Tales of the City 04 - Babycakes

lad’s father opened the door. Of course, you could very well have brought him in here … no, I think the hallway’s best. Would you mind awfully?”
So Michael and Wilfred dragged Bunny Benbow back to the site of his untimely demise.
“Splendid.” Miss Treves beamed as she supervised the arrangement of the corpse. “That looks quite natural, I think.” She headed toward the door. “I’ll just toddle on home. Would you ring me, love, when the police have gone?”
“Wait …”
“The number’s on the fridge under ‘Nanny.’ “
“Oh … O.K.”
“I’m just around the corner. Chepstow Villas.” She gave him a supportive smile. “Keep your pecker up, love. It’ll all be over soon.”
    She reached for the doorknob—reached up —then froze and turned around again, gazing wistfully at the body as she spoke: “Goodbye, Bunny. Safe journey home.” Her eyes glimmered wetly as she glanced back at Michael. “Such a child, that one. Such a big, overgrown child.”
    All She Gets
    M ARY ANN WAS SLICING KIWI FRUIT WHEN MICHAEL called.
“You sound so close,” she said. “Are you sure you’re in London?”
“I’m sure.” His tone seemed tinged with irony.
“Is something the matter?”
“No … I’m fine. What time is it there?”
“Oh … suppertime.”
“Is Simon there?”
“No. Why would he be here?”
“I meant … around.”
“Oh.” She must have sounded far too defensive. “He and Brian are out running, actually. We’re having Simon to dinner tonight. Wait a minute … what time is it there?”
“Late. Or early, rather. I just saw a bobby to the door.”
“A bobby?” She giggled. “Sounds like you’re doing all right.”
“Not that way.”
“Oh.”
“A man had a heart attack in our hallway. He was in a fight, and he died right outside my door.”
“Oh, Mouse … how awful.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you O.K.?”
“Sure.”
“You don’t sound O.K.”
“Well … I’m rattled, I guess. I’m not used to being interrogated.”
“What did they want to know?”
“You know … just what I heard.”
“What did you hear?”
“Not much, really. Just a couple of drunks yelling.”
“Was it anybody you knew?”
“No. Well … the other guy lived upstairs. He ran away when … the guy had the heart attack. It’s over now, anyway. How are you, Babycakes?”
“Fine. Well … O.K. Nothing to speak of, one way or the other.”
“Is Simon enjoying himself?”
“Oh, yes. As far as I know.”
“I’ve got a message for him. Tell him Fabia Dane slopped by. She used to be Fabia … uh … Pumphrey, but she got married and she wants him to …”
“Hang on. I’d better write this down.” She scrambled for a pencil. “What were those names again?”
He spelled them for her. “She’s having a summer party at her new country place. She’s sending him an invitation later. Her new husband makes potato chips. And she’s a cunt.”
“Is that part of the message?”
“That’s a footnote. I think he knows it already.”
“O.K. Anything else?”
“That’s it. She looked to me like a jilted girlfriend.”
“Oh, really?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What was she like?”
“Uh … cunt wasn’t enough?”
“Well …”
“An upper-class cunt. How’s that?”
“Great.” She giggled, pleased with this elaboration. She needed all the reinforcement she could get. “When will we see you again?”
“Tuesday night, I guess. Tell Simon I’ll leave the keys with his nanny.”
“His nanny?”
He laughed. “That’s a whole different story. She’s his former nanny, actually. If you try to reach me after tomorrow, I won’t be here. I’m going to the country for Easter.”
“How elegant.”
“Maybe. I’m not exactly sure where I’m going. I mean … I know where I’m going, but I don’t know what I’m going to find.”
“That makes sense.”
“No. Get this: I think Mona’s there.”
“Mona? Our Mona?”
“I think so, but there’s no way of knowing for sure. She won’t talk to me.”
“You’ve seen her?”
“Just briefly. From a distance. Her hair is blond now, and she cuts it like Princess Di.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“It’s macabre, isn’t it?”
“How do you know she’s in this country place?”
“I don’t. It’s kind of a long shot. I don’t know … at least I’ll see the countryside.”
“Are you going alone?”
“I don’t know.”
“C’mon, Mouse …”
“I might go with a friend.”
She heard someone whoop in the background. “Uh, Mouse … who was