“You have a car, right?” Uncle Pix was out with the only car in the family.
“Yes,” Fin said, stepping into his sneakers. “It’s at the pub…”
“Why did wewalkhome last night?” she asked him, and he followed her out the door. “Why didn’t we take your car?”
Fin changed the subject as he chased Hailey down the street. “Pix wanted you to stay home today.”
“Guess you’ll be in trouble then. Where’s your car?”
Brushing past her, Fin headed toward a black convertible with red racing stripes parked in a shady corner of the lot. Hailey had seen this car before. She thought it belonged to one of the regulars.
“This isyourcar?” she asked when he opened the passenger door for her.
“Yeah. Why?”
Hailey furrowed her brow.
“Uncle Pix told us this car belonged to an old fart with a—” She clamped her lips together.
“With a what?”
She shook her head and tried to get in, but Fin threw the door shut. Then he leaned against it and crossed his arms.
“With a what?” he repeated.
“—with a small penis,” Hailey blurted, and she covered her face. She waited a few seconds then peeked through her fingers.
His nostrils weren’t flaring. His face wasn’t pinched. In fact he didn’t look angry at all. Hailey’s hands were sweating, but Fin seemed amused. He bit his lip as his lip quirked up, and he shook his head. Then he opened her door again, waving her in. Hailey couldn’t look at him. She squeezed through and into the passenger seat with her head bowed, mentally berating herself for saying the word “penis” in front of him.
He shut her door, confining his laugh to a snort, and Hailey watched him walk way too slowly to the driver’s side. Her leg started shaking when he got in the car. If he didn’t start moving a little faster, she was going to snap at him.
“Fin,” she said, annoyed that he’d taken an extra three seconds to buckle his seat belt, “could you please move a little faster?”
“You got it.” He pursed his lips, threw the car in gear, and stomped on the gas. The engine roared, and Hailey fell back in her seat as they shot out of the parking lot. She floundered around for her seat belt then dug her nails into the seat as Fin ran two red lights and weaved in and out of traffic at Mach one.
“Look out!” she shouted as he narrowly missed side-swiping a city bus.
“It would really help me concentrate,” said Fin very calmly as he swerved into oncoming traffic again, “if you would please hold all yelling until the Shelby comes to a complete stop.”
“Okay,” Hailey mouthed. She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her hands. Being in his car felt like a roller coaster, aside from the traffic noise. She heard more than a few horns honking, some squealing tires, and part of an expletive someone yelled at Fin.
He didn’t respond.
“Was that fast enough for you?” he asked with more than a little hostility as he skidded to a stop next to the coroner’s office.
They’d made it there in under five minutes.
Hailey uncovered her eyes and un-cringed. Fin’s driving was…exhilarating.
He got out of the car and trotted to the passenger side. But when he opened Hailey’s door, something in the alley next to the coroner’s office caught his attention.
His smile vanished.
“Wait here, Hailey,” he said in a voice so serious that Hailey actually did stay put…for a few seconds— long enough to see him disappear around a building. But, as soon as he was out of sight, she got out of the car, headed for the coroner’s office, and asked to see the body.
An older lady with gray hair and shaky hands sat at the reception desk and answered Hailey in a painfully slow voice.
“That was Dr. Grabstein’s autopsy,” she said. “I’ll see if he’s available.” She picked up her phone.
