Sex, Murder And A Double Latte

“I thought I was supposed to meet you at your place.”

I jumped at the sound of Anatoly’s voice. He was standing in the doorway of an apartment complex parallel to my car. His eyes traveled behind me to the Acura. “Looks like somebody made an enemy. You know the owner?”

“What are you doing here, Anatoly?”

“What do you mean, ‘what am I doing here?’ I live here.”

“In that building right there?”

“The one I just walked out of. Your powers of deduction are staggering.”

“And you didn’t hear anything when some lunatic was ripping apart my car?”

“Your car?” Anatoly’s eyebrows shot up. He walked closer for a better look. “I don’t understand, are you a drug dealer or something?”

“Excuse me? Someone messes with my car and you want to know if I’m a drug dealer?”

“Look at the car, Sophie. Whoever did this was looking for something, and when they didn’t find it in the glove compartment or the trunk they assumed it was valuable enough for you to hide it inside the seats.”

“Well, if they were looking for drugs they got the wrong car.”

Anatoly was examining the trunk now. “Well, they were looking for something.”

“Oh, for God’s sake! I wouldn’t even know how to hide something in the upholstery of my car without ruining it. Let alone in my spare tire. What the hell could I possibly possess that I would even want to hide that well?”

“Could be a number of things. Do you have some compromising photos of the mayor and the latest Playboy bunny that you were planning on blackmailing him with? Although I think Willie Brown proved that San Franciscans aren’t concerned with such things.”

“Give me a break. I’m not blackmailing anyone. This is real life, not one of my books….” I looked at the car again. In what seemed like slow motion, I opened the passenger side door and touched one of the fresh cuts in the seat.

“What’s wrong?” He stepped behind me and put a supportive hand on my arm.

“Nothing. Look, I don’t mean to blow you off, but I think I should go report this.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“It’s really not necessary. I’ve had my car broken into before. You just go to the police station, file a report, and when the SFPD has a slow day they’ll look into it. That will be right around the time the sun collides with the earth.”

Anatoly just stared at me.

“I’m trying to be funny.”

“I can see that.”

“Well then, laugh and go away.”

Anatoly didn’t move. “Are you going to drive the car to the police station?”

“Now you’re the one trying to be funny. I can’t possibly drive this thing.”

“Why not? The engine seems to be intact,” he pointed out while checking under the hood. “And the only tire they slashed was the spare.”

“The police station is only a few blocks away, I’ll walk. It’s not like they have to look at the car. All I have to do—”

“This isn’t a normal break-in Sophie. The police should see the damage in order to know what they’re dealing with.”

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. The last thing I wanted to do was sit in the seat that only hours ago some creep had been merrily slashing away at.

“Here’s what we’ll do,” Anatoly said. I rolled my eyes but chose not to interrupt. “I’ll go upstairs, get my camera and take some pictures of the damage before we move it.”

“Like I said before, we don’t need to do anything.”

“Here’s my cell phone.” He pulled his Nokia out of his jacket pocket. “Call the police and tell them we’re coming over.”

I pulled my hair back with enough force to damage some of the weaker strands. The guy was asking to be smacked. “I’m going to say this one last time—”

“Why don’t you call them as you walk down there? I’ll meet you with the car after I’m done with the pictures.”

Okay, there was something appealing about that. At least I wouldn’t have to get in the car. Of course the plan did have a few flaws. “That means I’d have to trust you with the keys to my car.”

Anatoly grinned. “And I’ll have to trust you with my cell. Considering the condition of your car, I think I’m taking the greater risk.”

No arguing with that one. “Okay, here’s the key. I’ll meet you at the station. Do you know where it is?”

“I’ve passed it a few times. This will be good. Our first stop on my tour of San Francisco.”

I shook my head and started downhill toward my destination. Having my car vandalized was a lot more than a minor annoyance, but my insurance would take care of it. What was really bothering me had little to do with my actual vehicle.

What was really bothering me was that for the second time in three days I was reliving a scene from one of my books.

The cop let out a low whistle as he considered the car. Anatoly, who had magically found a parking spot on the same block as the police station, was now standing aside as the officer, a big burly guy with a furry mustache going by the name of Gorman, studied the slash in the spare tire. He looked up from the damage and his eyes bore into me. “Do you have any history of drug use or dealing?”

“No!” I tried to ignore Anatoly’s laughter.

“Well, they were looking for something,” Officer Gorman stated as he slammed the trunk closed.

“Yeah, we’ve established that. I don’t own anything that would be worth hiding in my upholstery.”

“Uh-huh,” Gorman said. He looked me over, then turned back to the car. “Anyone who might be after you?”

Anatoly took a step closer to me. How much should I say? After all, most of my fears were based on nothing more than an overactive imagination, right? My fingers automatically began to fiddle with my necklace. “I can’t think of anyone offhand.”

“Uh-huh.” Gorman eyed Anatoly. “Who are you again?”

“I’m just a friend of Sophie’s.”

“Uh-huh.”

I bit my lip. If only the cop could say something useful. Hell, I’d settle for a completed sentence.