With pepperoni. And olives. plenty of either. thank you. ” “Buttering up, are we? ” “To the nth,” I acknowledged. “Did you allow via my storage? ” “Yeah, why? ” “Just puzzling over if the bins have been again. ” one other nice snigger. “See you quickly. ” midway via his first slice of additional pepperoni, additional olives pizza, Virgil requested, “I wish you don’t brain if we consume first, then get to the opposite subject. No lunch this present day. And breakfast wasn’t so sizzling. in simple terms 4 doughnuts. ” Bruce and that i raised our eyebrows. “Kidding. ” “Take your time,” I stated. “Have a few extra chips. ” so long as the “other topic” used to be at the time table for the night, i used to be high-quality. Bruce led the dinner dialog. an outstanding factor, considering the fact that regardless of my announcement another way, i used to be too distracted to contemplate whatever however the crime scene pictures. i peeked at Virgil’s briefcase periodically, tempted to whisk it away to the den whereas the men ate and talked. First up from Bruce was once asking approximately Virgil’s kin. Virgil had misplaced his spouse to melanoma many years in the past; his son used to be in summer season institution at a Southern California university the place he’d commence freshman yr within the fall. It happened to me that pizza used to be now not inevitably a deal with for a bachelor and that i must have cooked him a meal. Bruce and that i exclaimed how nice Ronnie regarded in his highschool commencement photograph, and back maintaining his basketball trophy, and back along with his date for his senior promenade. The pictures have been for my profit given that Bruce and Virgil met another week for card video games with different men of their clique—though possibly family members photos by no means got here up in the course of these classes. “What’s new up within the air nowadays? ” Virgil requested Bruce. “Up within the Air. reliable one,” Bruce acknowledged, an acknowledgment that Virgil knew the name of 1 his favourite contemporary video clips. “I’m now not as out of it as you think,” Virgil stated. He played a neat trick with an extended string of cheese that wouldn’t detach from the slice. utilizing his chin deftly, he didn’t omit a calorie. “We’ve acquired competition,” Bruce stated. I’d heard the tale: a brand new air rescue enterprise had arrange store around the highway from MAstar. “It’s a for-profit corporation the place one of many VPs is a Henley councilman. ” “Isn’t that what we name vested curiosity? ” Virgil requested. Bruce gave him a “what else is new” glance. “What’s reliable is we signed a brand new agreement, with Oceanview health facility, to do all their delivery. ” “Apparently the contest isn’t making a challenge for MAstar. ” “Not in any respect. We’re spinning it like it’s reliable for us. we will use it to make a case for a few up-to-date apparatus and a facility improve. ” “You’re going to improve the double-wide? ” Virgil requested. all of us laughed, might be a bit too tough on my half. in the end, Virgil driven his crumb-free plate away. “Let’s get to it, Sophie,” he stated. I took a deep breath. “Are you convinced you don’t wish dessert first? ” either males broke out within the form of laughter that results in coughing. It used to be unusual, and never in a great way, to determine the espresso desk in my den coated with crime scene photographs. Virgil had spared me whatever actually annoying, yet any reminder of Keith Appleton’s homicide used to be unwelcome.