Free Second Chance by Jonathan Valin Page A

in.
    "It was so good of you to do this, Mr. Stoner,"
she said, smiling gratefully.
    "I wish I had something good to report."
    She made a gesture with her hands, as if she were
shushing a heckler. "Believe me, just talking to Phil will
help."
    She glanced at the mother, who was standing by the
sideboard, taking the conversation in over her shoulder. The older
woman nodded as if she agreed with Louise.
    "You've met my mother-in-law, Cora Pearson?"
    "Yes."
    Louise Pearson stood up a little shakily and started
across the room to the door. The mother-in-law touched Louise's left
hand sympathetically as she passed, and Louise smiled at her.
    "It'l1 be all right," Cora Pearson
whispered.
    "I'm going to go see about Phil," Louise
said. "He's in with Shelley right now. They should be done
soon."
    "Shelley?" I asked.
    "Sheldon Sacks. He's Phil's best friend. Sort of
a family counselor. He's been seeing Kirsty, too. I mean—he saw her
over the summer."
    She didn't say it, but he'd also been Estelle
Pearson's psychiatrist. I'd seen his name in the newspaper clippings.
    "It might help if I could talk to Sacks about
Kirsten," I said.
    The woman bit her lip. "They don't usually talk
about their cases. It would breach their code of ethics."
    There was a hint of sarcasm in the way she said "code
of ethics." But it was slight compared to the way she'd spoken
about her husband's profession the day before. Everything about her
had changed slightly from the day before, even her looks. She hadn't
made up her eyes or mouth, and she was dressed down in jeans and a
white blouse. The sunlight pouring through the undraped window washed
her complexion out even further, making her seem younger and
more vulnerable. In any light she was strikingly
good-looking.
    Louise left the room. The elder Mrs. Pearson stared
after her with concern.
    "She doesn't deserve this," she said in a
bitter voice. "She's been such a rock." The woman looked
down at the silver tea service as if it were all that remained of the
family fortune. "None of us deserve this."
 
I wasn't sure she was talking to me, so I didn't
reply. Mrs. Pearson poured coffee and, as an afterthought, asked me
if I'd like a cup.
    "Yes," I said. "I've been living on
the stuff for the last thirty hours."
    She didn't look impressed.
    "There is something you should know," she
said, handing me the cup.

"Yes?"
    "My son has a heart condition. He doesn't like
to dwell on it. He resents illness of any kind, as most doctors do.
But the fact is he was hospitalized once already, this past summer
when Kirsten acted up. If this current tumult doesn't end soon, the
children may succeed in killing him."
 
She
said it as if that was their intention.
    "I'm doing what I can to end this, Mrs.
Pearson," I said. "But unless we can find them . .  "
    She threw a hand at me. "They'll be found. They
want to be found. And if no one comes to look for them, they'll make
their presences known. Attention is all they want. It's all they've
ever wanted. I know whereof I speak. After Estelle's death I had the
two of them on my hands for almost a year, until Louise relieved me
of the burden. They were spoiled then, and they're spoiled now. No
one's life goes smoothly. Do you think my life has gone smoothly? No
one made that promise. One picks up and continues."
    She sounded like she was reading from that book she
was carrying on her head. I could imagine what life had been like at
Grandma's.
    " Self-indulgence is a sin. Harboring resentment
against your father is a sin. My son has sacrificed his life for
other people. First when his own father died. And then when Estelle
killed herself. He's owed a little peace, a little simple gratitude."
    Her face flushed and she turned away. I thought she
was overcome with anger until I realized that someone else had
entered the room. A paunchy, balding man in a rumpled business suit
was standing in the doorway, looking vaguely embarrassed.
    "Are you Stoner?" he asked.
    I nodded.
    "I'm Shelley