death in the rain - 34. green

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part thirty-four of forty-four

joe b and sonia arrived early for the countess’s party. it was a clear night, with a full moon. a number of cars were already parked at the bottom of a steep hill. a long curving staircase led up to the countess’s house . a few figures - probably chauffeurs - were slouched around the cars. sonia parked behind the last car. a tall man with a white shirt and a black bow tie approached as joe and sonia got out of their car. “i can park closer to the house if you wish, miss,” he told sonia. “that won’t be necessary,” sonia told him. joe knew the man. his name was green. neither joe nor green showed any recognition of each other. “we can drive you up the hill if you don’t want to take the stairs,“ green told sonia. “that won’t be necessary either,” sonia smiled. joe and sonia began climbing the stairs. joe thought he felt green’s eyes on him as the ascended. but green was not a curious person, and although he thought he might have recognized joe, he did not give him any thought. green went back to his post - a folding chair at the foot of the hill - and recommenced the musings joe and sonia had interrupted. “i knew that guy,” joe told sonia when they were halfway up the hill. “you mean the guy parking the cars? so?” “i’m just saying.” “i wouldn’t worry about it. we are not here under false pretenses. we were invited.” 35. make yourselves useful