At three, after peeling off the P.I. get-up, I climbed into bed. A now lifeless Gamera was perched in a corner. Too bad the occasion for wearing the costume had been a tragic one. Maybe next month we could celebrate life by throwing an anime-fan party. Hopefully, by that time, the case would have been put to bed—like me, now.
Petey was in our guestroom, a room with a double bed, a nightstand, a padded armchair, and not much more. Button had taken a liking to the quinquagenarian the first time they’d met and the two of them went to la-la-land together. I smiled, envisioning her sprawled alongside him and his arm tucked under her fuzzy head.
Before I could slip the cellphone into the nightstand drawer, a cardinal trilled. Really? At this time?
“Yeah?” I asked, annoyed.
No greeting. No br
