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“I know how busy you are,” she said.
“What could I help you with?”
“I almost didn’t call. It’s about your friend. Please don’t take this the wrong way. He seems like a good person.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m not quite connecting here.”
“Oh, you know, that cuddly little fellow.”
“Cuddly?”
“He brought a box of Ding Dongs and a comic book and a teddy bear to Mr. Tillinger’s room. I had to explain to him that Mr. Tillinger is comatose and perhaps will never be otherwise. But he shouldn’t have come into the ward at five a.m. I wondered if you could speak to him. Without hurting his feelings.”
I sat forward in my chair. “He didn’t give his name?”
“It slips my mind. I’m glad I’m retiring this year. He has a lisp.”
“Wimple?”
“Sorry, that wasn’t it. Oh, wait a minute. It was a nickname. How silly of me. He said his friends call him Smiley. He said you were his friend.”
“I didn’t catch your name.”
“Alice Mouton.”
“Miss Alice, I don’t wish to upset you, but the man we’re talking about is a psychopath. If you see him or if he contacts you again, do not indicate that you know his identity. Call us. Are you following me on this?”
The line was silent.
“Miss Alice?”
“Yes.”
“You did everything correctly. You’re not at risk. His enemies are usually people who have harmed children.”
“What do you want me to do with the things he left for Mr. Tillinger?”
“Is there any receipt with them, a label that shows their origins?”
“Not that I see.”
“I’ll pick them up. In the meantime, leave them with Mr. Tillinger.”
“That’s where they are now. The man tucked the teddy bear under Mr. Tillinger’s arm.”
• • •
ONE HOUR LATER, I got the call I knew was coming. “Mr. Robicheaux?”
“I hea
r you visited Mr. Tillinger, Smiley,” I said.
“The lady told you?”
“Nobody had to tell me. Everybody knows when you’re in town.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
