“But he usually deserves it.”
“Even so. He’s a porcupine. Always bristling at somebody and fundamentally unaware when someone is bristling at him.”
Stella nodded, her eyes fixed on the ground.
Softly, Matteo said, “How are you?”
She shrugged and said nothing.
Matteo nodded and said nothing.
Stella felt gratitude for how the best of friends didn’t need to talk. She pointed at his sanitation worker uniform. “I didn’t know you were still working.”
“Oh, right, that’s what I wanted to tell you. We’re all working overtime. All the trash in public canisters needs to be hauled to the police station. I guess they want to make sure some clue wasn’t tossed in one of them.”
“Like the murder weapon.”
He nodded. “Like the murder weapon.”
“So they still haven’t found it.”
He shook his head. “W
