Free Elizabeth Basque - Medium Mysteries 02 - Silver Lake by Elizabeth Basque Page A

up. I didn’t mind if he stayed. If I knew him, he would be there in the morning to make sure I got up on time.
    I made my way to my bedroom, put on my jammies and pulled back the covers and climbed in bed. I doubted the TV would keep me up.
    I rested my head on my pillow, grateful to finally be in bed. As I drifted off into my drunken slumber, I tried to hold on to the thought that the next day might be one of the most important days of my life. My thoughts drifted from Garrett to Mack. Mack, who was keeping vigil over me so I could help his son.
    And then I was out.
     
     
    Chapter Sixteen
     
    The next thing I knew, my alarm clock was blaring. I still had one of those old clocks that honked a monstrous noise so loud it would wake the dead. And apparently, it did, because when I hit the snooze button, I heard a tap-tap on my closed bedroom door.
    “ I’m up,” I mumbled.
    Thank God Mack was gentlemanly enough to give me privacy to get up and get ready. I knew I was no spring chicken. I always looked like hell in the mornings. He kept his eyes on the TV as I ambled into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. While it brewed, I went into the bathroom and began the task of making myself presentable. I remembered a time when it took me less than five minutes to apply just a little makeup. Those were the days. But they were long gone. I had to put Visine in my eyes twice in the mornings now to get the red out.
    I got a big mug of coffee and headed back to my bedroom to dress. I was just about ready when I heard the thud of the remote dropping onto the coffee table repeatedly. It was Mack’s way of telling me to hurry up.
    “ Relax,” I called, and gulped my coffee. Too bad I couldn’t put any rum into it. I was driving into downtown L.A., and even I didn’t drink and drive. It was probably the biggest reason I rarely went out these days.
    I had on a fairly nice suit, and my uncomfortable nice shoes. I grabbed the matching jacket, knowing I’d be too warm with it on, and picked a nice pair of earrings that matched.
    I appeared in the living room, ready to go, when Julie knocked on the door. I unlocked it for her, and hurried to the kitchen to put some more coffee in a travel mug.
    “ You look nice,” Julie offered. I didn’t dress up too often.
    “ Thanks. So do you.”
    Mack was hovering impatiently in the kitchen.
    “It’s precisely nine o’clock,” I snapped.
    “ There might be traffic,” Mack countered.
    “ There’s always traffic in L.A., Mack. You haven’t been gone that long.”
    “ I brought you a bagel with cream cheese,” Julie said brightly. I tried not to let her youth and morning spryness irritate me. I flipped open a bottle of ibuprofen and downed two with my coffee. “We’ll have to eat in the car,” I said. “I doubt we could relax, eat in peace and have a nice cigarette.” I eyed Mack as I said this. He didn’t care.
    I got onto the I-5 South. Downtown wasn’t too far away, but it was true that there was always traffic. Almost always.
    Mack sat in the back, looking out the window and frowning. “I don’t know why Garrett moved the offices from Silver Lake,” he remarked.
    “ Well, he’s not as established as you were,” I observed. “Maybe he’s sharing office space. And, it’s good to be in the center of town. Says something about your business.”
    Julie handed me my bagel, and I took a bite. A big blob of cream cheese plopped onto my black blouse.
    “Damn it,” I swore. “Hand me a napkin, Jules.”
    She did so, and I tried my best to wipe it off while weaving through the thousands of other cars on the freeway. I ended up with a big greasy spot right on my boob. Crap.
    We pulled into a multi-level underground parking lot off of Spring Street. I took a deep breath and smiled into the rearview mirror at Mack. “Ready?” I asked.
    “ I am,” he said. “We’ve got some business to attend to before going to his office, though.”
    “ And what would that be?” I