“Go? Go where?”
“To eat, to talk about the case,” he replied, throwing on his coat.
Panic rose in Oliver like a dirigible. The thought of going out and being surrounded by people all talking at once, combined with the smell of alcohol and food, made him want to bolt from the room. Maybe that’s all he would need to do to break the tether. Maybe he would succumb to his nerves and run far enough to fray and snap it. He really didn’t know how far the tether could reach.
“What’s wrong? I thought you wanted to go out.”
“I did, but this has all been a lot.” Oliver didn’t know how to explain that things Galvan took for granted grated on his nerves to the point that it took days to recover. What could he say? “I don’t want to go anywhere we could be overheard talking about this, but I still want to be able to hear myself think.”
“Would you be willing to go somewhere more private?”
“How private?”
“They have a private room for friends of the owner. By this hour, we would probably be the only ones there. I promise, it’s quiet.”
Oliver wanted nothing more than to crawl back to the laboratory and hibernate until Monday morning with his old copies ofNational Geographic Magazineand the specimens he still hadn’t fully examined. But this wasn’t about him. He had promised Galvan they would find his killer, and he couldn’t waste any time.
“Fine, but it better be private or we’re eating off a night owl cart and coming back.”
“I swear on my life, it is.”
If Galvan saw the withering look that crossed Oliver’s face, he didn’t show it as he opened the door and motioned for Oliver to follow him. Silently sighing, Oliver climbed to his feet like he was going to the gallows. This was not how he expected their first meal together to go.
***
By the time they arrivedat Tam Noodle House, Oliver’s nose ached from the cold, but the long, nearly silent walk had lessened his mental chaos to the point that he was no longer dreading the prospect of a meal out. The noodle house stood on the corner with a sign as bright as anything in the theater district, and through the window, Oliver could make out maroon walls decorated with elaborate wooden panels in the shapes of dragons, characters, and flowers. The tables were filled despite the late hour, the chatter spilling out onto the street. Oliver’s mind lurched at the cacophony of pattern and noise, but the smell wafting through the doorway and the promise of a quiet meal was enough to propel him inside.
“Galvan, what a pleasure to see you again so soon. Twice in one week must be a record for you. Your usual spot?” the man at the door asked with a grin.
Galvan nodded and hooked a thumb toward Oliver. “Though I’ll need two chairs. I brought a friend this time, Tam.”
Tam laughed, the hearty sound filling the small vestibule as he grabbed another menu. “Well, Ma won’t talk your ear off tonight, at least.”
“You know I never begrudge your mother’s company.”
“Your cheeks might appreciate a night off, though.”
Leading them down the hall and up a set of stairs, Tam held back a beaded curtain and motioned Oliver toward a table in the corner. Unlike the room downstairs, this one was smaller and decorated with more sedate wall-hangings depicting cloud-shrouded mountains and rivers dotted with herons and fish. Lanterns hung from the ceiling, casting a warm pink glow over the room. Sinking into the chair, Oliver let out a relieved sigh as his eyes trailed over the empty tables, apart from the Chinese couple eating quietly in the other corner. Voices drifted up the steps and through the walls, but the upstairs dining room felt far removed from the chaos of the city. Galvan settled in across from Oliver at the white-clothed table, looking very pleased with himself.
“Private enough?”
“Yes, thank you. This is a lot quieter than downstairs. I was worried for a moment.”
“That’s the room for the tourists.”
“And we’re not tourists?”
“I’m not,” he replied with a wry grin. “I knew Tam and his family when they were back in San Francisco. Their food was great there, too.”
Biting his lip, Oliver studied the names of the dishes on the menu. “I’ve never had Chinese food before. Do you have anything you would recommend?”
“Really? But you’ve lived here for years, haven’t you?”
“I have. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go. I just wasn’t sure what I would like or what going here would be like, so I didn’t go.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
To you.“So what would you suggest?”
