Free Away in a Murder by Tina Anne Page A

compare him to Frank. Don’t compare him to Frank.
    We were seated and Marlowe ordered wine. I had to interrupt.
    “I’m sorry, I don’t drink. Ever.”
    Marlowe and the waiter both looked at me like I had a disease. I was used to it.
    “Ever?” Marlowe asked.
    “Ever,” I said.
    “Well. Can I?”
    “You’re driving. But then I can drive if need be. You can drink I have nothing against it, I just don’t like alcohol. I’ll have a cola.”
    “I’ll have one glass of wine,” Marlowe said. The waiter took the order and left.
    5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
    “Why don’t you drink?” Marlowe asked like I knew he would.
    “I think it goes back to trying alcohol for the first time when I was fourteen. I got very, very sick. I can’t even stand the smell of it now.”
    “Fourteen?” he said. He seemed amazed.
    “I was hanging out with a lot of adults then. They drank. I thought I’d try it so I’d fit in.”
    “You’ve tried again, as a legal adult I mean?”
    “Yes. People try to push it on me all the time. I even had someone sneak it in my soda once. I smelled it immediately.”
    “Ok, well, that’s one weird thing about you. Let’s order dinner then we’ll talk about weird things about me.”
    “It’s a deal,” I said.
    Marlowe asked what I wanted to eat and then he ordered for me. It was a gentlemanly habit that I admired. And so did the waiter by the look of approval he gave Marlowe.
    “Ok, so what’s weird about you?” I asked him after the waiter left.
    “Um, my cat is deaf.”
    “Your cat is deaf?”
    “Yep. Her name is Wilhelmina. I call her Willie. I found her. I was walking from my car to my apartment one day and I heard a noise. It was a little tiny squeak. I looked in a bush and there was this little white ball of fur.”
    He was interrupted by the waiter bringing our food. As we started to eat he finished his story.
    “So, I called out, trying to get the animal’s attention. She didn’t move. So, I reached in and grabbed her.”
    “That was dumb, she could have bit you,” I said.
    “Nah, she was too scared. The poor little thing looked like she hadn’t eaten in days. I went back to my car, turned the siren on and took her to the vet. They kept her overnight. That’s how I found out that she was deaf.”
    “Wow.”
    “Yea, she’s a little tiny white thing. Only weighs about five pounds. She loves to cuddle. All she wants is to sit on your lap and be loved.”
    “Oh, sounds like a sweetie,” I said. I’d never seen this side of him, but I liked it.
    “Yea, you wouldn’t think so when she walks on your head at five in the morning because she wants milk.”
    “I thought milk was actually bad for cats?”
    “Some, not all. I gave it to her because I figured she needed the calories. Now she just gets it once a day as a treat. And only a little bit. Besides she cries until I give it to her.”
    Ok, maybe I could fall for him. He was sweet, sensitive, and judging by Willie, could be walked all over. Nice features in a man.
    I was sitting lost in the thought of him being so gentle to this little tiny cat when someone burst through the door.
    “Chief,” the man yelled, “there’s a body down the street. Some man’s been stabbed with something and he doesn’t have a pulse.”
    “Damn it,” Marlowe yelled as he slammed his fist down on the table. Then he looked up, “sorry, Misty.”
    “Don’t worry Chief, we’ll hold your bill until you can make it back,” the waiter said.
    “Thank you,” Marlowe said. Then he pointed at me and said, “Stay here”, and he ran out of the door.
    I got my credit card out and handed it to the waiter. Marlowe stuck his head in the door, “And don’t let her pay, it’s supposed to be a date,” he yelled before he took off again.
    The waiter shrugged his shoulders and handed my card back to me. I thanked him and put my card away.
    Marlowe might not let me pay the bill, but he couldn’t make me stay in the restaurant. I grabbed my purse