Page 30 of Fluffed and Folded

“What, like go door to door?” she said, horrified.

“How else do we meet people?” he returned.

“Like normal humans.”

“That does not compute,” he said.

She tugged his shirt and began leading him toward the pool. The apartment complex was set up in a U formation, with six units surrounding a courtyard with a pool and laundry room. Josie and Tristan sat in one of the lounge chairs.

“Try to look relaxed,” Josie urged.

“You know I don’t know how to do that,” he said. He realized he looked tense and ill-pleased, but he couldn’t seem to help it. Visiting with Eli was fun, but it had maxed him out on socialization for the evening. Given the choice, he’d rather be cloistered with Josie for the remainder of the night.

Josie, guessing his thoughts, eased closer and slid her arm around his neck, pulling him into a more intimate embrace that automatically made him inhale and relax when he caught her sweet scent.

Maybe no one will show up,he thought, trying to make it a wish as he reeled her slightly closer, nestling her against him. No such luck, though.

“’Sup,” a male voice said.

Tristan suppressed his annoyed sigh and eased his grip on Josie who straightened away from him and stood. “Hi,” she said. He didn’t have to see her face to know she was beaming a megawatt smile at the newcomer; he could hear it. And when the guy returned her greeting, he also smiled.

“Hi. Name’s Mack. You must be the new neighbors.”

“Oh, hi,” Josie repeated, pumping the guy’s outstretched hand with impossibly more warmth in her tone. “It’s my boyfriend’s apartment, actually. I’m visiting. My name is Josie, and this is Tristan.” She dropped Mack’s hand and turned to encompass Tristan, resting her hand on his shoulder. The warm friendliness dropped from Mack’s gaze when it swung on Tristan, assessing. Tristan did nothing to help, merely gave him an upward nod of acknowledgement. The beauty of having Josie along for things like this was that he could sit back and observe while she made small talk. And she was exponentially better than him with making small talk, a fact she proved by offering Mack a seat and asking him ten questions about himself within the first minute. He was a dentist who had lived in the complex for two years. He did not have a girlfriend, but was not opposed to the idea, should she decide to set him up with any of her friends, ha, ha. Yes, he knew Eli. Oh, she must be the friend he’d told them about. Finally it was his turn to ask a question.

“Not to be rude, but did you know you’re living in a dead guy’s apartment?” This question was naturally directed towardTristan, who shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, but not psychotic.

“Housing crisis, am I right? I’ve been searching for a place forever, and I already liked it here because of Eli. When I heard there was an opening, I jumped on it. I guess that makes me mercenary, but…” He shrugged again, self-deprecating this time.

Mack, who seemed unbothered by the mercenary attitude, nodded. “You gotta do what you gotta do to take care of you.”

“It is…a little troubling,” Josie inserted hesitantly, softening the conversation, easing a bit of civility into the machismo. “Did you know the guy?”

Mack shrugged. “As well as I know any of them.” He waved vaguely toward the complex behind them. “By name, a few conversations.”

“Murdered, though.” Josie shuddered. “Was he, I mean, I know I’m victim blaming here, but was he into something bad?”

Mack laughed humorlessly. “Bad? Asher? No way. He was your typical HR guy. Thought he was a bigtime player because he’d been given a tiny amount of power at work, some hiring/firing committee or something, but was really just middle management.”

Tristan’s ears perked at that. Was Asher having trouble at work? There was no way to ask without tipping his hand, but he tucked it away to investigate later. Josie’s natural curiosity took over, saving him from probing further.

“What do you mean that he saw himself as a bigtime player?”

“That car?” Mack thumbed toward the parking lot.

Josie looked around him toward the lot. “You’re going to have to help me out here. I know nothing about cars. They all look the same to me.”

Mack laughed humorlessly. “His is the only one covered by a canvas drop cloth, and with good reason. It’s worth about a hundred thou, easy.”

Josie’s brows rose. “That is kind of a big deal. I sure couldn’t afford that, on my teacher salary. How did that guy?”

Mack shrugged. “Dunno, and don’t care. Maybe it was an inheritance, maybe he got lucky.”

“You never asked?” Tristan said.

“No, because hewantedme to, I could tell. The way he’d drop the car into casual conversation. You could tell he was dying to brag about it. I never gave him the opportunity. Between you and me, though?” He pinched his fingers together and squinted his eyes. “That car is cherry. I’d give my last four girlfriends for it.”

“I wonder why it’s still here,” Josie mused, though they already knew. She must want to hear Mack’s take on it.My girl,Tristan thought proudly.

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