Page 23 of Bronx

“So, the woman who answered the door is your friend?”

“Well… she’s a co-worker.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I work for a cleaning service.”

Hmm, so she has a black eye, can’t find her brother to protect her from whoever did the shit, and she probably doesn’t make enough money to run.

“So, you want to find your brother to protect you from whoever did this?” I point confidently to her eye as if I’ve just cracked a difficult case, like Perry Mason.

“I’ve already said twice that my eye has nothing to do with this. This isn’t about my eye. This is about finding my brother. The reasons why are self explanatory… because he’s my damn brother!”

Ruby walks into the room from another room in the house after Karma raises her voice and she’s wielding a damn kitchen knife.

“Uh, are we good in here?”

7

Bronx

“We’re fine,” I say.

“Karma?”

Ruby turns to Karma for confirmation.

“We’re fine. I’m just extremely passionate about finding Lev and things got a little animated.”

“Of course.”

Ruby trains her eyes on me in what she probably believes is a threatening way. I meet her gaze as well, hopefully reassuring her that I’m not here as an enemy but as an ally.

After she leaves the room and Karma’s taken a beat to calm down, I continue with our conversation so I can wrap this whole thing up. I’m starting to question whether or not this little arrangement is going to work. She doesn’t know too much more about her elusive brother than my family was able to dig up.

“You’re obviously sensitive about the eye, so I won’t ask you about it again, but I’m going to be honest with you, Karma. You haven’t given me much to go on and I’m not a police detective with twenty years of job experience. This is not what I do. The chances of me finding your brother are slim.”

Her eyes sadden.

“I realize you can’t give me any guarantees, but you’re my only hope at this point. I don’t know who else to call. I don’t have anyone.”

A small part of me feels sorry for her. She seems like a decent enough girl, definitely pretty, but someone who apparently just can’t catch a break. Now that I know his name and that he’s alive, I could continue the search for him on my own and leave her out of it. It would be the right thing to do.

“If he’s legitimately been missing for six weeks or so, I think you have enough to go and report him missing to the cops and ask for their help.”

Karma unfolds herself in the chair, her legs now dangling to the floor. I notice the color of baby blue nail polish popping against the color of her slender brown toes.

Damn, even her bare feet are fucking pretty.

“Let’s not pretend that you don’t know about Lev’s job, Mr. Masterson. I can’t go to the authorities to report him missing and Lev wouldn’t want me to.”

Aah, so she does know something.

“Remind me again what your brother does for a living?”

“I’d think you would know more about that than I would.”

“I don’t,” I admit.