Vertical Burn - Earl Emerson [80]
Finney watched Reese circumnavigate the room and wondered what kind of reaction the chief would have when he came to Finney and Diana. He glanced at Finney’s mask. A flash of recognition crossing his features, he turned away, striding deliberately past both Finney and Diana to shake hands with one of the D-shifters from Station 6.
“That was awful blatant,” Diana said. “He always snub you like that?”
“This is the first time I’ve run into him since he screwed me over.”
“Come on. Let’s go. This thing is winding down anyway. Or do you want to stay?”
“Let’s go.”
Around the corner near the elevators the odor of roasted pumpkin from the candles in the jack-o’-lanterns was particularly pungent. They pushed the down button and waited, Diana staring at him as the music and noise spilled around the corner. He was remembering that good-night kiss she’d given him hours earlier.
Without thinking about it further, Finney leaned forward and kissed her. Her arms melted around his neck. On the descent to forty they resumed their kiss as soon as she’d punched the down button.
Outside, the fog had thickened, visibility reduced to a hundred feet.
When they pulled into the parking area near the dock, it was almost two. Finney was exhausted and knew Diana was as well. Shutting off the Jeep engine, she pulled the emergency brake and turned to him.
“You want to come in?” he asked.
“That would be nice.”
“I can barely stand.”
“You want me to carry you?”
He laughed. “No, I think I’m better off than that.”
“Because I could.”
“I know you could.”
“I had a wonderful time tonight, John.”
“So did I. Thanks for inviting me.”
Their footsteps echoed on the wooden dock, his porch light showering a halo of yellow over them in the fog as he unlocked his front door. Inside he took off his hat, cape, and sword. He turned to find the Cat in the Hat stepping into his arms, kissing him repeatedly across his face, backing him up until they both tumbled onto the couch in his living room. He hadn’t had time to turn on a light. After a moment, there was a noise in the dark and their kisses slowed and then ceased altogether.
“You have a roommate?” she asked.
“I guess I should have told you about him.”
“You guess you should have.” She sat up. “This could have been embarrassing.”
“Dimitri likes to watch. Don’t worry. He won’t say anything.”
The noise came again and Diana grew utterly still. Finney reached up and turned on a lamp. His tailless cat sat four feet away, staring at them from the seat of a wooden rocking chair that tipped back and forth slightly as the cat balanced. “Diana, meet Dimitri. Dimitri, Diana.”
She laughed, and when she flung her hat across the room toward the hat rack—a perfect landing in the shadows next to Finney’s Zorro cape—Dimitri ran for his life. Diana took off her four-fingered gloves and snuggled against him. After a while, Finney reached up and draped the afghan from the back of the couch across them. He couldn’t recall when he’d felt so contented. “Umm,” Diana said, “I don’t want to drive home in this soup.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“You don’t mind if I stay until it lifts?”
“I hope it doesn’t lift for weeks.”
She kissed him again and said, “I bet you did this all the time when you were a kid. I bet you were the make-out king in high school.”
“I was too shy for that.”
“Why do I find that hard to believe?”
“I don’t know. I was.”
“Um, hmmm.”
The knocking had been going on for some time before it turned to banging. It took Finney a few moments to awaken fully.
“Open the door. I’ve got a warrant for your arrest. John Jacob Finney! Open this door. I’ve got a warrant.”
“Oh boy,” Diana murmured, half-asleep. “What time is it?”
“Just after three.”
“Why would they . . . ?”
“Probably want to take me by surprise.”
“I’ll call a woman I know in my father’s law firm. She’ll have you out by noon.”
She might