Fall Guy

settled in. That's when the garden door to the west opened and Jin Mei came out, Yin Yin in her arms.
    „Oh, Rachel. You're back so soon.“
    And before I had the chance to tell her to shut up, wishing I could say it in Cantonese or Mandarin or whatever the hell she spoke so that I could get the message across surreptitiously, I could smell him behind me. Right behind me. There was Dashiell, too, going right up to Jin Mei, lifting his front paws off the ground so that he could stick his big nose in the little Abyssinian's butt.
    „We're bringing Tim's plants out,“ I said. Not knowing what else to say. Not wanting to turn around and look at old stone face. „I thought perhaps the people who share the garden might take a few each at the end of the summer.“
    Jin Mei nodded. Her straw hat bobbed. Her mouth trembled and for a moment I thought she was going to cry. „Tim promised that when the time came for me to meet my ancestors, he would find a good home for Yin Yin. Now I have to find someone else to do that. It's good Tim's plants have you to make sure they get a good home.“
    When all the plants were placed out in the garden, with Jin Mei's considerable input, I walked back inside, Dashiell following, Brody bringing up the rear. I still hadn't looked him in the eye. I'd only glanced at the ground as he passed me with the com plant, noticing that the shine on his shoes had gotten messed up by the wet soil in the communal garden. I wondered if he'd noticed. But he probably shined them every night, no matter what.
    When he closed the kitchen door, I could no longer hear the birds singing. And there was that smell again, reminding me of where I was, and why. The only sound in the house was the cylinder of the lock clicking into place. And the sound of Dashiell, his nose welded to the bathroom sill.
    I followed Brody to the couch. We sat on opposite ends, as far apart as possible without breaking off the arms. I didn't lean back on the blanket. Neither did he. As if death might be catching from the things the deceased had left behind. I thought I'd bring rubber gloves with me when I came back. I was sure I wouldn't be sorry to have them.
    „The apartment should be unsealed by late afternoon tomorrow,“ he said. „Or Thursday at the latest. I'll call you tomorrow and give you the exact time. It'll be okay to“—he turned and looked toward the kitchen—“to use the bathroom then.“
    „I only came by this morning to see where it was,“ I said, my forehead as pleated as Dashiell's gets. „I could see the garden from the front door, so I walked through. By. And went out. That's how I met Jin Mei. I didn't go into the apartment, of course.“
    Brody nodded. „No problem.“
    So why was I acting as if I'd been sent to the principal's office? I wondered. He wasn't even wearing a uniform, so it couldn't be that.
    „Isn't what Detective O'Fallon did a bit unusual,“ I said, „cleaning his gun in the bathroom rather than at his desk or at the table?“
    „No, ma'am. Not particularly.“
    „But...“
    „One could sit on the edge of the tub, have the kit on the vanity, avoid the chance of getting oil on the carpet.“
    One could ? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
    „So you're saying he was fastidious?“
    „Ma'am?“
    „Rachel'll do/' I told him. „I was asking if he was ...“ And then I stopped, shook my head, changed my mind. I wanted to know which way he fell after he was shot, whether he fell backward and hit his head—and did it matter at that point?—or if he crumpled forward, landing on the bath mat or the tile, the gun skittering across the floor, stopping when it hit the door. But what difference did any of that make now? He cleaned his gun at the desk, he cleaned his gun in the bathroom. The man was dead. I needed to inform his sister of his untimely demise, get her here to pick up whichever of his possessions she wanted to keep, settle his estate and get on with my life. I didn't need to be here torturing Brody with my questions. Except for one more.
    „What's with the gym bag?“ I asked. „Was he going somewhere? I mean, was he planning to, before?“
    „That's Parker's. Or so he says. When the uniforms arrived, he was busy packing that with his things.“
    „Before they told him he had to leave?“
    „Yes. And when one of the officers examined the contents of the bag, they found some things they suspected didn't belong to Mr. Parker.“
    „Such as?“
    „A silver ashtray,