61. I Spy (For The FBI)

By this time, even the doctor was asleep. Dinah moved the mug from the sleeping medic’s hands without waking her up. I sat down opposite Sam but she didn’t move. Some of her hair had escaped from the elastic and was being ruffled by her breath. I fell asleep myself.

A knee in the side of my thigh woke me up. Dinah waited to put the coffee down. Sam was already awake. I doubted Dinah had used the same method to get her attention. The Doctor was gone, back to a nearby hospital, though I hadn’t seen one on our walk to the diner. The police woman was still there. Less Angie Dickinson, more Sharon Gless. She was awake but still looked tired. Her nod was friendly enough as she walked out into the dawn. The shutters were up. There was no skyline to see. Nothing to listen to but the rumble of the garbage trucks. The clock on the wall said a quarter after six.

Sam must have been awake for a while. ‘I’ve been thinkin’’

I took a gulp of coffee and held my tongue.

Sam’s eyebrows went up, ‘What, no wisecracks?’

‘I never crack wise before 8 0’clock, on principle.’

‘What principle?’

‘On the principle that I’m usually asleep. Go on, I’m listenin’. Just don’t expect any pearls of wisdom until my coffee’s finished.’

‘Why was it Feebs and not Secret Service at the orphanage last night?’

‘They help each other out, sometimes. Nobody likes it. But – you know – when the Devil drives and all that -’

‘Yeah, but just FBI, no Secret Service. One of each in the car. Two cars. I don’t know.’

‘You watch too much TV, don’t you know the government has the horn for Homeland Security nowadays. Everyone else can whistle Dixie AND Yankee doodle when it comes to funding.’

The frown lines in her forehead were cute. She was still young enough for them to disappear once she stopped thinking. They stayed for the time being.

‘I don’t like it.’

The truth was, I didn’t either. Personal security was always about quantity not quality. Even a minor event like that day’s would mean agents on site 24/7 for at least 48 hours previous. Okay, so the only women to hit on would be nuns, but Feds liked a challenge and the Secret Service took their rivalry with them seriously.

‘We’ll go back to the orphanage now. Maybe we’ll ask Agents K and Snodgrass for some ID ourselves. You wanna wash-up in the restrooms?’

Sam stood up, ‘No, I’m good.’ And she was.