Muller, Marcia - [McCone 05] Leave a Message for Willie [v1.0] (htm) Read Free Book Online

piano. A
gleam in his eye, Willie got up and went over to them. I sat, feeling
the sun beat down on my head. Today I had remembered to dress coolly,
but I should have thought to bring a hat. Down the aisle, I could see
the knife vendor sitting behind his cases of wicked-looking weapons,
the small striped umbrella over his head and a smile on his face.
    Willie came back and slumped dejectedly against the tailgate.
"Damn! I swear I'm never going to get rid of that white
elephant."
    "Why'd you buy it, anyway?"
    "Pure weakness. My lady friend, Alida Edwards, makes the
jewelry she sells. There was a guy with a nice selection of agate;
she really wanted it, but she was short on cash. So I traded some
tape decks for the stones, but that wasn't enough for him. The
asshole knows me, and he knows Alida, and that means he knows I'm a
fool for the woman. So he held out on the deal until I said I'd take
the piano too. And I've been carting it around for a month now."
    "Does it work?"
    "Sure. There're even some rolls for it, although where
they've got to I don't know. My garage is so full, I'm not sure what
I've got in there these days. Speaking of Alida, I want to run over
to her stall for a minute. Can you handle things here?"
    "Sure."
    "Be back shortly."
    He wandered off and I sat waiting for customers. People drifted in
and out, mostly to look at the player piano and try to get the parrot
to talk, but no one wanted to buy anything. The people in the aisles
moved listlessly, and most of the sellers sat back, not even
bothering to hawk their wares. A somnolent mid-afternoon feeling
descended on the market, and I slouched against the side of the
pickup's bed. My eyes moved lazily to the popcorn stand across the
way, where a man in a dark suit stood…
    He was eating from a bag of popcorn as he stared fixedly at the
truck. If the popcorn was supposed to be protective coloration, it
didn't work. No one could look more out of place at a flea market; in
fact, the
yarmulke
, dark suit, and shiny black shoes
suggested that he'd probably wandered in by mistake while looking for
the synagogue.
    I forced myself to remain slouched, studying him from under
drooping eyelids. He was slight, not more than my own five foot six,
had a narrow ascetic face, and couldn't have been more than
twenty-five. Again I wondered why Willie had not approached him
himself. Surely it would not have caused a scene; the man looked as
if he would jump right out of those shiny black shoes if anyone so
much as said boo to him.
    As I watched, he finished his popcorn, crumpled the bag, and threw
it into a nearby waste container. The swift motions alerted me, and I
sat up straighter. The man's eyes met mine and then he turned on his
heel. I jumped off the tailgate and went after him.
    I hurried across the aisle, nearly stumbling over a child with a
helium-filled balloon. The man disappeared around the popcorn stand.
I went through the narrow space between it and a used clothing
concession, then stopped at the edge of the next aisle. It was easy
to spot the
yarmulke
-covered
head some ten feet to the left. The man was walking purposefully, but
not fast. I followed, also taking my time.
    He stopped in front of a display of sunglasses, his thin face
reflected darkly in their hundreds of shiny lenses. His hand reached
for a pair of glasses, wavered, and fell to his side. He moved along
the display, selected another pair, and tried them on in front of a
mirror. As he adjusted them and bent down to get a better look, I
realized he was checking me out in the glass. Quickly he
straightened, dropped the sunglasses on the counter, and trotted off
down the aisle.
    I followed him, weaving through the casual strollers. He increased
his pace, glancing back over his shoulder. A woman lugging an
overstuffed satin pillow stepped into his path, and he ran into her,
bouncing off her soft burden. She laughed, and the man whirled, then
veered off toward the exit. He was moving fast now, and people