Water Signs by Janet Dawson

Author:Janet Dawson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery fiction, Oakland california, Jeri Howard
ISBN: 987-1-56474-810-2
Publisher: Perseverance Press
Published: 2017-04-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

I left Manville Security and took the elevator down to street level. I stepped out to the sidewalk and walked in the direction of my office, savoring the sunny afternoon. When I reached the corner of Telegraph and Grand Avenue, I headed down Grand. I was waiting for a walk signal at Broadway when I heard a voice behind me say, “Jeri Howard, is that you?”

When I turned and saw who had spoken to me, I knew who it was immediately. I had never cared for my former coworker. I wasn’t particularly glad to see him.

“Leo Walker.”

Leo flashed a wide, friendly smile, a twinkle in his hazel eyes. “The very same.”

He was in his thirties now, a year or so younger than me, medium height and build, casually dressed in gray slacks and a red knit shirt worn under a lighter gray sports jacket. His wavy blond hair curled around his ears and spilled onto his forehead. In his left ear I saw a tiny gold stud. He had a tattoo as well, on his left wrist, a spider with a black body and purple legs, the design visible under his jacket cuff as he raised his left hand and pushed a strand of hair away from his face. He carried a nylon briefcase with a shoulder strap, slung over his right shoulder.

Interesting that my former coworker should turn up on an Oakland street corner just two days after Davina and I had talked about him. Coincidence? I’m wary of coincidence.

“How are you?” he asked. “I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

“It’s been several years.” The light turned green. We walked across Broadway.

Leo gestured to his right. “You know, every time I see this neighborhood, I think about that year I worked for Errol. They’re gonna tear that building down and build something else.”

“There’s a lot of that going on, all over Oakland,” I said. “Errol died a couple of weeks ago.”

“Did he really? I’m sorry to hear that,” Leo said. “Did he have another heart attack?”

“Yes. His memorial service was last week.”

“I’m sure it was well attended.”

“It was. There were a lot of people there. I saw Cal Brady.” Introducing Cal’s name into the conversation was deliberate. I wanted to see what reaction I got from Leo.

During the time I had worked at the Seville Agency, workplace friendships developed. So had workplace rivalries, some of them edged with dislike. Davina and I had been friends back then and we’d stayed friends. Cal and Leo, however, had been rivals. There was friction between them from the start. Cal was already working at the agency when Leo came on board. Cal, his alcoholism at that point hidden, was the older, supposedly steadier operative. Leo was the young hustler, brash and sometimes rash.

Cal and Leo had butted heads while working on a job. Errol had to step in and give both of them a talking-to. When Cal lost his job, Leo took great pleasure in his rival’s comeuppance.

What was it he’d said?

The boozer is a loser.

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