Love You to Death Read Free Page A

I’ll tell
him.” Buck Rogers smiled at me, happy again.
    “Thanks,” I said, patting his bony shoulder.
I walked up the street, where Buck Rogers had pointed. The bad
feeling was swimming in my stomach. Angel Face went to the trouble
of finding Stewie. That didn’t sit well with me. What the hell was
the name of that street?
    I kept walking, totally unsure of whether or
not I was heading in the right direction. I was calling myself all
kinds of stupid when the number three bus roared by. The
advertisement on its side read, ‘Public Transportation... Go
Green!’
    “Yes!” I whirled around and ran the opposite
way I’d been going. Greene Street was four blocks away. I weaved in
and around the various people walking.
    Hang on Stewie, I’m coming!
    * * * *
    I was out of breath, and more than a little
light headed, by the time I reached Greene Street. Now, all I had
to do was look for a Porsche. Shouldn’t be too hard, even if I
didn’t know the color. How many could there be?
    There were four. The first two were red, both
parked in the private spaces of a dentist office. The next car was
white. It had a pair of pink furry handcuffs hanging from the
rearview mirror. I had trouble picturing Angel Face driving around
with those dangling in front him. The last car was black.
    It figures. Murphy’s Law stated that when you
were looking for something it would always be in the last place you
looked for it.
    I saw Angel Face leaning casually alongside
the entrance to a three-story brick building. A slow, easy grin
spread across his face when he saw me.
    “Well, look who it is,” he drawled, pushing
off from the wall. “Are you following me, Cherry?”
    “Where is he?” I didn’t bother with niceties.
I knew this guy’s type. I didn’t want to give him any
ammunition.
    “Spunky as ever,” he drew a deep breath,
letting it out slow, all the while staring me down with his sharp
eyes. “He’s fine. He’s inside, doing me a favor.”
    “Look, I don’t know what your game is, but
Stewie isn’t your personal hockey puck.” I was scared of Angel
Face, but I was more upset for Stewie. Otherwise, I’d be beating a
path as far away as I could from this man and his dangerous
vibes.
    “Simmer down, sweetheart. Stewie’s just
fine,” he assured me. I knew he wasn’t lying, but I also knew he
wasn’t giving me the whole truth.
    As if he’d summoned him out of thin air,
Stewie, wearing his Batman mask and sucking on a lollipop, emerged
with a slight limp from the glass doors of the entrance.
    “Cherry? What’re you doing here? Are you
going to get a shot too?” He shuffled his feet, hurrying to my
side. He wasn’t acting like he was afraid, but he reached out and
took my hand, a gesture of comfort. I gave his fingers a light
squeeze.
    Without looking at Angel Face, I turned
Stewie around and walked us down the street. I planned to come back
here, when I found a safe place to stash Stewie, and find out what
the hell they were doing to him. I seriously doubted they were
giving him a flu vaccination.
    * * * *
    I left Stewie with Miss Vinnie and
double-timed it back to the building on Greene Street. I made sure
the black sports car was nowhere around before I entered the
building. A large sign reading BME—Baltimore Molecular Engineering,
hung behind a receptionist desk where a voluptuous brunette sat
pinching the handset of the phone between her head and her
shoulder, snapping her gum. She glanced up at me with a bored
expression and waved me to the elevators on the left.
    “It’s the second floor, room six,” she told
me and returned to her obvious personal call.
    I didn’t correct her. I just walked to the
elevators, hit the button, and hustled inside. The elevator hummed
to the second floor, pinging when the doors opened. I cautiously
stuck my head into the hall.
    The second floor was deserted. The corridor
was lined with closed doors, all numbered, and smelled distinctly
of stale air and disinfectant. I