“There’s one downstairs,” Danny said. “We pay for a line so folks on the block have somewhere to make calls. Why don’t you check on him now? You’ve got me all worried.”
“I’ll do that,” Vivian agreed quickly, happy for the excuse to get out of the room.
“Are you okay, Vivi?” Florence asked, clearly concerned.
Vivian managed a smile. “Peachy. Let’s get to work, okay? We don’t want to be late.” She glanced at Florence, with her hair still in a braid and her feet bare. “I’ll meet you downstairs, okay?”
She turned on her heel and left, closing the door behind her before either of them could say anything else. Standing with her back pressed against the door, she took three deep breaths. Then she forced her shoulders down and went downstairs.
The telephone was at the back of the restaurant, with a pretty wooden screen around it for privacy. Vivian picked up the receiver nervously. Leo was fine, she told herself. She was just making sure, was all. “Circle two-four-four-one, please.”
Her knees nearly buckled with relief when Leo answered, his voice fuzzy with fatigue. “Hello?”
“Leo. Golly, I’m glad to hear your voice.”
“Hey, Viv.” She could hear the shaky inhale of a yawn on the otherend of the line, but his sleepy voice sounded like he was smiling when he spoke again. “You calling to check on me, sweetheart?”
“Of course I am,” Vivian said. “You made it out of the drunk tank okay?”
“Clean getaway,” Leo said, chuckling. “I’ll tell you all about it if you tell me about the rest of your night.”
Vivian shivered. She didn’t want to have that conversation in the middle of the Chins’ restaurant. “Tell you what, how about you come by the Nightingale tonight? I’ll fill you in then.”
“Just tell me now, is Florence okay? The two of you gonna be safe?”
Warmth bloomed in Vivian’s chest at the genuine concern in his voice. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “We’re okay. Will I see you tonight?”
“Count on it.”
Vivian’s hands were shaking with relief by the time she finally hung up the phone. There wasn’t a good spot to wait in the restaurant, but she found an empty, round little table that was out of the way and settled in to watch the other diners until Florence made it down.
She couldn’t stop herself from thinking of Honor just then—Honor, who seemed to find it so easy to write her off, to go on with her life. It was hard not to compare that to Danny, who had known Florence all of a handful of days before he was angling for any wholesome way he could to put his arms around her.
And Florence …
She never would have expected it, but Florence didn’t seem to object. And Vivian didn’t like how unhappy that made her. Maybe Bea was right. Maybe she was jealous. Maybe she was just looking for reasons…
No. That necklace had been exactly like the one Mr. Guzman had described. There was something fishy going on with Abraham. She was sure of it.
A man moving at a slow, stately pace cut across her vision, startling her out of her thoughts. He had just left one of the tables of elderlymen. As he reached the door, he paused, turning back to say something to his friends.
Vivian caught her breath, half rising in her chair. She recognized that man. The last time she had seen him, she had held his head on her lap, and he had said her mother’s name.
She was halfway across the restaurant from him, and the door was just swinging shut behind him, the bell jangling, when Vivian darted out of her seat, earning startled looks from the other diners. She hurried after him, but weaving between the tables and around one of Danny’s cousins slowed her down. When she finally made it out the door, she glanced anxiously up and down the street, only to see the man’s hat disappearing into the crowd. She tried to run after him, but by the end of the block, it was clear that he was gone.
Vivian clutched at a knot in her side, panting as she tried to catch her breath and ignoring the curious faces that turned her way. She could have kicked herself for being too slow.
But he had been sitting with friends. And if she hurried back, they would still be there.
The bell jangled again as she slipped back into the restaurant, and this time the faces that turned toward her were more than just surprised or curious. More than one looked downright suspicious. Vivian swallowed, giving the room a quick smile as Mrs. Chin stalked toward her.
“You’re disturbing our customers, Vivian Kelly,” she said quietly, but her frown was concerned, rather than accusatory. “Is there trouble?”
“No,” Vivian said quickly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to… I just saw someone, is all, but I wasn’t able to catch up to him in time.”
“Someone you know?” Mrs. Chin looked around, clearly surprised. “Here?”
“Sort of.” Vivian hesitated, glancing at the table of white- and gray-haired men who had gone back to their emphatic conversation. “Mrs. Chin, do you know any of the men at that table? They had a friend who just left, and I… I recognized him. Danny and I helped him out afew months ago, he got sick or something when we were passing by, and I think…”
