Free Hell by Hilary Norman

measures.’
    â€˜So we’re all going to Claudia’s?’ Saul said.
    Sam nodded. ‘It’s pretty much ideal, and Dan and Claudia say they’re happy about it.’
    â€˜I’m not,’ Cathy said. ‘I go to college in North Miami.’
    â€˜I’ll drive you,’ Saul said, ‘morning and afternoon.’
    â€˜How lovely,’ she said. ‘In your beautiful pickup.’
    â€˜Snob,’ her uncle said.
    â€˜What about your workshop?’ Cathy was serious. ‘You have zero security.’
    â€˜I’ll buy a new lock,’ he said.
    â€˜I’d rather you took time off,’ Sam told his brother.
    â€˜I have a commission,’ Saul said. ‘And it’s not movable.’ He paused. ‘But I’ve been thinking I could use a little help from Hal with one of the big pieces, so maybe now could be a good time for that.’
    â€˜Hal’s not exactly bodyguard material,’ Cathy said.
    Hal Liebmann was a buddy of Saul’s, went back a long way.
    â€˜He’s tough enough,’ Saul said.
    â€˜So long as you make sure you’re never alone,’ Sam said. ‘Which applies to you too,’ he told Cathy. ‘Grace and I aren’t too happy about you going to college.’
    â€˜I’ll stay with the crowd,’ Cathy said. ‘I know better than to take chances.’
    â€˜I know you do,’ Sam said. ‘But for now, we all live on Key Biscayne, OK?’
    â€˜I guess,’ Cathy said.
    â€˜Sounds like fun,’ Saul said.
    Sam stood up. ‘I’ll leave you guys to pack.’
    â€˜You want us to drive together?’ Saul asked.
    â€˜I’d honestly rather have my own car,’ Cathy said. ‘No offense intended.’
    â€˜I’d rather you go together,’ Sam said.
    â€˜Do you really think Cooper might make a move on us?’ Cathy asked.
    â€˜I doubt it,’ Sam said.
    â€˜You’re just going to be happier having us all under one roof,’ Saul said.
    â€˜I’ll be happier,’ Sam said, ‘when this is over.’
    When Anne Dover – Andrew Victor’s thirty-two-year-old sister – arrived at Miami International soon after six, Sam and Martinez were waiting.
    It was not the way they ordinarily chose to proceed, preferring wherever possible to allow grieving relatives at least a little breathing space before bringing down a load of painful questions on their heads. But Mrs Dover had spoken first to Lieutenant Alvarez, and then to Sam, and had made it clear that she wanted to be of assistance, if possible, the instant she landed.
    And the fact was they might never get an ID on the first John Doe because, sad to say, that happened too damned often. Which meant they needed every detail from every person they could find in Andrew Victor’s life.
    She looked older than her years, wore a black suit and small hat, giving her a look, Sam thought, of the fifties, making him wonder if she’d borrowed it from her mother, the woman who had, according to Gail Tewkesbury, made her son feel that she was embarrassed by him.
    â€˜Please don’t be nice to me,’ Anne Dover told them, within moments of meeting. ‘I don’t deserve it, and I don’t really want it, if it’s all the same to you.’
    â€˜If it’s all the same to you,’ Sam said, ‘I think we’re going to find it hard not to be nice to you.’
    Anne Dover’s smile was wan. ‘Just do your best,’ she said.
    â€˜We will, ma’am,’ Martinez told her.
    They wanted to take her to her downtown hotel, but she wanted to talk to them right away, so they went to Starbucks in the terminal and, without preamble, she explained to them the cause of her shame.
    â€˜It hit our parents very hard, finding out Andy was gay,’ Anne said, ‘and I know he kept on hoping things would change, but they never did. Our father was angry about