“The one that disappeared?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Well, I got the plate number.”
“Wow. Really? How?”
“I’ve got my ways.”
“Do you want me to tell Detective Gleason?”
“No, I’m not telling him about it,” I said. “Not now, at least. At the moment, I only trust you.”
“Hey…um. Thanks.”
“I’m just wondering if you could do me a huge favor and run it for me?”
“Sure.”
I heard the squad car door opening, the scuff of Klamm’s shoes as he got inside. “What’s the plate?” he asked.
I opened the text to myself and read it to him over speakerphone.
“Got it. One sec…”
“Take your time,” I said.
As I waited, the violet sky deepened. An elderly woman passed my car on a motorized scooter with an American flag affixed to the back. A man trailed behind her, walking a small, sprightly beagle. The lights went on in the house next door. Then in another, farther down. In a strange way, it all felt magical—one of those rare moments I wanted to re-create on a canvas, just so I could keep it. That’s what painting was to me, really. A way of trapping time and making it stand still.
Klamm returned to the phone. “The car is registered to somebody named Edward Piro,” he said. He gave me an address in New York City, an apartment on Park Avenue.
“Park Avenue. Nice,” I said.
“Goes with the car,” Klamm said.
“Yep.”
“No outstanding warrants,” he said.
“A respectable citizen,” I said.
“According to his license plate.”
“And I’m assuming the car wasn’t reported stolen.”
“You assume correctly.”
“Thank you, Officer Klamm,” I said.
“Good luck,” he said. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
I thanked Klamm again and ended the call.
“Mr. Edward Piro of Park Avenue,” I whispered.
I pulled out my phone and googled the name. I found several Edward Piros, but most were obituaries. I tried Edward Piro and Park Avenue and found the same Edward Piros, with “Park Avenue” crossed out. For a guy with such a flashy car, Edward Piro kept a very low profile.
I thought about going back into Mrs. Dorsey’s house, but decided against it. It was pretty clear that Tommy wasn’t a fan of mine, and I didn’t want to traumatize him any more than he already was. I found Mimi’s text on my phone and called the number. She picked up. I could hear the cartoon pig in the background.
“Tommy okay?” I said.
