“You’ve been following me since Mayor Flemming?” Riley shrieked.
The startled pigeons flew away in a cloud of feathers and poop.
“Maybe,” the old woman said stubbornly. “It’s not the only thing I’ve been doing. Nick’s no dummy. No one looks at the old lady feeding the birds. He used me on a couple of surveillance gigs. I only follow you around when Santiago’s not with you.”
A few brave pigeons returned to the sandwich.
Riley rubbed her temples. “Is this how he knew I was in the middle of a mob scene at the coffee shop?”
“Well, that and he’s been tracking your phone.”
“He’s beenwhat?” This time the pigeons didn’t bother flying away.
“What? Lots of people do it. My grandson’s parents track his to make sure he’s not skipping school and smoking doobies behind the Hot Topic anymore.”
“Yeah, because he’s a minor and they’re his parents,” Riley shouted. “I’m a grown woman, and my boyfriend is stalking me.”
“He prefers to think of it as protecting you. Stalking carries some hefty fines and possible jail time,” Mrs. Penny explained.
“So you do what? Follow me around and report back to him?”
She shrugged, watching a pigeon fight break out over a piece of old cheese. “Pretty much. Gotta say, for a young gal who looks the way you do and has the whole psychic thing going for her, your life is pretty boring.”
Riley was offended. “Excuse me! I got shot and caught several bad guys this summer. That’s not boring.”
Mrs. Penny held up her hands. “I’m only saying. You land yourself a guy like Nicky Santiago, and you eat early bird dinner with a bunch of senior citizens every night. You two are acting like the old people in the house.”
Riley grabbed her neighbor by the synthetic lapels. “Is he bored? Has he said he’s bored? Does he want more excitement?”
Mrs. Penny pushed her hands away. “Relax, cray-cray. I’m saying you both act like old fogies. Hell, if I were five years younger, had the joint mobility of my thirties, and a guy like Santiago? I’d be installing a sex swing in the living room. If you catch my drift.”
Mrs. Penny’s drift was not subtle.
“Ew.”
“Youth is wasted on the stupid. So, where we going next?”
“Weare going nowhere.Youare going home.”
Mrs. Penny looked at her watch. “No can do. The boss man paid me for four hours today. And now that you know about me, I can ride with you.”
“I am not happy about this.”
“I’ll be sure to note that in my report.”
“Wait here,” Riley told Mrs. Penny when they returned to the uneven air conditioning of the lobby.
She headed back into the bowels of the building and stepped into the first empty office she found. She dialed the front desk.
“Excuse me,” Riley said. “The older woman in the lobby seems a little…off. I’m worried that she might be diabetic or maybe confused. She said she’s interviewing for a job, but she’s in her eighties and keeps muttering to herself.”
“Thanks for the information. She probably just wandered away from Golden Years Daycare down the block,” the receptionist said. “I’ll call the authorities.”
“Great! Thanks,” Riley said and hung up.
“What was that about?” Kellen asked when she stepped back into the hallway.
“Oh, just taking care of some old business,” Riley said.
