Spike was silent for a few seconds, taking in all I had told him. “Donnelly really called MJ elderly?” he said.
“Yep.”
“How can we keep her from seeing it?”
“I don’t think we can. But we can at least prolong the inevitable so Tony can be there to deal with her reaction,” I said.
“Thanks a lot,” Tony said.
“You’re the one getting the regular commission,” I said. “Spike, are you in the hotel room with her?”
“Same suite. I’m in the living room.”
“When did she go to sleep?”
“Probably half an hour ago.”
“Anyone else there with you?”
“Harold.”
“Does he still have her phone?”
“I’m pretty sure. Harold, do you have her phone? He does. He just showed it to me.”
“Does she have anything in the room with her? Laptop or tablet?”
“Fuck. We didn’t check.”
I told him we were on the way. Tony and I got into my car. Rosie hopped into the backseat. Spike stayed on the line, his voice shifting over to Bluetooth as I pulled out of the parkinglot. “She’s got a tablet in there with her,” he said. “Harold just told me.”
“Can you sneak it out without waking her?”
“I’m going to try.”
I glanced at Tony. His jaw was tight. Both of his hands were balled into fists, that college ring of his glimmering. I’d never seen him this tense. Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him tense at all.
“I woke up in L.A. this morning, and everything was fine,” Tony said. “Beautiful sunrise. Perfect weather to go jogging…”
“I hear you,” I said. “Right up until lunch, the most stressful thing on my agenda was dinner at my parents’.”
“Was that what you were talking about on the phone earlier?” Tony asked. “Did Richie have to cancel on dinner?”
I gazed out the window. “To be fair, I gave him very short notice.”
I could feel him watching me. “You want to know the best thing about not being in a relationship?” he said.
“No,” I said. “But I bet you’re going to tell me anyway.”
“You never get disappointed,” he said. “That’s the best thing.”
I turned and looked at him. He had a point, I supposed. But it wasn’t one I wanted to openly agree with. I went back to the window.
Over the Bluetooth, I heard muffled conversation—Spike and Harold. Neither of us had ended the call. “Everything okay over there?” I said.
“Harold just said he heard something in the bedroom,” Spike said.
“Something?”
