While he was here, I pulled more cookies out of the oven. Ian grabbed two while they were still warm. Shortly after that, he took off, and by then I was ready to collapse. All this running around and worrying was taking its toll. The PVA had hardened, so I would have to make another batch. But not right away. Just now, I felt like taking a nap. Maybe I would take the rest of the day off, eat cookies, and read a good book.
I was starting up the stairs to let Max know the coast was clear when the phone rang twice and stopped again. Someone else is at the front door? What the heck? I ran to the kitchen phone to answer it.
“Hey, Brooklyn. It’s me, Ian.”
“Did you forget something?”
“Nope, just wanted to let you know a delivery guy is here with a huge box for you. I let him inside.”
“Oh, my bookshelves. Thanks, Ian.”
We hung up, and it was a full minute later before I heard our building’s ancient industrial freight elevator chug into action.
I cleaned off my worktable and tossed the PVA in the trash can.
The elevator shuddered to a stop and a few seconds later there was a knock on my door. That was one speedy deliveryman.
Max was hidden away on the roof and everything was fine. I took a few deep breaths to steady my heart. I really wasn’t cut out for a life of intrigue.
Oh, who was I kidding? I thrived on intrigue, but this day was driving me batty.
“Brooklyn, yoo-hoo!” A voice called through the door. “You are home?”
My neighbor Vinnie? I ran to open the door.
“Hello, my friend,” she said, and stepped inside.
I wrapped her in a warm hug. “Where’s Suzie? How are you? I haven’t seen you all week.”
“We are fine,” she said in her chirpy voice. I held her at arm’s length to take in her outfit of black bustier, denim cutoffs, and army boots. On her it all worked.
Then I realized there was someone standing behind her.
“Delivery for Wainwright?” he said, parking his furniture dolly while he wiped his forehead with his baseball cap. Towering over him was a large brown box, about six feet tall and almost three feet wide. No wonder he seemed out of breath.
“Right,” I said, grinning. “My bookshelves. Come on in.”
I led the way, and Vinnie followed me from my workshop studio, where my front door was, through the short hall that led to my living room. I pointed to the wall on the left that was bare. “You can leave the box right there.”
“That is why I am here, Brooklyn,” she explained in her lilting Indian accent. “I saw this man stepping off the elevator and I told him I would show him the way.”
“Yo, Brooklyn?”
“There’s Suzie,” Vinnie said, then cried out, “We are in here, Suzie.” Suzie and Vinnie were a loving couple as well as business partners in chain-saw artistry.
“I knew it, you sneaky bitch.”
That wasn’t Suzie’s voice. A sharp pain in my neck made me gasp aloud.
Minka?
She pushed her way past the delivery guy, lumbered right up to me, and smacked my arm. “How dare you?”
“Hey,” I said, rubbing my arm. “What are you doing here?”
“I followed Ian over here. I was sure he was up to no good.” She wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Ew. What a slob. “When he left just now, he let this delivery guy in, so now I’ve caught you in a lie you can’t slither out of.”
“How’d you get into the building?”
“Your front door takes forever to close, so I got in after him.”
“Well, get out.”
Suzie moved in closer and Minka cringed. Good. Suzie looked a lot tougher than she was, but at times like this, flexing some muscle couldn’t hurt.
“I’m not leaving until I get some of the books Ian delivered to you.”
“What books?”
“Don’t play dumb with me.” She flicked her chin toward the delivery guy. “You’ve got that whole big box of books to restore. I want some.”
“Oh, my God,” I muttered. “You are deranged.”
“Right here okay?” the deliveryman asked.
I whipped around and saw he was standing right where I’d showed him. “Perfect. Thanks.”
“These are the bookshelves you ordered last week?” Vinnie asked. “Can we see them?”
“Yes,” I said, shifting away from Minka. “They’re a really nice oak and they’re going to go on this wall. What do you think?”
“Perfect,” Vinnie said.
“Cool,” Suzie said. “I like books everywhere.”
We watched the deliveryman maneuver the box off the dolly inch by inch; then he held one end and carefully laid it down on the floor. “There you go.”
“Anybody home?” someone bellowed from my front door.
I jolted. Yet another person was at my door?
But Vinnie smiled and said, “It’s Jeremy and Sergio.”
More fun neighbors.
“Come in,” I shouted in the general direction of the front door. “Close the door behind you, please.”
“A party on a Wednesday afternoon-how delicious,” Jeremy said as he hugged me. Then he gazed beyond me toward the kitchen. “Ooh, cookies.”
“Bring the plate over,” I said.
Jeremy went after the cookies, and his boyfriend, Sergio, grabbed me. “Hi, cutie.”
“Hi, Sergio,” I said, patting his back. “How are you?”
“Fabuloso, as always.”
“Brooklyn, darling, are we having a party?”
“Derek?” I spotted him coming through the hall and into the living room. “You’re home early.”
“A good thing, apparently,” he said, kissing me firmly, then wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “I do hate to miss a party.”
Minka shoved me again. “I don’t care if you’re having a party. I want answers. And I want my share of the Covington work.”
I turned on her. “They’re not books, Minka. They’re book shelves. I ordered them a week ago.” I realized I was yelling but I couldn’t help it. She was a delusional moron with a left jab that could land you in the hospital.
“Liar!” she cried.
“Oh, my God.” I grabbed my own hair to keep from strangling her. “You’re a lunatic and you’re trespassing. Now leave before I call the police.”
“Hello, Derek,” Vinnie said brightly, ignoring the commotion.
“Vinnie,” he said, giving her a hug as he observed my less-than-amusing tête-à-tête with Minka. “How are you?”
“Very well, thank you.”
“Sign for this?” The deliveryman shoved a clipboard in front of me. A pen was taped to the steel clip.
“Sure.” I signed my name and he tore off a receipt and handed it to me. Then he turned the dolly around and took off for the door.
“Thank you,” I called after him. I heard my front door slam shut and felt momentarily relieved until I realized Minka was still there.
“Cookie?” Jeremy said, holding the plate out.
“Yes.” I shoved half of the cookie into my mouth. “We have milk.”
“Ooh, yummers,” Jeremy said. “I’ll get it.”
“Darling, what’s going on?” Derek leaned close and whispered in my ear, “Where is our houseguest?”
I stood on tiptoe and answered quietly, “On the roof.” I turned and looked around at the confusion. Derek and I gazed at each other, then shrugged and laughed.
“I’ll open some wine,” he said, and I nodded my approval.
“Hey, Brooklyn, aren’t you going to open the box?” Suzie asked as she munched on a cookie.
“Yeah,” Minka snarled as she adjusted her hat. “I’m not leaving until I’ve seen exactly what’s in there.”
“Whoa.” I must have been distracted before, because I was just now getting my first good look at her-and had to shield my eyes. Pink and plastic were her watchwords today. The shirt was a shiny, one-shoulder creation that stretched across her voluptuous bosom so tightly that if it came loose, I feared somebody would lose an eye. Her pink stretch pants were sliced vertically all the way up her thighs so her skin popped out appallingly. She wore a matching pink, glittery pillbox hat tilted jauntily to one side.