Edge of Midnight (McClouds & Friends #4)(91)

“I assume, from the incredibly frustrated tone of that conversation, that you were talking to a McCloud?” Cindy inquired.

Miles stiffened. “How much did you overhear?”

“Enough to wonder why the McClouds would ever be interested in anything old Professor Porky Pig Beck might have to say,” she said.

Miles groaned inwardly. “Could we not talk about it now?”

“Sure, whatever,” she murmured. “Let’s get going, then. Get out your sax, Javier, and warm up your reed while Miles sets up.”

The recording went smoothly. The kid was good, Miles had to concede. Cindy put him through some major and minor scales, and then he played through the tunes all the applicants were supposed to learn. On the final rep, he inserted a thirty-two-bar blues improvisation. In less than an hour, he was writing Javier’s name and number on a good demo CD. He handed it to Javier. “Good luck. I hope you get it.”

Javier slipped it into his sax case, and flashed a grin with his big, white, overlapping front teeth. “Thanks!” He grabbed Cindy and gave her a hug. “I’ll go get this to the post office right now.”

“You’ve got money for postage?” she called after him.

Javier rolled his eyes. “Duh. See you back at band camp!”

They listened to the kid’s sneakers thud up the stairs. He peeked at her, and his gaze slid away. He couldn’t bear to look at that smile.

“Thanks for doing that,” she said. “He really deserves that scholarship. It was sweet of you to help.”

He shrugged. “No big deal. Um, Cin? I’ve got a whole lot of work to get done today before I go up to the dojo, so—”

“So take my bunny tail and go twitch it in somebody else’s face?”

Miles winced. Cindy made no move to leave. “I looked around, but I don’t see your mom’s Ford,” she said. “I thought she gave it to you.”

“I, uh, lent it to Keira for a few days. You know, one of the backup singers for the Furballs? The one with all the piercings?”

Cindy looked blank, and her eyes narrowed. “That is a big, fat lie. Keira flew to Reno yesterday to visit her sister. She doesn’t have your car.” She paused, sucking her lip between her teeth. “So who does?”

“It’s none of your goddamn—”

“Business, yes, I know. You gave it to Sean, didn’t you? Erin said that Con was in an unholy snit yesterday. It was because Sean took your car and gave everybody else the slip, right?”

“No,” he lied, through gritted teeth. “You’re way off. Light years.”

“That would explain why your face is so red and you can’t look me in the eye.” Cindy stretched so that her little tits strained against her halter top and the ends of her hair tickled the tattoo at the small of her back. “So what’s up with Kev and the Colfax Building and old Porky Pig?”

“You shouldn’t eavedrop on other people’s conversations.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, and in any case, I’ve already talked to Erin. So I know that Sean McCloud’s paranoia is flaring up big-time. I heard he’s freaking out, saying his twin was murdered after all.”

“You wouldn’t call it paranoia if you’d seen him yesterday,” Miles snarled. “They ripped the shit out of him! They practically killed his girlfriend—” His voice trailed off. His stomach sank at the triumph in Cindy’s eyes. Snookered into babbling his private business.

*whipped *.

He sighed. “Forget it,” he said wearily. “Just leave, OK?”

“OK. So don’t tell me how those McCloud dudes don’t think you’re grown up enough to ask Porky what Kev McCloud was up to at Colfax. So don’t tell me how they’re blowing you off, like an idiot child.”

He conceded that much. “Drives me freaking nuts,” he growled.

Cindy’s eyes were soft with understanding. “I know exactly how that is,” she said. “I feel that way with those guys all the time.”

Part of him shrank from the chummy, bonding moment that Cin clearly wanted to have. Another part was desperately eager for any crumb she might drop. No. He was done with this soul-killing bullshit.

“I think the situations are pretty different,” he said coldly.

The smile faded from Cindy’s face. “And that difference is what? That I actually am just an idiot child, whereas you are not?”

He spun the chair around. “I did your favor. Don’t make me regret it by making me listen to your poor-me routine. It’s a big bore.”

The silence behind him stretched so long, his neck started to itch.

“Weird, that old Porky could ever have anything to do with the McClouds,” Cindy said softly. “Slobbering old lech. Did Kev know him?”

“Kev was student teaching Beck’s summer school courses,” Miles said stiffly. “Con said Kev taught the whole course, lectures and all. Beck just kicked back and got a paid vacation out of it.”

“Sounds like Porky. Did I tell you about the time I went to his office? I wanted to do the midterm as a take-home exam—”

“So I could help you with it?”

She ignored his interruption. “You know what he did?”