“Yes, of course.” Riva raced on up ahead of them, but as she got to the landing, she remembered the deadbolt on Kitty’s door. She stopped. “Except that I can’t open the door,” she called out as she tried the knob. “I forgot Kitty installed a deadbolt.”
“I have the key right here,” Kitty said.
Marcus carried Kitty down the hallway toward Riva. Then, taking the key from Kitty, Riva unlocked the deadbolt.
“Please, ignore the mess, Marcus,” Kitty chirped. “The salon has been so busy this week, I haven’t gotten around to it.”
Riva pocketed the key, swung the door open, and gasped. Itlooked like a garage sale gone amok. Clothing, shoes, towels, dirty dishes, and other unrelated miscellaneous items were strewn across the floor, bed, and chair. “It’s a minefield,” Riva warned Marcus. “Be careful or you might need to be carried back downstairs.”
Kitty giggled. “Working girls are not known for good housekeeping.”
Riva moved ahead of them, clearing a heap of clothes to make room for Kitty. “Look, I found the bed.”
“No small feat.” Marcus set Kitty down gently.
Riva looked at Kitty’s feet. “Which ankle is sprained?”
“The right one.” Kitty frowned. “Can’t you see how swollen it is?”
“Oh, yeah.” Riva nodded. “It does look a little puffy.”
“Here comes the ice,” Windy called from the stairs.
“How did it happen?” Riva asked.
Marcus set Kitty’s oversized bag on the bed, then removed a pair of very high platform sandals from it. “These dangerous stilts are the culprits.” He dangled a sandal by its strap with one finger. “I can’t believe women of a certain age still choose to wear these things.”
“Not all of us do,” Riva corrected him as Windy walked in. Like Riva, she looked a bit taken aback by the jumbled mess.
“Not all of us areof a certain age,” Kitty told Marcus. “And when I’m too old for cute feminine shoes and expected to wear the kinds of clodhoppers that Riva and her friends wear, well, just shoot me.”
Windy flopped a bag of frozen peas onto Kitty’s foot, smiling as the patient let out a yowl of pain. “You’re welcome,” Windy said sharply, then turned and left.
Riva retrieved the deadbolt key from her pocket and held it in front of Kitty. “I’ll be keeping this,” she said, “until we have a chance to talk about the deadbolt you installed without my consent.”
“Why did you need a deadbolt?” Marcus asked Kitty. “Do you feel unsafe here?”
Kitty nodded with a dramatic expression. “I am unsafe.”
“Why is that?” Riva asked.
“It’s my ex. I think he found out I’m living here. I’m sure he’s been stalking me. In fact, that’s why I tripped and sprained my ankle. I was trying to avoid him.”
Riva fought against her skepticism. “Why’s he stalking you?”
“Because he wants me back.” Kitty sighed. “Thanks to my fatal charm.”
Riva wanted to laugh but wondered if Kitty was serious. She turned to Marcus. “How did you manage to find Kitty after her sprain?”
“We’d both been getting coffees at The Bean.” He began a story about seeing Kitty trip outside the coffeeshop and how he helped her into his pickup. But instead of listening closely, Riva’s attention was on the bedroom. She was trying to determine if there was any contraband or any illegal activities going on in here, but nothing seemed to stand out. Until she noticed the disconnected smoke alarm with batteries sitting nearby.
She picked it up and turned to Kitty. “Why did you take this down?”
“It kept beeping.”
“I changed the batteries in the alarms right before all the tenants moved in.” Riva glanced at Marcus, wondering how long he planned to remain up here. “Is it possible the beeping was due to smoke?” she directed to Kitty.
“I guess I should go,” he said as if getting the hint.
