Tinman by Karen Black & Matt Walton

Author:Karen Black & Matt Walton [Black, Karen & Walton, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780972444934
Publisher: C&K Publishing
Published: 2020-04-11T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XVI

Los Angeles, Day 5, Friday, TINMAN Meeting

Corky was dressed in Levis. The short haircut instead of a braided pigtail, a “THINK SNOW” tee-shirt instead of the faded plaid, and sneakers instead of cowboy boots gave her a different look, but she definitely was not dressed-for-success in the business world. She saw the question in my eyes.

“I’m dying to go with you to peek inside TINMAN, but I don’t see what good tagging along would do. So, why blow my cover? I’m still your secret weapon.” She made one of her “cutesy” faces, and twirled her hand, with her index finger pointing upward, in a circular motion. “You take the high road, and I’ll take the low road.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, taken aback, primarily, if truth be told, by Corky’s independence.

“While you confront Leo in his high-rise office, I’m going to visit Mrs. Morales in her humble casita.”

“Mrs. Morales?”

“That sweet little old Mexican lady you told me about who took care of Charley’s flowers. I called the maid service at the hotel yesterday while I was waiting for you and got her address. She hasn’t been to work this week, doesn’t feel so good.”

“What do you think you might find out?”

“¿Quien sabe? As you would put it.” She smirked. “That little old lady has been fussing over Charley for years. She might notice things nobody else would ever think about, and she’ll talk to me. I know the language.”

“Come here,” I said, pulling her down on my lap. “Kiss me.” She did, warm and sweet, with meaning. “You’re a genius, and I’m a dope. Forgive me.”

“It’s hard not to be up-tight.” She touched the tip of my nose.

I squeezed her and pulled her close. Every day I became more certain of my feelings for Corky…deep feelings. What might have initially brought us together as a shared loss, was quickly turning into sometime more…much more, and it was almost scary, particularly so given the speed with which it was moving. I’d often heard the phrase, “opposites attract.” That certainly seemed true in our case, given our vastly different views of the world. But despite a few noticeable clashes, we seemed to be able to work it out. Promising? I certainly hoped so. We’d probably have to perfect the art of compromise.

“Now please be careful. I even worry about the part of town you’re going to. And remember, the police may be looking for a cute little wetback that was pushing a hamper down the hall just before they found LeeRoy in the apartment with a bump on his head.”

“You want to know the thing I worry about? I’m going to be so homesick when I walk into Mrs. Morales’s little house.”

“Here.” I gave her my handkerchief, “in case you need it.”

“Okay. Andale!” She grinned at my blank look. “It means, hop to it.”

“You want to know something I’m concerned about?” I asked as we started the drive downtown. “What line do I take with Leonard, and what

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