Page 32 of The Perfect Crime

After another couple of minutes of this, she saw that the man had pulled his car over to the left side of the street and come to a stop.He got out of the vehicle.As she weaved among the street’s denizens, she noticed a plastic bag in his left hand.

He crossed the street and stepped onto the sidewalk, disappearing behind a bank of tents.Hannah, afraid she would lose him, broke into a jog.She couldn’t help but wonder what a middle-aged middle manager was doing here.If he was scoring drugs or sex, there were less risky areas to engage in that kind of behavior.

She was just reaching the point where she’d lost sight of Stiller when someone stepped directly in her path.It was a tiny, wizened old woman with gray hair that reached her waist.She wore overalls that were several sizes too large for her and didn’t appear to have anything on underneath them.She also wore an old L.A.Raiders baseball cap, which she removed and displayed elaborately as she bowed, as if it was a top hat and they were at a 19thcentury ball.

“Young lady,” she said in a rasp, “unless you really need to be here, you really shouldn’t be here.”

“Thanks,” Hannah said, trying not to appear too startled.“I was just trying to find a friend.”

“Who’s your friend?”the woman asked.

“Um, his name is Rex.He just walked by here in a suit.Did you happen to see him?”

“No,” the woman said, “But I know him.He was probably going to see Randy.”

“Randy?”

“Yes,” the woman said, slowly turning her shriveled body and pointing at a narrow alley twenty feet away.“Randy lives in there.”

“Thanks,” Hannah said, not sure what else she was expected to say before departing.

The woman didn’t share the same concern for proper goodbyes.She put the cap back on her head and, her attention now on something or someone in the distance behind Hannah, wandered off into the street.

Hannah dashed over to the alley and peeked in.It was barely wide enough to hold the half dozen dumpsters that had been dragged in at some point.She scanned the collection of people in the dark passageway, most of whom were slumped on the ground.

After several seconds, she saw Rex Stiller.He was leaning over someone sitting on the ground with their legs crossed.It was hard to be sure in this light, but the person appeared to be a male, probably in his twenties, though the scruffy beard and long hair made it hard to be certain about anything.

What she could be sure of was that Stiller was pulling several Styrofoam boxes out of the plastic bag and placing them on the ground beside the person she assumed was Randy.The two of them spoke, but Hannah couldn’t make out any of it.

After several seconds, Randy reached down and grabbed one of the boxes.He opened it to reveal what looked to be French fries.Why was Rex Stiller bringing a homeless man what appeared to be lunch?

Before she could figure that out, someone tapped her on the shoulder.She turned around to find two men staring at her, each wearing smiles that were lacking multiple teeth.

“Yes?”she said.

“You’re pretty,” said the taller and thinner of the two men.

“Thanks.”

“I want to know you more,” said the shorter one, who was bald and had a potbelly.

“I was just leaving, actually,” Hannah explained.“Maybe another time.”

“I want to know you morenow,” the shorter man insisted, reaching out and grabbing her forearm.

She looked down at her arm, then back up at the men.The taller one had started giggling uncontrollably, but the shorter one was staring at her with dead-eyed seriousness.Fighting off the creeping hint of fear that was starting to seep into her chest, she stared back at him.

“You’ll have to know me more later,” she said forcefully.“Right now, I have to talk to Randy.”

“I don’t care about Randy,” the shorter man said.“I care about you.”

Hannah looked around.A crowd was starting to form around them.She realized that unless she nipped this in the bud, it could escalate quickly.

“What’s your name?”she asked the shorter man, forcing a smile onto her face.

“Grady,” he said.

"Grady, if you want to know me more, you have to behave like a gentleman," she said."Instead of grabbing my arm, why don't you hold my hand?Then we can find a private place, just for us?"

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