"The name's Leteisha Swann," the waiter told him, smiling thinly as if he were enjoying a private joke. "Leteisha Swann is not a welcome person on these premises. She's a little too entrepreneurial for our taste. She was hiding in the bathroom one night. Damn near gave some old guy a heart attack when she jumped out of the shadows and offered to unzip his pants for him." The waiter winked at T.S. "For another ten, I'll get you her phone number."
"No thanks," T.S. replied stiffly. "I can unzip my own pants." Besides, he already knew where she lived. And that her phone number rang on a corner somewhere.
Patience exhausted, he left the sarcastic waiter behind with an overly polite bow.
Leteisha Swann… he'd lay ten to one odds that the name wasn't real. And the odds on her having known Emily were even less. He sighed and headed for St. Barnabas. No sense in letting Auntie Lil have all the fun.
The door chimes tinkled and a miniature lady stepped into the Delicious Deli. There was no other way to describe her as she was far too self-possessed to be called a child. The tiny girl wore a blue and green plaid Catholic-school jumper over a snowy white blouse with an old-fashioned Peter Pan collar. Her straight black hair was cut in a sleek cap around her face and her fine features stood out against a porcelain complexion. Irish beauty at its budding best. The girl was probably no more than six or seven years old, but she had the bearing of a fifty-year-old matriarch.
"Hi, Daddy," she called out to Billy, flipping her hair back with a practiced toss of her head. "I'll take a cappuccino, please."
"Oh, no you won't, Miss Megan Magee. Sit at that table there and I'll bring you a milk." Billy pointed out Auntie Lil and Megan dutifully sat next to her with a slight pout. But the grudge was soon forgotten, thanks to the girl's lively curiosity.
"Who are you?" she asked Auntie Lil, folding her hands primly in front of her and waiting expectantly for the answer. Auntie Lil had the uncomfortable feeling that she was at a tea party.
"I'm Auntie Lil. I'm a friend of your father's."
"You're not my aunt," Megan pointed out. "My aunt is young and beautiful and goes dancing every night."
"I go dancing every night, too," Auntie Lil replied grimly. She was suddenly reminded why she didn't like children.
"Magee, don't talk this nice lady's ear off." Billy set a glass of milk down in front of his daughter and winked at Auntie Lil. "Megan takes after her mother. Where is she, anyway?"
"Two doors down getting carrots. Yuck." Megan wrinkled her nose.
Well, Auntie Lil thought, thank goodness she still harbored some childish traits.
"What can I do for you today?" Billy asked Auntie Lil as he pulled out the chair next to his daughter and sat, wiping his hands on his deli apron. "I've got a couple of minutes before the next rush."
"I wondered if you knew these two young men." Auntie Lil produced the strip of dime store photos of the two young boys from her pocketbook, all the while keeping a close eye on her plate. Megan was staring at her cheesecake with undisguised interest and Auntie Lil wasn't about to give up the last bite without a fight.
Billy surveyed their faces. "Yeah. I've seen them. They're not allowed in here. They steal. Why are you looking for them?"
She could not think of a single plausible reply, but Megan made one unnecessary. "That's the guy that threw up," she announced proudly. She placed a small finger on the face of the white boy. "Remember, Daddy? You said it looked like he'd been eating pepperoni pizza."
"Megan!" Billy groaned and smiled an apology at Auntie Lil. "Both of these guys hang out around the neighborhood a lot. I think they work out of that run-down sleaze palace at Eighth and Forty-Fourth. They've been around here about a year or so. I give them another six months."
Auntie Lil was going to ask why, but the presence of Megan made her hesitate. Besides, she had a sad hunch that she already knew.
Billy was staring at her quietly. "Listen, I'm not quite sure why you're going around and asking a lot of questions," he said carefully. "But you seem like a nice enough lady and I just want to tell you that whatever it is you're doing, I'd stop if I were