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CHAPTER
1
Four fifty-three in the morning was too early for anything. Alfie had said so to Donny back when it was four eighteen and they were still on the freeway. But at least they’d be early, maybe catch a nap before unloading.
Donny, as usual, had smiled and said nothing. Which was fine with Alfie. If you had to be sharing the cab on a long haul with someone, a guy who didn’t talk much was a good deal.
They’d spent the last five days together, hauling a big house full of stuff from Pepper Pike, Ohio, to La Jolla, California. Rich doctor moving stuff from one dream palace to another.
In La Jolla, the guy was waiting for them, smiling and waving like they were old friends. Big beach house, looked like a bunch of ice cubes stuck together. Blue spots of ocean at the end of the property and a whole bunch of bright-green palms.
Like living in a postcard.
But a lot of steps.
Dude ran down them. “Hi, guys, I’m James.”
“Doctor,” said Alfie, because he’d read the papers the company gave him and knew the rules. Someone has a title, you use it. Even if they’re pretending to be regular folk.
“Aw,” said James. “Okay, if you insist on formality, call me Teach.”
Alfie stared at him. Dude looked more like a…Alfie didn’tknowwhat. Long gray hair and beard, string of beads around his neck, these stupid little glasses with red frames.
But not a hippie or a homeless. Not with the goochy-poochy clothes.Alligatorshoes. And abeach house,for God’s sake. Almost as big as the humongous place in Ohio they’d moved the stuff from, that one looked like the White House, a maid in a uniform standing around while they worked, suspicious, nasty eyes.
Loading took a full day. The same would go for moving it into this place.
All thosesteps.
“Teach,” said James. “As in teacher.”
“Ah,” said Alfie. Donny hung back, pretending not to hear.
“I’m a professor,” said James.
“Wow,” said Alfie, hoping that would cut it short so he could put on his weight belt, scope out the job, and start.
“Virology,” said James.
Alfie knew what that meant because his mom had developed a herpes and couple of years ago, he took her to a virologist.
Plus, you could figure it out: virus/virology.
When Alfie didn’t say anything, James said, “I specialize in viruses.”
I specialize in killing my back to move your shit and your steps aren’t going to help.
Dude annoyed him. Why not mess with him?
Alfie made his face innocent. “You do computer cleanup?”
James’s lips tightened. So did the rest of his facial muscles, sending little ripples through his beard.
“No, I’m a physician. Infectious diseases and such.”
And such.Who says that?
Alfie said, “Wow,” with no wow in his voice.
