Patience and I started laughing, relieved and grateful. “No, thank you,” I said. “Is there a back door?”
“This way, ladies,” the shop owner said, and led us to a fire exit at the rear that opened onto an alley. “Be careful. And if you’re ever in the market for beautiful silk robes, you know where to find me.”
• • •
“I need a damned drink,” Patience said, ducking into Brandy Ho’s on Columbus. “Your treat, remember?”
It was two o’clock in the afternoon and there were only a few customers in the lounge: a young couple inone booth, a single man sitting at the horseshoe-shaped bar and staring at the baseball game playing on the television mounted on the wall.
“I, uh, don’t have any money on me,” I said.
She gave me a withering look. “Figures. I’ll treat. Like I said, you might want to look into having your things grafted onto your body.”
“It’s not like I make a habit of forgetting my things,” I said. “It was a rather... unusual situation.”
“Really? I get chased all the time by men who are the spitting image of a dear one, and you don’t see me forgetting my wallet.”
The possibility that Not Sailor would return to Sailor’s apartment and take my things gnawed at me. How could I have left them there? My first instinct should have been to grab them on my way out, no matter how big a hurry I was in.
A waitress came over to take our order.
“Vodka martini, dry, and the salt-and-pepper fried calamari,” Patience said, snapping the menu shut. “You?”
“I’ll have a Co—ke,” I said. I had almost asked for a Co-Cola, which was the way my mama always referred to soda pop. But Patience would never let me live that one down.
“Living life right on the edge as usual, eh, Lily?” Patience said with an ironic smile.
“I think it’s best I keep on my toes,” I said.
“You’re worried about your backpack.”
Ihadbeen worried about the backpack. Now I was worried Patience was reading my mind. I made sure my guard was up.
“And now you’re worried I’m reading your mind,” Patience said.
I didn’t say anything. The waitress arrived with my Coke and told Patience her martini was on the way. Itook a sip and let the familiar sensation of sweet bubbles play on my tongue and bring me back to reality. After our adrenaline-filled escape, I was feeling the crash.
“I’m not reading your mind, princess,” Patience said, her tone almost kind. “Under the circumstances, it doesn’t take a psychic to figure out what you’re thinking. Want to use my phone to call the store and warn them, just in case? I’ll show you how to dial it.”
“Good idea,” I said. Patience’s smartphone wasn’t as complicated as I thought it would be, so I took it and went outside, walking past the Flatiron Building to the corner of Columbus and Pacific. It was a busy intersection, with cars whizzing past and pedestrians hurrying along. The traffic noise made it harder to hear, but I wanted the comfort of people around me. Almost compulsively, I searched the crowd for the Sailor look-alike... just in case. When I stopped to think about it, we probably should have left this part of town altogether.
“Aunt Cora’s Closet, it’s not old. It’s vintage!” Maya singsonged as she answered the phone.
“Maya, it’s Lily. I need to tell you something important, but you have to promise me not to freak out.”
“Okaaaaay,” Maya said. “What’s up?”
“If someone who looks like Sailor comes to the store, it’s not Sailor. Sailor’s still in jail. This person is just someone who looks like him.”
“Would this be the same guy I saw in the herbal store?”
“Yes, it is. And he’s up to no good. Maybe you should close the store and go home; I don’t like the idea of you being there by yourself.”
“I’m not—Selena and Bronwyn are here, too. I’ll close the store if you want me to, but I have a better idea: I’ll ask Bronwyn to give Duke a call, and I’ll get a couple of my cousins to come by and keep uscompany for the afternoon. Also, Conrad’s outside, so I’ll ask him to keep an eye peeled.”
“Any hint of danger, lock the door and call the police, okay? Don’t take any chances, please.”
“No worries, Lily. We’ll be careful.”
