Chapter Eleven
I sat on the couch absentmindedly watching a Serengeti documentary on TV, waiting for Al to arrive. I wasn’t sure how I should behave. On the screen, the alpha chimp had banished a rival from the group when he tried to claim the throne. The loser sat alone atop a rocky hill overlooking the pack as they moved on without him. I switched it off and checked the food in the oven.
I heard his clogged exhaust sputter up the street before he knocked. I ran to the window as he pulled into the driveway. A curtain across the street twitched. Or maybe I just thought they did. His clapped-out Ford sat beside my Mercedes in the drive. I would need to think of an excuse if anyone challenged me on this later. Something else to worry about.
I was shocked when the man exiting the car was o
