The Man of Maybe Half-a-Dozen Faces

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Book: Read The Man of Maybe Half-a-Dozen Faces for Free Online
Authors: Ray Vukcevich
desk. Probably not the wisest move, but I was operating mostly on instinct. “So what are you calling this one? The Graffiti Killer?”
    â€œIf I see that in the papers, I’ll know you’ve been shooting off your mouth, Brian.”
    â€œHey! I’m the very essence of discretion.”
    Frank implying that I’d go to the press to pump up my own image really did hurt, but I couldn’t let him see that he’d scored a point. I smiled at him; I smiled at Marvin.
    â€œAll this smiling is making you look like a goofball, Brian,” Frank said.
    Marvin looked like an ape scanning the ground for bugs to eat. Or maybe my feet had suddenly become fascinating. I couldn’t help looking down, too. My bright black spit-polished dancing shoes. I couldn’t exactly see our faces in the shiny toes, but I could see light and shadow. I looked up.
    Frank poked me in the chest. “Stay out of my way,” he said, “unless you’re coming around to tell me where Pablo Deerfield is.” He poked me in the chest again. “And remember, I’ve got my eye on you.” He stepped back.
    I didn’t bother pointing out that he’d have some trouble keeping an eye on me if I was staying out of his way.
    Frank nodded to Marvin, and Marvin grinned and picked up one huge foot in a scuffed black loafer and scraped it across the shine on my dancing shoes. He pushed his face in close so I’d get the point. His breath smelled like cappuccino.
    He gave me a little shove, and then the two of them left. Frank never looked back, but Marvin paused at the door, glanced over his shoulder and gave me a wink.

four
    The next day Prudence Deerfield came banging into my office as I put the final touches on Lulu.
    â€œSky?” she called. “Where are you?”
    â€œJust a moment,” I said in falsetto from the washroom.
    Being Lulu made me feel lovely. Feeling lovely is all in how you look at yourself. Objectively, I guess you’d have to say Lulu wouldn’t turn many heads, but she didn’t look much like Sky, and since I planned on following Frank Wallace later that afternoon, and since I was now on Frank’s mind, I needed my most extreme disguise. Lulu was complicated, and even after a good night’s sleep, I was still pretty fuzzy from my time at the Gotta Dance. I was doing the best I could.
    I hoped I could wrap up the Wallace case in a day or two. I’d considered calling Elsie Wallace and quitting, but I knew just how she’d react. She’d tell Frank the whole story, including the part about me following him. He would find that out anyway, of course, if I ever saw him doing anything incriminating.
    I came out of the washroom.
    â€œSo where’s Sky?” Prudence asked. She hadn’t given Lulu more than a raised eyebrow and a quick head-to-toe glance. She leaned to one side to peer around me into the washroom.
    I guess you’d call what she was wearing a charcoal double-breasted business suit. The outfit was all one piece like a coat and the bottom of it was mid-thigh. The way she looked was making it hard to be Lulu.
    â€œHe’s behind the door,” Lulu said.
    Prudence stepped up to the washroom and addressed the door. “Hey, I’m here for a progress report.”
    â€œIt’s only been a day,” Lulu said.
    Prudence glanced over her shoulder and frowned, then spoke to the door again. “Randy Casey was killed,” she said. “Now the police are all over me about Pablo. What are you going to do about it? Did you get into GP Ink? What did you find out?”
    Sky had nothing to say.
    Lulu walked over and sat down behind the desk.
    Prudence stormed into the washroom. A moment later she came out again. “I thought you said he was behind the door.”
    â€œI lied,” I said, no longer struggling to be Lulu. I’d get back in character after Prudence had taken her distractions out for a walk.
    She

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