'Maybe the neighbours -'
He blew a breath out through his lips. 'Your left-side neighbours are out of town, and old Mrs Perelli is so deaf she'd sleep through a hurricane. Believe me, I'd have found somewhere else to play if that weren't the case.' Yawning, he sat on the bottom stair and propped his shoulder on the banister. 'I think you've got an enemy, Kate.'
'Me?' I tightened the sash of my dressing gown. My scalp prickled. 'Who cares what I do?'
He pinned me with a speculative stare. Green flashed in his hazel eyes - a cold colour, very self-contained. 'Your ex, maybe.'
'He's too busy planning his wedding to Marianne's teenage daughter. Besides, there would be no way for him to know. I don't blab about my sex life, not even to my friends.'
Sean cracked his knuckles. 'Neither do I, and neither would Lou or Amy. They're old hands at this scene. They know better.'
I sat next to him and sighed. "Then who?'
'Someone who thought the cops would get here early enough to break up our fun.'
I chuckled at that. 'Whoever it was, they don't know Philly cops very well.'
Yawning again, Sean heaved to his feet. 'We'll talk about it tomorrow. Maybe Joe can think of an explanation. At any rate -' he offered his hand to help me up '-we'll find the spoilsport and squash him like a bug. Scout's honour.'
Scout's honour. That must have been some troop.
Sean slid the brown sugar to Joe's side of the table. With his speedy metabolism, Joe didn't believe in eating porridge plain. 'What about your uncle?' Sean asked. 'Can he find out who tipped off the police?'
Joe took a quick bite and swallowed. 'He doesn't work in this area, but I guess he could ask around.'
'Your uncle is a cop?' I offered him the raisin box. First a brother, now an uncle. What else didn't I know about Joe?
Joe shook some raisins into his bowl. "Thanks. Good sex makes me hungry. And, yes, my uncle is a cop - a detective.'
I pondered the implications of his relative's career. 'How will you explain why you need to know who made a noise complaint?'
Til tell him the truth, or most of it. He'll understand.' Joe grinned. 'Uncle Joey likes to wear women's underwear. Strictly off-duty, you understand. He's happily married and has three kids. I was named after him.'
My spoon halted halfway to my mouth. 'Your parents named you after the family cross-dresser?'
"They didn't know at the time. He only told them two years ago. Ever since, my dad has blamed Uncle Joey for everything he thinks is wrong with me.'
Sean grimaced but Joe's smile shone with good humour. When God handed out bitterness, he must have skipped Joe. His father's bigotry didn't seem to bother him at all.
'Originals must run in the family,' I said.
Joe um-hummed around another mouthful. 'You bet. My Grandma Rose was a fan dancer. My mom's a pet therapist and my dad is a conspiracy-theory junkie.' Joe put on a fierce father face. "Trust me, son, the government knows more than it's telling."'
'And then there's Al,' Sean added.
'Al?'
Joe rolled his eyes. 'Al is my big brother. He's a corporate lawyer. He married a nice Catholic girl. They have two normal kids, one normal dog, and a house in the suburbs. It's all very bourgeois. Of course, in my family, that is eccentric.'
'Does he know about -?' I glanced at Sean, wondering how to describe their relationship.
'Oh, sure,' said Joe. 'If I didn't tell my family, I'd have to worry about them finding out. Mom's cool with it, Dad flipped his lid, and Al leaves the room if anyone mentions Sean. He still loves me, though, so I try to be patient with him.'
Sean put his head in his hands and wagged it back and form.
'What?' Joe shovelled in another spoonful.
'Nothing. I just wonder what planet you come from sometimes.'
'What's wrong with telling my family things? We're close.'
"There's nothing wrong with it. It's great. But most guys would be afraid to tell their parents they're sleeping with another man.'
Joe shoved his empty bowl aside and slouched back, hands folded over his flat belly. 'Your family knows.'
'Yeah, but it took me four years to work up the nerve. Even now I haven't told them about Kate.'
Joe crinkled his forehead. 'Neither have I. I wonder what that means.'
I fluttered my lashes at the pair of them. 'It probably means I'm too special to share.'
'You know,’ Joe said, 'you're probably right.'
I glowed for a minute, flattered as anything, then started upright in my chair.
'Larry,’ I said, hardly aware my brain had been working.
Sean set down his spoon. 'Larry?'
"The obnoxious estate agent. The one you hung up on. Maybe he was skulking around last night to check out the competition.'
'You might have something there.' He smacked his fist into his palm. 'If it is him, I hope he's not too hard to discourage.'
I covered Sean's fist with my hand. 'Promise me you won't do anything crazy.'
'Who me?' He laughed. ‘I never do anything crazy. At least, not if I can get caught.'
Chapter Seven
With Friends Like These