Page 8 of Little Last Words

“One moment forwhat?”

“I just thought we needed a moment.”

“Why doweneed a moment?”

“To get to know each another. I like to get to know the people working alongside me.”

Working alongside him?

The guy had a few screws loose.

“I don’t know who you are, but you shouldn’t be here,” I said. “I know Chief Foley well. Stand aside. Or don’t. Either way, I’m going in.”

He shook his head, laughed, and moved his hands to his hips. “You know something? You remind me a lot of him—your look, the expression on your face right now, this whole puffed-up ‘in your face’ attitude you have going, kind of like a rufous hummingbird.”

I’d been compared to a few things in my life, but a hummingbird? It was a first. Rufous hummingbirds were known to be among the most aggressive of birds—more aggressive than crows, which said a lot about the comparison he’d made.

“I remind you a lot of whom?” I asked.

“Your father.”

For a moment, it felt like all the breath inside me emptied out, and I found myself grappling for air.

“My father is dead, and he has been for a long time,” I said. “You must be thinking of someone else.”

“No, I’m thinking of him, all right. Abe Germaine. One of the best men I’ve ever known.”

He was toying with me.

Why?

“If you knew my father, why did you ask me for my name?” I asked. “I’m guessing you already knew it.”

“Maybe I wanted to see if you’d give it to me, Gigi.”

“It’s Georgiana.”

“I was just speaking with the coroner, Silas. He mentioned you, called you Gigi, not Georgiana. I figured that’s what you’re going by nowadays.”

“The nickname is reserved for close friends, people I know well, and I don’t know you.”

My palms had started perspiring, which never happened.

I was nervous, and I didn’t understand why.

“Where’s Foley?” I asked.

“Inside. You’ll see him soon enough.”

I’d see him now.

I pushed my way past Whitlock and was stopped a moment later by Foley, who gave me a less-than-enthusiastic look as he escorted me back to the front door.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Foley said. “You weren’t here when I arrived, you haven’t been answering my calls, and the child … Care to tell me where she is right now because she sure as hell isn’t here.”

I thumbed toward Whitlock. “Care to tell me whoheis right now?”

Foley swished a hand through the air. “We’ll discuss Whitlock later.”