The Less Than Spectacular Times of Henry Milch: A Wyandot County Mystery by Thornton Marshall

Author:Thornton, Marshall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kenmore Books
Published: 2020-04-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Well, that was depressing. I really needed an Oxy or two, but I’d taken them all. Which, by the way, is the worst thing about liking drugs; they always run out. I decided I’d distract myself with something light, frivolous and preferably sweet. The mischievously named Fudge You! was two doors down from the library, so I popped in and bought a quarter pound of vanilla chocolate chip and another quarter pound of black cherry. Then I ate the fudge on the drive to Bellflower listening to Mandy Moore sing about how she had a crush on me. Believe me, eating fudge while singing along to a pop song and driving a four-speed truck is a skill. A valuable skill.

I found the Turley HIV Clinic about a block from Midland Hospital formerly Morley Medical Center formerly St. Anne’s. Seriously, who can keep up? Anyway, the clinic was a squat, square brick building. I almost didn’t find it because the sign was so teeny-weeny. The rainbow flag waving above the door was bigger—that’s how I finally found it.

I parked at a meter, threw in a quarter—I wasn’t planning on being there long—and scurried into the building. It was thirty-five degrees out and I was in a hoodie. I thought it was absurd that no one else was rushing. Or even looked cold.

Inside, I found a rather large, empty waiting room. Behind a desk at the far end of the room sat Toddy. Looking at him again, I decided he was very good-looking. I liked his hair. It was that kind of blond that was very light on top and dark underneath. His eyes were hazy blue and his skin freshly pink. The only strike against him that I could see as I walked across the room was that he was wearing a sweater with a shawl collar. I couldn’t remember what decade it was from, but it wasn’t this one.

“Hi Toddy, do you remember me? Henry Milch. Mooch.”

“Of course, I remember you Henry. What can I do for you?”

“Well, I wanted to ask a couple of questions.”

“Are you here for an HIV test?”

“Oh God, no.”

“When was the last time you were tested?”

“Last year sometime.” Maybe it was two years. Who pays attention, right?

“We could do the test now. We have rapid response testing. It only takes twenty minutes.”

“Thanks, but I’m here to ask questions about Sammy Hart.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why? Why is that your business?”

The last thing I wanted to do was mention the reward. I mean, I’m sure he knew about it, but he didn’t need to know I wanted it.

“Well, I found his body. I feel like I owe him something.” I’m sure that sounded as pathetic as it felt. “He’s kind of my cousin.”

Nope, that was also lame.

Toddy looked me over for a moment, then stood up, saying, “Let’s do the test. You can ask your questions while we wait.”

He walked back to a small exam room situated behind the desk. I had no choice but to follow. I didn’t want to take the test.

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