Sparkle (42 page)

While he watched, he reflected on his dreams. Eddie realized they had all been about the day before, which made him feel good. Yesterday had been the first real celebration he had shared with Joe since they were kids. The thing that really stuck in Eddie’s head, that he replayed over and over, was the light tone in Joe’s voice. He hadn’t heard that since before their mom and dad died.

When it was time to get up, Eddie rose and took a shower. He got dressed and pushed the carpet sweeper silently around the basement. He was pleased with how effortless these familiar tasks had been lately. Today, though, he was eager to have them done. At seven-thirty, he went upstairs to the kitchen and made coffee. He took a cup up to Joe’s room.

Eddie had stood at the foot of the bed for only a couple of seconds when Joe, from under his pillow, said a muffled good morning. He reached out and scrounged blindly on his nightstand. He found his flat box of nicotine gum and pulled it under the pillow. Eddie set down Joe’s coffee. It smelled different in Joe’s room after a month of no smoking.

“Oh, my gosh,” Joe said, suddenly sitting up straight and sipping his coffee. “I almost forgot…I can’t believe it. Today’s the big day. You excited?”

“Uh-huh,” Eddie said. “Okay. I have to go.”

“Oh, sure, Eddie. Sorry, man.” Joe pushed himself out of bed and went over to his dresser. He opened the top drawer and pushed the contents around, then turned to face Eddie. He was smiling. “Good luck,” he said.

He handed Eddie the Sparkle van keys.

“Uh-huh,” Eddie said. “Okay.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Joe said. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Joe,” Eddie said, hesitating only slightly. “I’m proud of you.”

“So…” Joe said, “don’t forget to eat your lunch at noon—”

“Joe,” Eddie interrupted.

“Oh, yeah, right. Sorry. I’ll see you tonight. Call me if you need anything.”

Eddie was feeling extremely patient with Joe this morning. “I will, Joe.” The doorbell rang. “Bye, Joe.”

Eddie went downstairs. LaVonne was there. She’d been spending the night fairly regularly, and she’d opened the door.

It was Malik, the cab driver who’d driven Eddie around the day Mark got caught. Now he worked for Eddie, for Sparkle Cleaners. It was a sweet job. All he had to do was get Eddie to the jobsite, unload the equipment, keep track of time, reload the gear and get Eddie home when the job was done.

“Good morning, Malik,” Eddie said.

“Hey, boss.”

“Good luck, Eddie,” LaVonne said.

“Thank you,” Eddie said. “Let’s go.”

As Eddie and Malik walked outside, Jolie pulled up in front of the house. She got out of her car and met them at the end of the path. She hadn’t been quite the same since she’d been shot. Her recovery was going to take a long time. But she looked good today.

“Hi, Eddie,” she said.

“Hi, Jolie.”

“I know you don’t like surprises, but I woke up and I really wanted to say hello and good luck this morning. It’s been a while since you’ve done this. You ready?”

“Yes. Thank you, Jolie.”

Eddie was more than ready. It had been too long since he’d used his gift. Detective Louis had given Eddie a new bag. It was like his old Mariners bag, but brand new. He pulled out a bottle of Sparkle and offered it to Jolie.

“Thanks, Eddie.” She opened the bottle and took a sip. “Well… good luck. I guess I’d better let you guys get going.” She smiled warmly and turned to leave.

“Jolie Walker,” Eddie said.

She turned around. “Eddie Jones.”

“Thank you,” Eddie said.

“Can I… Would it be all right if I gave you a kiss for good luck?”

Eddie rubbed his hair for a moment before he realized what he was doing and stopped. He took a deep breath. “Uh-huh,” he said. “Okay.”

Jolie stood on her toes and pecked him lightly on the cheek. “Good luck, sweet boy,” she said. Then she turned and went back to her car.

Eddie got into the passenger seat of the van and put on his shoulder belt. He handed Malik the keys.

“Sweet boy, huh?” Malik said. “Not bad.”

“You never know,” Eddie said. It was starting out to be a great day.

Forty minutes later, Malik pulled up smoothly at the address Eddie had given him. Other than the crime scene tape on the door, it looked like an ordinary house.

It wasn’t, though. Even from the outside, Eddie could feel it all coming back. The place wasn’t clean.

Eddie could hardly wait to get back to work. There was a soul in there that needed help that only he could give. He knew he was the best. And there was something very calming in that thought.

He’d use Shiny Gold, of course.

He didn’t actually need it anymore. But it was still pretty good stuff.