Hedging (A Smith and Wetzon Mystery)

in the trunk and I’ll meet you in the lobby. Remember, T.J., we don’t speak while we’re mimes.”
    T.J. nodded. The mournful cop seemed to have slipped away, which was good. Maybe he just liked mimes.
    Except for the confetti, everything was returned to the trunk; the props, the belts and bells, ruffs, hats and caps and tambourines. Movement was exaggerated and no one spoke.
    She felt buoyed by the experience. For the first time since she’d awakened in the hospital, she had a sense of solace. It was all too brief. In the lobby, waiting, was the mournful cop, and when he saw her, he headed right over.
    “Excuse me,” he began, but he got no further. The others closed in around her.
    David appeared, sized up the situation, and tapped the cop on the arm. “Can I help you? I’m David Lumare. This is my mime troupe.”
    “Yeah, I’d like to talk to one of your troupe.” He turned and looked at T.J.
    A quiver ran through her. She knew him. His name was ... it was on the tip of her tongue. It got stuck in her head. Was he one of the good guys or one of the bad guys? She couldn’t take the risk.
    “Mimes don’t speak when they wear their makeup,” David said. “I’m their voice right now. Which one of my troupe do you want to speak with?”
    “That one.” He pointed to her. He smiled. He was being friendly. Why hadn’t he said he was a cop?
    “Well, why don’t you give us your card and I’ll have T.J. call you when she’s out of makeup.”
    “T.J.?” The cop looked puzzled. He pulled out his wallet and handed David his card.
    David read it out loud. “Detective First Grade Arthur Metzger, Twenty-first Precinct. That’s you?”
    “Yes.” Detective Metzger stood well above the others, even Mona, and his gaze was so blunt, T.J. lowered her eyes.
    “This is police business?” David asked.
    “Not yet. Right now it’s personal. Give me your business card and I’ll get in touch.”
    “Why not?” David patted his pockets amiably. “Guess I forgot to bring any.”
    Not very likely, T.J. thought, watching the charade. David liked being master in more ways than simply mime master.
    The detective didn’t seem surprised, or annoyed. He directed his words past David. “I’d like you to call me ... T.J. It’s about someone we both know. Someone named Leslie.”

16
    “I DON’T know anyone named Leslie,” T.J. said, dabbing at the few remaining streaks of white makeup that had settled around her hairline and upper lip. “Though there was something about that cop Metzger ...”
    “I wanted to be a cop once,” Mona said, hitching her backpack onto her shoulder.
    Eric howled. “I’ll bet.”
    “I did but it didn’t work out.”
    “Why not?”
    “Too big for the breeches,” Jeff said. They high fived each other.
    “Oh, you guys. Did we get cash this time, David?”
    David reached into the grouch bag and took out a wad of bills.
    “Twenty each.” He doled out the bills. “This was our first institution, and feedback should be good. We’ll do better when we get to hospitals and schools.”
    After the others left, Zoey gathered up the greasy tissues and cotton balls and threw them in the garbage. “Didn’t T.J. do great, David?”
    “Yes.” He’d put the drawstring bag away and was rinsing out the coffee pot. “Want to join the troupe, T.J.?”
    “I’d like that, but I have to get a regular job. Besides, do you really think I’m ready?”
    “You can be. I’ll work with you. Tomorrow we can go to the zoo.”
    “The zoo?”
    Zoey laughed. “You’ll see. Listen, dude, it’s dark outside already. We should go. I have to get some sleep before my shift tonight.”
    “T.J., why don’t you stay and we’ll work through some exercises?”
    Zoey, who was gathering up her things, paused, her back to T.J. and David. On the surface of the pause was an unnatural tension. She had brought T.J. to David. Did she resent David’s response?
    It was enough for T.J., who had her own qualms about working in David’s intense sphere. “Too much stimulation for me for one day, David. It’s not even twenty-four hours since I ran away from the hospital. And Zoey and I had—” she looked at Zoey “—no sleep at all last night. And tomorrow I have to see about finding a job in the neighborhood.”
    “Be here at noon tomorrow,” David said, “and we’ll go to the zoo.”
    “That cop,” Zoey said. “He didn’t seem half bad.”
    “I forgot to take his card from David.” T.J.