desk. Probably not the wisest move, but I was operating mostly on instinct. âSo what are you calling this one? The Graffiti Killer?â
âIf I see that in the papers, Iâll know youâve been shooting off your mouth, Brian.â
âHey! Iâm the very essence of discretion.â
Frank implying that Iâd go to the press to pump up my own image really did hurt, but I couldnât let him see that heâd scored a point. I smiled at him; I smiled at Marvin.
âAll this smiling is making you look like a goofball, Brian,â Frank said.
Marvin looked like an ape scanning the ground for bugs to eat. Or maybe my feet had suddenly become fascinating. I couldnât help looking down, too. My bright black spit-polished dancing shoes. I couldnât exactly see our faces in the shiny toes, but I could see light and shadow. I looked up.
Frank poked me in the chest. âStay out of my way,â he said, âunless youâre coming around to tell me where Pablo Deerfield is.â He poked me in the chest again. âAnd remember, Iâve got my eye on you.â He stepped back.
I didnât bother pointing out that heâd 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 Iâd 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.
âSky?â she called. âWhere are you?â
âJust a moment,â 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 youâd have to say Lulu wouldnât turn many heads, but she didnât look much like Sky, and since I planned on following Frank Wallace later that afternoon, and since I was now on Frankâs mind, I needed my most extreme disguise. Lulu was complicated, and even after a good nightâs 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. Iâd considered calling Elsie Wallace and quitting, but I knew just how sheâd react. Sheâd 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.
âSo whereâs Sky?â Prudence asked. She hadnât 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 youâd 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.
âHeâs behind the door,â Lulu said.
Prudence stepped up to the washroom and addressed the door. âHey, Iâm here for a progress report.â
âItâs only been a day,â Lulu said.
Prudence glanced over her shoulder and frowned, then spoke to the door again. âRandy Casey was killed,â she said. âNow 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?â
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. âI thought you said he was behind the door.â
âI lied,â I said, no longer struggling to be Lulu. Iâd get back in character after Prudence had taken her distractions out for a walk.
She