Free Forgive Me, Alex by Lane Diamond Page B

heavens, she looks positively yummy.
    The conversation remains relatively one-sided as she tells me about her job. She mentions a problem with a member of her team, the office politics she hates, recent cases—anything but the one subject that dominates both our minds: Mitchell Norton, the devil .
    I've dreaded this conversation. What can I say that will satisfy her? I could lie to her, but she'd see through that in a second. She doesn't know me that well, when you get right down to it, but she caught a glimpse of me at the most critical time, shared with me the most relevant experience—in California, the death of Ronald Allen Stegman.
    Now she's here right on the heels of Norton's release.
    Her gaze shifts between her coffee cup and me as the conversation reaches an impasse, and I signal the waitress for more coffee. Linda may have given up on the small talk, or perhaps she's thinking it through, determining how best to approach the real reason she came to Algonquin. Her look strikes me as designed to prod the conversation. I maintain eye contact and a pleasant smile, but I don't take the bait.
    I occasionally drop my eyes lower and linger for a few seconds. I know I shouldn't stare but....
    Why isn't she wearing a bra, damn it? Look at— Uh-oh!
    She catches me staring. I have no idea the proper reaction here, but I'm sure my rooster-in-the-henhouse grin is not it. She doesn't appear upset, at any rate. In fact, I'd swear she's rather pleased, if not at my staring, then at least at the "gotcha" moment, which she has the good graces not to mention.
    Her smile fades and she glances around the dining room at nothing.
    Keep your eyes up, Tony. Eyes up!
    She takes a deep breath and exhales a heavy sigh, and returns her gaze to me. "It would be an awful shame if I had to put you in custody, if I had to be part of an investigation that lands you in jail."
    I've been preparing for this. "The real shame will be when you have to notify the next of kin that Mitchell Norton has killed again."
    She comes up short, and pauses to sip her coffee while she considers a response. I have difficulty reading her expression—sad resignation, perhaps.
    She strains through a low voice, "It's not that simple."
    "No?"
    "No. There are times when I wish it were, believe me, but the laws serve many purposes, and we mustn't condone or encourage vigilantes."
    "Vigilantes?"
    She rolls her eyes and looks at me as though.... Yeah, she knows.
    Well shit, Tony, you already knew that, didn't you? I snap at her. "I suppose you learned that in one of your seminars."
    "You're damned right I did! I've also learned it repeatedly during almost twenty years on the job. They say there is no black and white, that there are only shades of gray, but in my world, the gray can lay upon you until you suffocate. It must be black and white! In my world, the alternative is unthinkable."
    "I understand that but, and I say this with the utmost of respect and in all seriousness, you and I live in different worlds."
    "I'm sorry. I forgot that you're above the law. You don't make mistakes. Therefore, you may do what you please. You're so God-like ."
    The sarcasm is so thick I could pour it over my pancakes. Once more, I must wonder why she's here. Perhaps she thinks she owes me.
    "You forget that my ways are the only reason you're still alive." I said it too brusquely, and the cheap shot knocks her back a notch. "I'm sorry. I had no right bringing that up."
    I tap my fingers on the table and squirm under her steadfast gaze and persistent silence. Shit! This would be an excellent time to change the subject.
    "By the way, did I mention how fantastic you look?"
    She slaps her hands on the table and rolls her eyes again—she's good at it, and getting lots of practice today.
    What the hell, it was worth a try.
    My smile is barely repressed laughter. I can't help myself. I laugh through what I'm sure must be one giant, shit-eating grin.
    "Not buying it, huh?" Come on, Linda. Please