Out of the Cold by Norah McClintock

to.”
    The man chatted with Ben for a few moments about the shelter. Then he pulled out a business card and wrote something on the back.
    â€œHere’s a number where you can reach me,” he said. “I’d be interested in knowing if you ever solve this little mystery of yours.”
    I tucked the card in my pocket.
    â€œNice guy,” Ben said.
    â€œAll the people who stopped to talk were nice,” I said. The four who had taken a few moments to try to talk to Mr. Duffy made me feel a little ashamed. The most I had ever done was drop a few quarters into a hat.
    The rush-hour crowd had thinned. I shivered un-controllably as I pulled off my sandwich-board sign.
    â€œI guess that expensive jacket isn’t as warm as it looks, huh?” Ben said.
    â€œFor your information, I’ve been out all day talking to people—”
    â€œI’m just teasing,” he said. For once he didn’t seem to be angry with me or to be making fun of me. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go someplace where you can warm up.”
    He steered me to a cozy, delightfully warm res-taurant. We claimed a booth near the back and shucked our coats and hats. Ben dropped his back-pack onto the floor beside him. After a waiter handed us menus, I glanced at Ben.
    â€œWhat are you doing down here anyway?” I said. “Are you checking up on me?”
    â€œActually, yes,” Ben said.
    That made me angry. “I told you I’d do whatever I could to find out about Mr. Duffy. Didn’t you believe me?”
    â€œOf course I did,” he said.
    â€œBut you still came to check up on me?”
    â€œI came to make sure you were all right. And to see if I could help.”
    â€œHow did you even know I was here?” I asked.
    He smiled at me. “Billy’s girlfriend called me.”
    â€œMorgan?”
    He nodded. “She told me what you were doing. She suggested that I come down here.” He laughed. “Actually, more than suggested. She said she thought it was totally unfair that you were freezing your butt off down here while I was lounging around in a nice, warm house.”
    That sounded like Morgan. I bet I knew why she’d made the call too, and it wasn’t just because she thought I needed a hand. She thought Ben would be the perfect replacement for Nick. But I wasn’t interested in a replacement.
    â€œShe’s right,” Ben said. “I shouldn’t leave it all to you. I’ve been thinking about what I said the other day. I was mad. I hate that Mr. Duffy died the way he did. But I shouldn’t have taken out my frustration on you.”
    We ordered. While we waited for our food, I said, “Well, at least we know a little more about him now than we did before.”
    â€œWe do?”
    â€œSure. You heard what some of the people out there said. I’d bet that Mr. Duffy spent some time out west. We know he liked tea. We know that he knew enough about computers to impress someone who’s in the computer business.”
    â€œHe liked to surf the Internet at the shelter some-times,” Ben said. “I asked him one time what kind of sites he liked to visit, but he didn’t answer.”
    â€œWell, he may not have talked much, but he wasn’t completely antisocial, either. Sounds like that little girl made him smile.” I thought about that for a moment. “The librarian Morgan talked to said he bought used paperbacks from the library.”
    â€œI know,” Ben said.
    â€œYou do?”
    â€œThe two books he had with him? They were from the library. They were stamped
Withdrawn
.”
    â€œMorgan said that up until recently he bought grown-up books,” I told Ben. “Then about six months ago, he started buying kids’ books. Maybe they were for that little girl. He also bought children’s clothes at a secondhand store. But he always brought them back for a refund.” I hadn’t