Greywalker - Kat Richardson [41]
I leaned over and whispered to Will, “What a piece of work.”
He gave an embarrassed shrug. “I’d better get back to work. Then we can talk after.”
He moved behind the table. He had a genuine smile for every bidder, and I could see that people liked William Novak. They stopped to chat for a moment as they paid; they smiled back when he smiled at them. He even looked good as he got increasingly dust-covered and dirty, with his hair falling down over his glasses as he carried out boxes and furniture.
He worked well with Michael, too. They joked around and laughed and took turns with the computer and carrying out the stuff. They acted more like buddies than father and son.
Finally, the last of the customers was taken care of. Mikey returned from carting out some boxes and offered to help me with my chair and cabinet.
Will forestalled him. “Why don’t you finish up your paperwork, Michael? I’ll help Harper and then I’ll come back and help you and Brandon close up. OK?”
Michael gave a knowing grin and turned back to his laptop computer. Will picked up the chair and I grabbed the cabinet. He followed me out to my truck. We shoved the two pieces into the back.
He looked around the almost empty lot. “Well, looks like there’s no one waiting in ambush for you today.”
“It makes a pleasant change. Oh, and thanks for introducing me to Ann Ingstrom. She remembers the parlor organ and is going to look for some papers that may give the name of the current owner. I could be only one step away from finding the benighted thing.”
“That would be great.” He looked around and his face turned pink. “I was wondering. . . .”
I raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“I was wondering if I could . . . if you would like to have dinner with me.”
“Tonight?” I asked.
“Yes, tonight. After I finish up here. It shouldn’t take long.”
I sagged with disappointment. “I’d love to, but I can’t tonight. I’ve got some momentum on a missing person and I need to take advantage of it while I can. Could I take a rain check?”
“Does that mean I’m on for dinner the next time it rains?”
“Even sooner, if I can manage it. Can I have your phone number?” I felt like a teenager asking such a question.
He fished a card out of his pants pocket and wrote something on the back, then handed it to me. “My home phone’s on the other side. Call me when you can.”
“I will.”
“No. I, Will—you, Harper,” he said and winked at me before jogging back into the warehouse.
Well, that was interesting. Maybe Mr. Novak found me as sexy as I found him. I’d just have to wait and see, wouldn’t I? Damn, but he looked good in jeans and a sweater. I wondered what he looked like first thing in the morning. . . .
I drove back home and hauled the chair—it seemed to weigh a short ton—and the cabinet up to my living room. I debated letting Chaos out to run around, but decided that the chair was far too attractive a hazard. Unsupervised romps would have to be put on hold until I could fix it. I took a shower and put on fresh clothes more appropriate to my evening’s plan.
First I drove around a bit while it was still light and located the ATMs Cameron had been using. They were all within a dozen blocks of the historic district. Then I drove to my office to pick up copies of Cameron’s photograph. My pager started jiggling at my waist as I unlocked the door. Quinton’s alarm system was working, though it took me a little while to remember how to disarm it. Nothing more drastic than pager palsy occurred.
I walked down to the Dome Burger for a bite of dinner. While I munched through a burger big enough to choke a Doberman, I asked the young Asian woman behind the counter if she’d seen Cameron.
She looked at the picture but shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She sang out in Vietnamese to her husband behind the grill.
He came out and looked at the picture while she ran off my story to him. He also