PULP & POPCORN

Page 24
When he spoke again, he tried to sound as cheerful as he’d just been, but he felt
deflated. “I’ve got this. Really.” He saw Felix’s skeptical look. “Felix, you’re being ridiculous.
I can handle a quick peek at some con artist ex-boyfriend’s hotel room.”
Felix couldn’t argue with that. “Fine. You do that. I’m going to do a little footwork of
my own. I’ll see you back here tomorrow morning.” Felix hurried down to the street to see if
he could catch a glimpse of Anjelica Jean. She was long gone, though, and Felix headed out
for the afternoon, still irritated by the encounter.
* * *
Rosewood and Kings wasn’t a great neighborhood, but David Gordon felt
comfortable enough on foot. He went around the block a few times before he picked a
vantage point, settling in on the sidewalk across the street from the boarding house where
Maruf was supposedly staying. David was far enough back from the sidewalk that he should
have been masked completely by shadows.
Standing in his third floor window, Maruf watched David watch the building.
It was several hours later when Maruf finally stepped out of the front door. Dressed
for a night on the town, he stopped for a moment by the front door. He couldn’t have been
any more perfectly illuminated, and David laughed quietly at his good luck. When Maruf set
off down the block, David followed carefully.
Maruf went slow just to make sure.
* * *
When Felix walked into the office the next morning, Miss Wunderlich was shocked
to see him. Whatever his strengths were as an investigator, early mornings were not among
them. He had spent the previous night enjoying good whiskey he paid for and a warm bed
he did not, and he had forgotten his anxiety of the previous evening. When he saw Miss
Wunderlich’s face, though, he paused on his way to his office.
“How’d David do last night?”
“He’s not in yet.”