she's the head housekeeper at the Dakota."

We said good night to Raphael and I asked him to be sure to tell Mariana Estevez hello from Cora Martin and me.

Outside, a cold December wind swept snowflakes off tree branches and window ledges. They clung to our hair as we crossed the park toward Farrel and Jessie's.

"The food and the heat in the restaurant helped, Maggie, but I'm still cold," shivered Kathryn, "if you're expecting to get
anything you want,
you're going to have to do better."

"I like a challenge, especially when the prize is so lavish. I'm sorry we have to make a stop on the way home, but trust me, it's not good to disappoint Cora."