Free Body Double by Tess Gerritsen Page A

windshield, and he’d begin to see his dreams. He’d see the man he
could
be if only he owned one of these machines.
    “Mrs. Purvis?”
    Mattie turned and saw Bart Thayer, one of her husband’s salesmen, waving at her. “Oh. Hi,” she said.
    “You looking for Dwayne?”
    “Yes. Where is he?”
    “I think, uh . . .” Bart glanced toward the back offices. “Let me check.”
    “That’s okay, I can find him.”
    “
No!
I mean, uh, let me get him, okay? You should sit down, take a load off. In your condition, you shouldn’t be standing around too much.” Funny thing for Bart to say; he had a belly bigger than hers.
    She managed a smile. “I’m only pregnant, Bart. Not crippled.”
    “So when’s the big day?”
    “Two weeks. That’s when we think it’s due, anyway. You never know.”
    “Ain’t that the truth. My first son, he didn’t want to come out. Born three weeks late and he’s been late for everything ever since.” He winked. “Let me get Dwayne for you.”
    She watched him walk toward the back offices. Trailed after him, just far enough to watch him knock on Dwayne’s door. There was no response, so he knocked again. At last the door opened and Dwayne stuck his head out. He gave a start when he spotted Mattie waving at him from the showroom.
    “Can I talk to you?” she called out to him.
    Dwayne stepped right out of his office, closing the door behind him. “What are you doing here?” he snapped.
    Bart looked back and forth at the couple. Slowly he began to sidle away toward the exit. “Uh, Dwayne, I think I’ll just take a little coffee break now.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” muttered Dwayne. “I don’t care.”
    Bart fled the showroom. Husband and wife looked at each other.
    “I waited for you,” Mattie said.
    “What?”
    “My OB appointment, Dwayne. You said you were coming. Dr. Fishman waited twenty minutes, and then we couldn’t wait any longer. You missed seeing the sonogram.”
    “Oh. Oh, Jesus. I forgot.” Dwayne ran his hand over his head, smoothing back his dark hair. Always fussing over his hair, his shirt, his tie. When you’re dealing with a high-end product, Dwayne liked to say, you have to look the part. “I’m sorry.”
    She reached in her purse and pulled out a Polaroid. “Do you even want to take a look at the picture?”
    “What is it?”
    “It’s our daughter. That’s a picture of the sonogram.”
    He glanced at the photo and shrugged. “Can’t see much of anything.”
    “You can see her arm here, and her leg. If you look real hard, you can almost see her face.”
    “Yeah, cool.” He handed it back. “I’ll be home a little late tonight, okay? There’s a guy coming by at six for a test drive. I’ll catch dinner on my own.”
    She put the Polaroid back in her purse and sighed. “Dwayne—”
    He gave her a quick peck on the forehead. “Let me walk you out. C’mon.”
    “Can’t we go out for coffee or something?”
    “I’ve got customers.”
    “But there’s no one else in the showroom.”
    “Mattie,
please.
Just let me do my job, okay?”
    Dwayne’s office door suddenly opened. Mattie’s head swiveled around as a woman stepped out, a lanky blonde who quickly ducked across the hall, into another office.
    “Who’s that?” said Mattie.
    “What?”
    “That woman who was just in your office.”
    “Oh. Her?” He cleared his throat. “New hire. I thought it was about time we brought in a saleswoman. You know, diversify the team. She’s turned into a real asset. Moved out more cars last month than Bart did, and that’s saying something.”
    Mattie stared at Dwayne’s closed door, thinking: That’s when it started. Last month. That’s when everything changed between us, when the stranger moved into Dwayne’s body.
    “What’s her name?” she asked.
    “Look, I’ve really got to get back to work.”
    “I just want to know her name.” She turned and looked at her husband and, in that instant, she saw raw guilt in his eyes, as glaring