Page 157 of Hello, Summer
“You mind telling me how he died?”
Conley gave her an abbreviated account of the early-morning events.
“Wow,” Kady said. “That’s, like, mind-blowing. So are you saying he died a hero?”
“I guess I am,” Conley said. “I’m trying to put together a story on him. I know the stuff about the hit-and-run, but I’d really like to get some understanding of who he was before the accident.”
“He was your typical rock jock,” Kady said. “This was before political correctness. Cocky, sexy, full of himself. He could be a lot of fun, but he could be mean too. You never knew which Robbie you were gonna get. Although I will say he had a certain sweetness if you stayed around long enough. Hey, did he still drive a white Corvette?”
“Yeah,” Conley said. “The station owner said he treated it like it was his baby.”
“That was Robbie. I think he was driving a Vette when he hit that girl. Not the same one, obviously. And did he still dress in all black? I never said anything, but come on, calling yourself theMan in Black? How hokey was that?”
“Still dressed in black,” Conley said. “I guess that was his trademark. That and the Vette.”
“You can’t say the guy wasn’t predictable.” Kady chuckled. “But then, what man isn’t totally predictable?”
Conley thought about Skelly and how he managed to surprise her almost every time they were together. “Right,” she said for the sake of agreement. “Is there anything else you can think of to tell me about him? Like, did he have family?”
“None that he ever talked about. I think he thought his listeners were his family. That wasn’t just bullshit either. He really thought like that.”
“Well, thanks so much for talking to me about him,” Conley said. “You’ve been a big help.”
Michael had turned around in his desk and was wildly waving to get her attention.
“Can you hang on for a sec, Kady?”
“Okay.”
She put her hand over the receiver. “What’s up, Mike?”
He held up the receiver of the phone on his own desk. “This is a producer from NBC. She says she’s been trying to reach you all morning.”
“Selena Kwan?”
“Yeah. What should I tell her?”
“Tell her to hold. I’m almost done with this call.” She continued, “Hi, Kady. Anyway, I really appreciate your talking to me. If you think of anybody else who might remember Robbie, can you give them my number?”
“What about the cat?” Kady said abruptly.
“Cat?”
“Robbie loved cats. He always had one. Whatever market he’d get a job in, first thing he’d do, he told me, was go to a shelter and adopt a stray. But they always had to be black. You know, ’cuz he was the Man in Black.”
“He did have a cat,” Conley said. “In fact, don’t tell anybody, but when my friend and I went to his apartment, we found the cat, and we kind of kidnapped it because I didn’t want it to end up in a shelter. I don’t know what we’ll do with her. My family has a dog, and my friend claims he’s cat-phobic. We don’t even know the cat’s name.”
“It’s Hi-Fi,” Kady said. “He told me that one time. Every cat he ever got, it was black, and he named it Hi-Fi. Predictable, right?”
“Can you transfer that call?” Conley asked Michael.
“Sure. But, uh, I gotta give you the heads-up—I went ahead and filed a story about the shooting and everything. Because it’s such a huge story. Your name’s in it, because, like, you were there. The guy was trying to kidnap you. Grayson gave me the okay. She said you wouldn’t mind.”
“Oh.” She didn’t know what to say. She’d interviewed dozens of crime victims over the years, but this was the first time she’d ended up in another reporter’s notebook. Of course, it had been her idea to call in Michael, so she could hardly complain that he’d done his job.
“I’ll transfer her over.”
The phone buzzed, and she picked up the receiver. “Hi, Selena.”
