Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz

Author:Gregg Hurwitz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

30

A Confusion of Arcane Etiquette

Jumping into his truck, clearing the area, bloody face turned away as patrol cars screamed past him. Six blocks out, pulling over beneath an underpass. Spare gear in the back, change of clothes, baby wipes to clear the crusted blood from his face, Los Angeles Angels hat to cover his clotted hair.

Beelining across the city, closing the seventy-five miles to Castle Heights in fifty-three minutes. Lowering his head so the brim of his cap shaded his face. Running the stairs, into the lobby.

And smack into Ida Rosenbaum.

“Excuse you!” she barked.

“Sorry, ma’am, I’m just late for … a dinner party.”

“Well, I hope you’re not going dressed like that.”

“No, ma’am.”

She squinted, nose quivering, then extracted a wadded-up tissue from her sleeve, failing to get it past her chin before she sneezed in his face. “It’s all the goddamned animals they’re letting in here. It’s like a zoo.” She assessed him once more, seemed underwhelmed per usual. “I hope you’re going to bring something.”

It took everything Evan had not to edge past her and make a break for the elevators. “Sorry, ma’am?”

“To the dinner party. My Herb, may he rest in peace, had a golden rule. Would you like to know what it was?”

Evan felt a bead of blood starting to work its way from beneath his cap down his forehead. He tilted his head back slightly to slow its pace. “Yes, ma’am.”

She jabbed an arthritic finger at his chest, her aggressively floral perfume crowding out the oxygen. “Never show up empty-handed.”

For once her unsolicited advice struck home. He hadn’t even begun to think about what to bring to Mia’s brother. “What would you suggest?”

“Something environmentally friendly,” she said. “The young people today are all about climate change and whatnot.”

“What’s an environmentally friendly dinner gift?” Evan asked.

“I don’t know,” she snapped, shuffling by him. “I’m not your personal shopper.”

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