Odnośniki
|
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
by weeping on her soft shoulder, big snuffling sobs and
scalding hot tears.
She walked me into my apartment, heated the soup,
brewed tea, and listened. Slumped in my favorite chair,
Billy Boots purring in my lap, I told her that McDonald
was out of my life and recounted the frightening mo
ments on the plane.
I thought he was the one, she said sadly.
So did I. I sniffled, hugging Bitsy, who sat up, eyes
concerned, her eager paws on my knees.
I m glad you re home safe, my landlady said
kindly. No wonder you re upset, after such an experi
ence. You re having a delayed reaction. You need to eat
something good, take a shower, and go to bed. Then to
morrow take a book and go lie on the beach
I I can t. I hiccuped. I have to go back to work
tonight.
Shocked and indignant, she castigated my bosses as
YOU ONLY DIE TWICE 161
insensitive and unreasonable men who constantly
take advantage of my loyalty and good nature. It wasn t
true, of course. I am a willing volunteer when it comes
to trouble. But I needed kind words and sympathy from
someone who cared.
Take a shower, she instructed, and I ll bring you a
bite to eat. Oh, honey, she said at the door. I bought
you a new toothbrush, too. I saw yours when I came to
take the dog out and change Billy s sandbox. She
shook her head. You should replace it every six
months, at least.
They don t make them like they used to, I said
numbly.
By the time I d showered and dressed, she had
brought a plate of warm beef flanken with horseradish
and potato latkes.
The food, comforting and sustaining, didn t fill the
empty place where my heart should be, but it was forti
fying. I put on warm clothes and filled a thermos with
strong Cuban coffee. I felt stronger as I drove back to
the paper through the chilly night, as though I d found
my second wind. Who needed sleep? How did the
words of the song go?
I ll sleep when I m dead.
#
11
How novel. A great argument, Jeremiah Tannen said.
The former boy wonder from the public defender s of
fice was the first person I called. Now in successful pri
vate practice, he specializes in criminal law. But it
wouldn t work, he said, and I ll tell you why.
You can t be tried twice for the same crime. That s
double jeopardy. But a man wrongfully convicted of his
wife s murder the first time could, indeed, be charged
with her recent murder. It s not the same crime. It s a
different murder, at a different place, on a different
date, in a different jurisdiction.
However, he continued, it would be fascinating,
if he was convicted, to try to persuade the court to grant
him credit for the time he served for the first crime, the
one that never happened.
* * *
YOU ONLY DIE TWICE 163
R. J. s anger at Kaithlin s mother haunted me, as I
cleared my desk of mail and messages. Why did he de
test Reva Warren so? After all these years he was still
furious at a sad senior citizen, now dead, whose only
sin seemed to be working all her life to raise the woman
he had once loved.
Did she do more than meddle? Was it because she
had testified against him?
I called my mother, who had left multiple messages.
Britt, darling. Were you out of town? Someone said
something about a plane . . . ?
Yes, I said, but it all turned out fine. Mom, when
you worked for Jordan s
I just heard the news, dear. R. J. s free!
I know, I was there.
I can t believe it! I was shocked. Did you see what
Eunice was wearing? Chanel! She looked like an ab
solutely different person. She s worn nothing but black
since it all happened.
I guess it was sort of a celebration that she has her
son back. Mom, did you ?
Eunice always had style, she said, but no business
sense. Con was brilliant, generous to a fault. He led
everyone to believe she was an asset, when in reality
she was nothing but a self-centered clotheshorse.
Mom, I m at work, trying to piece it all together.
Maybe you can help. Did Kaithlin ever discuss per
sonal problems with you, the animosity between her
mother and R.J?
That was all very long ago, she said, suddenly less
talkative, and I m just on my way out. Nelson and I are
attending a cocktail party for the Dade Heritage Trust;
164 EDNA BUCHANAN
then we re off to dinner. I tried to place Nelson. She d
had frequent escorts since she began dating after only
recently, belatedly, coming to terms with my father s
death.
I won t keep you, I promised, but there are so
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plblacksoulman.xlx.pl
|
