Page 44 of Crow
A sigh pushed through his lips. “It sucks to get old.”
“You’re not old. Anyway, age is all relative. It’s really how you feel inside. I remember my grandmother telling me that the secret to staying young is how you feel. She was eighty-seven at the time but said that inside she was thirty-two. That was the way she felt and saw herself. It makes a lot of sense.”
“Maybe.”
“I always seem to luck out in finding parking right in front of the building,” Angie said as she pulled into a space. “I’ll admit that I don’t like going into garages alone. I don’t think they’re all that safe, and being a woman, I’m always aware of my surroundings.”
Unfastening his seat belt, Joey nodded. “That makes sense.”
Angie reached into the back of the car and pulled out a paper bag. “I stopped at my aunt’s deli this morning to pick up a sandwich for Abe.”
“That was nice of you.”
“I really like him.”
“He’s odd as hell,” Joey said as they walked up the pathway.
“He is, but he’s got a real dry sense of humor, which I love. I feel for him. He’s only thirty-five, and he’s confined to a wheelchair because of an accident on an oil rig. I just found out he has brothers and sisters, but they never visit him or take him out. I find that shocking.”
Joey held open the front door and gestured for her to go in. “Not everyone is as close to their family as you are. Besides, you don’t know the backstory with his family.”
“True, but I can’t image abandoning a sick relative no matter what has happened in the past.”
“That’s you. Not everyone can forgive.”
“I suppose,” Angie muttered as she tried the front door after it closed behind them. It locked. She then checked to see if all the light bulbs were in the security fixtures. “Surprise, surprise—Mr. Slumlord fixed a few things.”
Joey laughed. “He doesn’t want to mess with you. You can be scary when you’re on a mission.”
She playfully swatted his arm. “No, I’m not. What floor are you going to?”
“I’ll hang with you for a bit, then we can go to number two eighty-nine. Are you still investigating Valerie Stockton?”
“I’m keeping my eyes on her, but the boyfriend only stayed a couple of days then split. They probably had a fight or something, but he hasn’t been around for a couple of weeks.”
“He’ll be back—they always do.”
“I know,” she said, rounding the corner, “that’s why I’m going to keep my eye on—”
Stopping short, she saw Crow standing in Abe’s doorway. A shiver swept through her body, and for a moment, she was rooted to the spot.
“On what? Her apartment? That’s going to take up a lot of your time,” Joey said.
Crow turned his head, and their eyes collided.
“Hey,” he said, his mouth tilting into a seductive smile.
“Hey,” she replied softly.
“What’s going on?” Joey asked, glancing at her and then Crow.
She cleared her throat. “Nothing.”
“Angie! I’d know your voice anywhere,” Abe said. Crow stepped aside, and the man wheeled out into the hallway. His eyes darted to the paper bag in her hand, then back to Angie. “Is that for me?”
Smiling, she nodded. “Italian sub with extra pepperoni and salami.”
A wide grin spread across the man’s weathered face. “You made my day. Come on in.” Glancing up and down the hall, he said in a low voice, “I wanna tell you about something and”—he looked at Crow—“you can come on in.” His gaze rested on Joey. “Who’s he?”
