The diner was your basic greasy spoon. Faux wood grain and shiny red vinyl and dull chrome. There was the smell of greasy hamburger and fried chicken and meatloaf. Most of the customers looked like truck drivers. The waitresses were all in white dresses, with red checked hems and collars, and tennis shoes. Susan and I walked in, and I spotted Buffy Summers right away. We watched Buffy bus a table and wipe it off, then went over and sat at the table.
Buffy came over to our table. Samuelson's description was accurate. She was probably no more than 5 foot 2 inches and 105 to 110 pounds. Her hair was back, and her makeup was light but looked good. She was very pretty. The nametag on her dress said "Anne", which I knew to be her middle name.
"What would you like to drink?" she asked as she handed us the menus. It was the voice on Hank Summers' answering machine. I wanted to stand up and yell "Eureka! I've found you!"
"I'll take a cup of coffee, decaffeinated," I said.
Susan asked for a Diet Coke. She was also very good at inhibiting her inclination to yell Eureka. Buffy said that they only had Diet Pepsi. Susan made a little face, but went ahead and ordered the Diet Pepsi.
Susan and I both watched her walk away. As she did so, one of the truck driver guys at the next table reached out and tried to swat her on the rear. She dodged aside without altering her step.
We looked at our menus. When Buffy returned with our drinks, Susan ordered a salad with French dressing. I ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a salad with French dressing. The salads were very basic; lettuce, cheap croutons, and a single cherry tomato. The ham and cheese sandwich was barely edible. But Buffy was attentive, refilling our drinks when appropriate and checking in on us regularly. But she never smiled.
It took only 20 minutes for Susan to finish half her salad and declare that she was done. We got up and went to the register, and Buffy checked us out. I handed her an envelope with my payment.
"What's this?" she said.
"Your tip," I said. The envelope contained the entire amount, in cash, that Hank Summers had paid me to find her, minus my traveling and meal expenses. It also contained my card and a note. She held up the envelope and looked at it, then at me. For a millisecond, I thought I saw the yellow eyes that Karl had been talking about.
"I ask again, what's this?"
"And I say again, it's your tip. Have a good day, Anne."
Susan and I walked out. We went to our rental car parked across the street, got in, and waited. It was early evening, and the car was now in the shade. I turned the car on and ran it briefly to cool it with the air conditioner. Then I opened the windows, and we sat and waited.
"Is this what a stakeout is like?" Susan asked.
"I suspect this won't take as long as most stakeouts."
It still took long enough that Susan pulled out the Ramachandran book and started to read. I watched the diner. About twenty minutes later, Buffy came out, spotted us, and walked across the street.
She leaned into the window of the car and gave me a very hard look.
"You want to explain what this is about, or do I yank you through the window?" she said.
I felt a tension in my chest, but my voice was steady.
"I thought the note was self explanatory," I said.
She pulled it out and read it.
BUFFY,
ENCLOSED IS THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT YOUR FATHER PAID ME TO FIND YOU. JOYCE AND DAWN SEND YOU THEIR LOVE. NONE OF THEM, NOR GILES, WILLOW, XANDER, OZ, OR CORDELIA, KNOW WHERE YOU ARE. MY FRIEND AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO TALK TO YOU.
"My Dad paid you to find me," she said.
"Yes," I said.
"But you haven't told him where I am."
"No."
"And you haven't told Giles or my mother where I am."
"No."
"And you're giving me the money that my Dad paid you to find me in cash."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I do what I want, because you need it more than I do, and because your father's money should be supporting you."
"Isn't giving me the money in cash just an invitation for me to get robbed?"
"I know that you are more than capable of protecting yourself."
Buffy nodded. "Uh huh. And who is she?"
"This is Susan Silverman, the love of my life."
"This is not the best neighborhood to bring the love of your life."
"I'm pretty good at protecting myself too," I said. "And Susan is tougher than she looks."
Buffy looked at me. "You know. What I am, I mean."
"Yes," I said.
Buffy nodded again.
"I get off at 9:00, then I do my other thing until about 1:00."
She handed me a sheet from her ordering pad. It had an address and apartment number on it.
"Meet me there at 1:00 this morning. If anyone is there other than you two, I will know about it and you will regret it."
"We'll be there," I said. "Alone."