V Is for Vengeance

took my arm and steered us to one side. The noise level made it impossible to converse. If he lifted his voice and I tilted my head, I could still pick up only disjointed portions of what he said. “Apologize again for that business with the newspaper gal. Guess I got carried away . . .”
    “She set you up. She’s done it to me too.”
    “Say again?” Marvin put a finger behind the flange of one ear, pressing the rim forward as though to capture more sound.
    I was about to raise my voice and repeat myself when I decided what I’d said wasn’t worth the effort. I pointed at the door and he pointed quizzically at his chest. I nodded and moved toward the exit with Marvin close behind. I more or less fell through the open door. The fresh air was so chill and clean, it felt like I’d stepped into a refrigerator. The noise level dropped to a blessed hush.
    I said, “I don’t know how you stand it in there. You can’t hear a thing.”
    “You get used to it. Crazy bunch. We call the place the Hatch. We’re Hatchlings. Most of them have been coming here for years. Place is open seven days a week. Tonight was rowdy for some reason. Lot of times it’s dead. You take it as it comes.”
    He glanced down. “Hey now, the waitress never brought your drink. Hang on and let me see if I can catch her . . .”
    “I’m not here to drink. I’m hoping to pick up the key to Audrey’s house in San Luis. I’ve got time in the morning to make the round-trip drive.”
    “Yeah, well that’s just it. I don’t have a key. All I have is the address, which I don’t remember offhand. You have a minute to stop by? I live a block from here.”
    “I don’t want you cutting your evening short.”
    “Don’t worry about it. I’m here three, four nights a week as it is, so it’s not like I’m in danger of missing anything fun.”
    “Such as what,” I asked.
    “Oh, you know. Sometimes Earldeen topples backward off her bar stool, but she usually doesn’t hurt herself. You have a car?”
    “Parked around the corner. Don’t you want to settle your bill first?”
    “Nah. I keep a running tab and pay at the end of the month.”
    We walked the half block to my car and I ferried him from there to his house, which was literally one block away. I parked out front and followed him up the walk, waiting while he sorted through his ring of keys and unlocked the front door. He reached around the frame and switched on the overhead lights. He went in first and made a quick circuit through the living room, turning on table lamps. The living room and dining L were both tidy and there was no reason to believe the rest of the house was any different.
    I said, “So tidy.”
    “Place was a mess before Audrey moved in. She talked me into a cleaning lady, which I never bothered with. I figured it was me on my own and what difference did it make? She set me straight on that score.”
    “Women tend to do that.”
    “Not my wife. Margaret wasn’t much of a housekeeper. She was more the creative type. She was a daydreamer. Most of the time she walked around in a fog. She just didn’t see the chaos. She saw what she meant to do with it, but hadn’t gotten around to yet. Kitchen looked like a bomb hit it, but in her mind’s eye she was getting everything under control. Company showed up, she’d shove dirty dishes and all the bric-a-brac in the oven to get it out of sight. Then she’d forget and preheat the oven and the place would fill with smoke and the alarm would go off. What did I know? My mother was the same way so I thought that was normal.”
    While he talked, he crossed to a small rolltop desk and opened the middle drawer in a bank of cubbyholes. He took out a notepad and leafed through it until he found what he was looking for. “Address is 805 Wood Lane. A piece of mail showed up here for her and I made a note. I guess in case I wanted to send flowers or something. What a laugh.” He ripped off the leaf and handed it to me. “Audrey mentioned her landlady lived right next door so maybe you can get a key from her.”
    “Worth a try,” I said. “Something I need to ask you. I have a friend who’s a cop, and he told me Audrey’s body was still at the coroner’s office. So what was with the coffin if she wasn’t in there?”
    “Mr. Sharonson provided one if I promised to have her buried in it once the body was released. It just seemed fitting, you know? Someone dies, you have a visitation. You think that was bad?”
    “Of