W Is for Wasted

that hostile?”
    “I wouldn’t fret if I were you. It’s nothing personal. Terrence was a good friend and his death was a blow. She hasn’t been handling it well.”
    “Why take it out on me? I didn’t even know the man.”
    “She’s disputatious, though she’s not as tough as she’d have us believe. She may give you a hard time, but she’s a pussycat at heart.”
    “Yeah, sure.”
    I took a right turn off Santa Teresa Street onto Caballero Lane, which was one block long. My office was the center one in a line of three small stucco cottages. In addition to the cheap rent, the location was close to the heart of downtown, in walking distance of the public library, the courthouse, and the police station. I pulled up in front. There were ample parking spots available because the bungalows on either side of me were empty and had been since I moved in. Dandy got out and waited while I locked the car and joined him on the walk. He had a courtly air about him. Maybe it was the dress shirt or the hint of humor in his eyes. I thought he seemed surprisingly intelligent, and then I had to stop and correct myself. Being homeless and being smart aren’t mutually exclusive states. There might be any number of reasons he was on the street.
    I led the way up the front steps. I unlocked the door and opened it for him. “I’m putting on a pot of coffee if you’re interested.”
    “I’d like that,” he said as he followed me in.
    “Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.”
    “Thank you.”
    I rinsed out the coffeepot and slotted it onto the machine, putting a fresh filter in the holder, which I popped into place. Over my shoulder, I could see Dandy in the outer office, where he browsed the various law books and texts in my collection, everything from
California Criminal Law
to a 1980 edition of the
Shooter’s Bible
. There were also the technical tomes about burglary and theft,
Scott’s Fingerprint Mechanics
, arson investigation, the criminal mind-set, and Adelson’s
Pathology of Homicide
.
    When he drifted into the inner office, I left the coffee brewing in the kitchenette and joined him. It crossed my mind, just briefly, that he might try pilfering an item, but then I remembered I didn’t have anything of value. No cash, no dope, no prescription medication, and no bottle of booze in my bottom drawer. If he wanted a ballpoint pen, I’d be happy to gift him with one.
    He’d taken a seat in one of the two guest chairs, clearly curious about my domain. I took my place on the other side of the desk and tried seeing the place through his eyes. As it happens, my office is devoid of personal touches. I have an artificial ficus tree that I think lends the room a hint of class, but the fake plant is about it. There are no family photographs, no travel posters, no bric-a-brac, and no paperweight advertising “Bail Bonds, Quick Response.” For the most part, my desktop was clear, all of the paperwork consigned to folders tucked away in the file cabinets lining one wall.
    He smiled. “Cozy.”
    “That’s one word for it,” I said. “Can I ask a personal question?”
    “As long as I’m not under oath.”
    “I was wondering what brought you to Santa Teresa.”
    “This is my hometown. I grew up three blocks from here. My father taught math at Santa Teresa High back in the forties and fifties.”
    I made a face. “Math’s not my strong suit.”
    “Nor mine,” he replied. His smile activated dimples I hadn’t noticed before. His teeth were charmingly buckled and flashed white against the dark of his complexion.
    “Did you go to Santa Teresa High by any chance?” I asked.
    “Yes, ma’am. I graduated class of nineteen and thirty-three, long before you were born. I attended City College for two years, but I couldn’t see the point.”
    “Really? Same here. I went two semesters and then quit. Now I wish I’d stuck it out, but I sure don’t want to go back.”
    “Better to get an education while you’re young. My age, it’s too late.”
    “Hey, mine, too. Did you like school? I hated it. High school, at any rate. I was a low-waller, smokin’ dope half the time.” Low-wallers were the kids who loitered before and after classes on a low wall that ran along the backside of the school grounds.
    “I was straight A’s. Then life came along and I guess while you went up in the world, I went down.”
    “I wouldn’t call this up.”
    “Up from where I stand.”
    I didn’t know if he viewed