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mistress taking slow steps behind her, inching along with the walker.
    “Louise, I’m pleading here—”
    “Get over it, Buzz,” she said, reaching the door and pushing it open. Buzz came around the counter to hold the door, but Louise never looked back. He shook his head as he watched her go, then went back behind the counter in defeat.
    Jennifer had never taken her jacket off. She slipped her arms through the backpack straps and went to the counter. She pulled six dollars out of her pocket and put it on the counter next to the cash register. “Do you have an umbrella?” she asked him.
    “Sure. But I could have Adolfo—”
    This guy was too much. A meal service, a taxi service, what next? “If you’ll loan me an umbrella I’ll go walk along with her, make sure she doesn’t fall in a big, deep puddle, and I’ll bring it back to you before I’m on my way.”
    He stared at her for a moment, thinking. Then he said, “Adolfo! Bring that big old umbrella out of the golf bag back there, will you?”
    “Sí. Uno momento.”
    The umbrella was dusty. Obviously Buzz hadn’t played much golf lately.
    It wasn’t difficult to catch up with Louise. Jennifer didn’t even have to run. She was just up ahead in the drizzle, inching along. Once Jennifer was alongside, she held the umbrella over Louise and a little over Alice. The dog looked up at her and, if Jennifer wasn’t mistaken, smiled. She definitely gave a wag of her tail.
    “How about a little company?”
    Louise stopped, turned slightly and looked up at the much taller Jennifer. “That’s nice of you, young woman. Do you have a name?”
    Damn, she hadn’t thought of a name! And it couldn’t be Jennifer or Chaise or anything similar. “Doris,” she said in a pinch, and winced. Where the devil had that come from? Now she was stuck with it for the time being.
    “Well, Doris, did you just get out of the army?”
    “No,” she laughed. “It’s just a fashion statement.”
    “Hmm.” Louise looked her up and down but reserved comment. She resumed walking and they went along in silence for a while. Then she stopped, turned to look up at Jennifer and asked, “What brings you to Boulder City?”
    Another thing she hadn’t rehearsed. She realized she was actually quite bad at this. She’d had the nerve to shave her head and eyebrows, but that’s where her imagination had stopped. “I was just leaving Las Vegas and realized I’d never seen the dam or the Grand Canyon. Maybe I ought to.”
    “Good idea,” Louise said, and got back to her walking. It was going to be a very long walk, no matter the distance. She was quite slow and couldn’t walk and talk at the same time. If something came to mind she stopped, turned and looked up, spoke, and waited for her answer. “Do you think you’ll stay very long?”
    “No. Maybe a day or two. Or three.” As she said that she looked around. They were passing the park and started up a cracked sidewalk into the quaint neighborhood Jennifer had noticed before. Small town U.S.A. Compared to South Florida it was practically deserted. Much too quiet and ordinary for someone like Nick Noble. This fact recommended it.
    “Here we are,” Louise finally said, stopping in front of one of the many tiny houses a couple of short blocks from the park. This one and the ones on either side appeared to have freshly painted trim and were well maintained. Louise trudged toward the door of her house. Alice paused only long enough to pee on the grass before they went inside. “Thank you, Doris. I hope you enjoy your time in Boulder City. It’s a nice little place.” Alice looked over her shoulder at Jennifer; her tail sashayed back and forth a couple of times. They disappeared inside the house.
    Jennifer went back the way she had come, spinning the umbrella over her head. When she got to the Tin Can she saw that there were a few more people in there now, and there was a sign in the window that she was quite sure hadn’t been there