Fall Guy

He was wearing a jacket and tie, but I noticed some food stains on his shirt, and his shoes hadn't been polished since he'd bought them. Bill just had a sweater on, red at that. Perhaps he'd done that so that the wine he spilled on himself would be less likely to show. Had Irwin meant he'd actually been a clown?
    „He wouldn't hurt a fly,“ Ape said, glaring across the yard at Brody. „He'd say he was your best buddy while he was robbing you blind, but he wouldn't never lay a hand on you. Cops,“ he said, indicating Brody with his chin, „they never think you're telling the truth, even when you are. I ain't paying respects to no cop, even if he is dead.“ He turned and headed for the door.
    „We'll get started now,“ Jin Mei announced.
    I looked at Maggie, who was looking down, not at the door. Perhaps she knew all along that Dennis wouldn't come. I went back inside and asked Netty to come out and join us, but she said she was going home, that Helene and David had said that would be okay. I thanked her, locked O'Fallon's door, glanced once more down the hall, toward the front door, before stepping back outside.
    People had shifted around, everyone with a drink of wine, all facing Jin Mei. Brody was standing near the door with Dashiell at his side. I stood next to them and waited.
    „We're here today because we all cared for Timothy O'Fallon,“ Jin Mei began. „He suffered many hardships, but he always treated his neighbors and friends with kindness. Today, we've come together to talk about this. I'll go first. When I first moved here, Tim was already living here. If I'd been here first, I would have brought him long-cooked rice, oranges, shrimp dumplings. I would have welcomed him with food. Tim didn't do that. He knocked on the door but he didn't come in. He said he was my next-door neighbor, that there was only a wall between us. He said if I needed anything, I could come to him and he would help me. This was a better gift than long-cooked rice, oranges, even than shrimp dumplings. He was always kind. He was a sad man, but always kind.“
    When Jin Mei stopped, Kevin started, as if it had been scripted. But it wasn't. I could see that some of the mourners looked uncomfortable. Perhaps they were wondering what they could say about this man they barely knew.
    „He was a stand-up guy. There was never a better listener. He was okay by me.“ He swiped at his eyes and backed away, closer to Rob.
    „He didn't have a lot of time, but he always supported the garden,“ Rob said. „One year he said he remembered the tomatoes a neighbor of his used to grow and I bought some tomato plants. They're a lot of work, but we had a fantastic crop. Remember?“ He looked at Kevin, at David and Helene, at Jin Mei. „But he never took any. I don't think he cooked.“ There was some laughter then. „I saw a lot of pizza boxes in the trash.“ More laughter. „But he thanked me anyway. He said just seeing the tomatoes reminded him of home.“
    „We live across the hall from Tim, as most of you know.“ David was bouncing Emma on his shoulder as he spoke. „Helene and I both work and we're very busy. We didn't know Tim well, but we'd see him in the hall and he always said hello, and after Emma was born, he'd always ask about her. He seemed like a very nice man.“
    „He chased me out of his house a few times,“ Bill said. There was an uncomfortable silence this time. „Hell, he had every right. You could never say he wasn't fair. He could've done worse.“
    There were three people there I hadn't seen before. The way they'd nodded when Rob talked about the tomatoes, I assumed they lived on the upper floors of the two buildings that shared the garden. Only one of them spoke, a mousy woman in her late forties. Even when she was talking, she didn't look at anyone.
    „He had my keys, in case I got locked out. I was hoping he'd use them one day. I was hoping he'd come up and visit me.“ With that, her face turned the color of the clematis climbing up the back wall of the garden. „I thought he was very good-looking. Sometimes I'd sit in the garden, hoping he'd come out. But that never happened.“ She covered her face with a handkerchief and began to cry.
    I looked down at Dashiell and found he wasn't where I'd last seen him. When I looked around, the mousy lady was kneeling next to him, her face against his back. He stood steady for her, his tail wagging.
    „I always looked up to my brother. And I loved him very