last thing she needs is some middle-aged whatsit bursting in and crying âMommy.ââ
âAnd demanding a cut of the estate.â
I shook my head. This was getting complicated, and my first priority had to be the welfare of my patient. âI know the mansion means a lot to you, but youâre really projecting yourself into this. My concern must be Margotâs peace of mind.â
âPierre and Terri will be ruthless.â
âTerri I could see. She had a rep for nasty, but Pierre? I hardly think weâll have trouble with the Buddhist Mafia.â
âItâs a lot of money, and if you think it complicated now, just think what it will be like as the end draws near. Lee, it seems like sheâs really growing fond of you. Do you think you could ask her about the child? If she has any idea â¦â
Saulâs majesty impressed me, as it always did. He wears decency and social concern like Lady Gaga wears the outrageous. A cloud of doubt was ready to rain on my acceptance. âI canât intrude upon that. If she talks about the child, and she might, then Iâll ask, but only to help her cope. Margot needs to die in peace and at one with her children. Iâm not doing this to save the mansion.â
His brow furrowed, but I continued.
âIt is a beautiful place. Divine, a real jewel. Yes, we want to save it, but my job is to help her find peace.â
âIâm not using you to get to her to save the mansion.â
I took his hand. âSure, love. You almost sound like the mansion is a character, not a prop.â I smiled. âNeeds and wants. Two different things.â
âI know,â he said and squeezed my hand. We paid the bill and walked down Euclid before we parted. I to my apartment and Saul to Metrolink. Passing another pole with JUNETEENETH TOWNE! plastered on it made him grunt, then he thrust his hands in his coat, chin raised.
âYou know,â he said, âwe should talk about us.â
âWe do. All the time.â
âNot us. âUs.â Donât be afraid of that word. Itâs only two little letters.â
âI know Iâm hedging, but after two divorces, marriage is still an eight-letter, four-letter word.â
âSure. Abby was no piece of cake, especially during the separation. What do they say? âA wise man marries his second wife first.â I know Iâm a jerk.â
âThe hell you are. Youâre a king.â
Saul stopped. âI get angry. About life not being right. Not being listened to by the pols. But I need you, Lee. When I saw your portraitââ
âYeah. A blonde surrounded by a room full of warped people. Itâs kind of true to life.â
Saul took my arm. âIs it because Iâm four years younger than you?â
âNo. No, of course not.â
His eyes probed. âI mean, weâre both in our fifties.â We approached the corner and our parting. Saul looked ahead. âIs it Doc? You still have a thing for him?â
âAbsolutely not. Really. No. Iâve only got one thing.â I took him by his coat lapels and kissed him. âPromise.â
âOkay.â He smiled down at me. âLetâs think about it. Please. One of these days Iâm going to get tired of asking.â
âOne of these days, Iâm going to get tired of saying no.â I kissed him again.
âRemember tomorrow night at the museum. Weâre seeing all the muckeymucks.â
âIâll wear blue. Blue goes well with muckey-mucks. You going to wear the necklace?â
âHell, no. Iâd be terrified if I lost it. The insurance is probably astronomical.â
Saul gave me that leading man smile of his that I get all soft about, then we broke apart.
I entered my apartment as Kenyatta Holmes, my bumptious across-the-hall neighbor, tootled away on his sax. As always when I opened the door, Yul, my Siamese, yowled and charged out,