End of Watch by Baxter Clare

Author:Baxter Clare [Clare, Baxter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Detective and Mystery Fiction, Lesbian, Noir, Hard-Boiled
ISBN: 9781594930645
Google: Pq2EAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 1594930643
Barnesnoble: 1594930643
Goodreads: 448745
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2006-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 26

Despite telling Annie otherwise, Frank was excited on Saturday morning. Annie was still sleeping so Frank dressed quietly and slipped out to drop off her extra clothes at a Chinese laundry down the street. By the time she got back Annie was sitting in the kitchen. She had the Times propped in front of her and was talking on the phone.

Frank held up a bag of bagels and Annie said into the phone, “I got a friend from LA stayin’ wit me. She’s gone out for bagels already, can you believe it?” She laughed and said, “I’ll talk to you later, hon. Bye-bye.” Hanging up, she told Frank, “For Pete’s sake, I’m gonna have to go on a diet when you leave.”

Even in a baggy blue bathrobe Annie looked fit, and Frank answered, “Not from what I can see.”

“Yeah, well, you can’t see it all, cookie.” Annie patted her tummy. “Believe me, it’s there.”

“Okay,” Frank relented, laying the out the shmears. “More for me.

“How do you stay so slim?”

“Hardly slim. Gained fifteen pounds since I stopped drinking. I work out when I’m at home. I have a gym and a treadmill. Knees are startin’ to bother me though. Can’t run as long as I want to.”

“Tell me about it. I used to run in the morning before the kids were up. Got shin splints somethin’ awful. Had to quit. I been swimming for about six years now. I try to go three times a week. ‘Course I don’t always make it, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Anything’s good,” Frank agreed. “So if I need to call you today you’ll be on your cell phone?”

Annie poured coffee for both of them. “Yeah. I’ll be here working on reports I shoulda gotten to during the week. I’m going to my mother’s about three. Offer still stands.”

“No, thanks. Mind if I look at the sports section?”

“All yours.” Annie handed it over. They ate in companionable silence until Frank got up to shower. Flattening the Metro section against the table, Annie said, “You change your mind, you call me.”

Traffic was heavy out to Canarsie, worsened by a funeral procession as she neared the cemetery. She had to park a couple blocks away until the mourners left, then she claimed a space on the east side of the cemetery. There was another funeral that afternoon but by closing time no one had lingered near her father’s grave. Frank returned to the city, mildly disappointed.

She stopped at the central AA office to pick up a meeting schedule. After eyeing her up and down the cute gay guy helping her pouted. “You just missed an absolutely fabulous gay and lesbian meeting in the Village. Oh, here’s one! Gay, lesbian and trans-gender on West Thirteenth at eight thirty and nine thirty!”

“Thanks,” she said. “Maybe I’ll check it out.”

“You do that, honey. And good luck!”

Downstairs in the Nova, Frank studied the meeting schedule, deciding on a seven thirty at Trinity Place. In the meantime, she picked up her laundry, then stopped at a breakfast joint, reading her Big Book over coffee and corned beef hash.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.