“Fine,” Hammer said and hung up without saying good-bye.
Hammer did not have the genetic coding to tolerate a waste of time, and as she got older, her resentment of remote communication intensified. She could not abide the clangor of the phone when someone entered her airspace uninvited. She loathed voice mail and played it as quickly as she could before deleting it from her life, usually long before the message ended. Two-way radios were a nuisance and so was e-mail–especially instant messages from buddies she did not choose, who barged right into her cyberspace without being invited. Hammer just wanted quiet. At this stage in her life’s journey, people were beginning to make her tired and she was noticing how rarely communication relayed anything that mattered.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Hammer said when Andy was scarcely inside the front door, “Did you mention to the governor that Tangier Island is holding a dentist hostage and has declared war on Virginia because of the damn speed traps and NASCAR and possible dental fraud?”
“I didn’t get a chance,” Andy reluctantly admitted as he settled on the sofa. “I don’t think he recognizes anyone visually, either. He thought I was military and had no idea who Macovich is. I’m just wondering if that’s the root of his problem, Superintendent Hammer. Maybe he’s legally blind and hasn’t seen you since you were sworn in because he never saw you to begin with.”
Hammer had never considered this. “That’s ridiculous,” she decided.
“With all due respect. . .”
She raised a hand to silence him. Whenever anyone led off with all due respect, she knew damn well she was being lied to and was about to be dissed or annoyed. “Just say whatever it is, and cut the respect crap,” Hammer told him.
“Someone needs to inform him that he has to do something about his vision,” Andy made the point. “Maybe you should.”
“If I ever talk to him, I’ll tell him that and more,” Hammer said impatiently.
Andy made her feel old. His very presence aged her by years, and she had begun reacting with avoidance and wasn’t especially warm to him anymore. She had been a strikingly handsome woman all of her life until she’d turned fifty-five, when it seemed to her she instantly accumulated body fat and wrinkles. Her upper lip began to disappear overnight, her hair began to thin, and her breasts began to shrink, all within days. Andy, meanwhile, only got handsomer every time she saw him.
It wasn’t fair, she thought.
“Are you all right, Superintendent Hammer?” Andy asked. “You seem angry and kind of out of sorts all of a sudden.”
“Just the mention of the governor puts me in a foul mood,” she evasively said.
It was so fucking unfair, she silently complained. Men Hammer’s age dated women Andy’s age, women who thought bald heads, weathered skin, thick glasses, decreased muscle bulk, migrating hair, special pumps and pills to help raise the level of intimacy, and snoring were somehow a bonus. Oh, how women had been brainwashed, Hammer raged on in silence. Young women bragged to each other about how old their lovers were.
Just the other day, Windy Brees had been smoking a cigarette outside in the headquarters parking lot when Hammer overheard her telling a friend about Mr. Click. Hammer had briskly walked past Windy and the friend, staring at the pavement, loaded down with files and her briefcase, pretending she was unaware of the conversation. But Windy had a voice that carried, and the entire state police force heard every word.
“How old is Mr. Click?” Windy’s young female friend had asked enviously.
“Ninety-one,” Windy had proudly replied. “I’m just smitten. All I do is wait by the phone.” She held up her cell phone and sighed, wishing it would trill.
“But it’s not on,” the friend had observed. “You have to push in the power button and turn it on, otherwise it won’t ring if he calls.” She dug her own cell phone out of her purse and demonstrated.
“Well, I’ll be!” Windy had exclaimed with renewed hope. “I wonder if he knows to turn his on? Because whenever I call his cell phone, I always get this same voice that says he’s not available, and it depresses me, because I worry he isn’t available in general and that’s why I’ve not heard from him since late last night.”