Free Blowing Smoke by Barbara Block Page B

probably considered to be his money on her second husband. Not to mention all the money that was going to the pet psychic. I wondered if Louis had ever gotten a sports car from his mom. Somehow I thought not.
    â€œHow about that drink?” Rose asked. I realized I was still holding the pitcher in my hand. “Now, then,” she said when I’d filled her glass and handed it to her. “You look like an intelligent woman.” She took a sip of her martini, savoring it before she put the glass down on the table. “I’m sure you can see that you’ve been put in an untenable position.”
    â€œNot really.” I picked up my Manhattan. A cherry was floating along the bottom, just the way Geoff had promised. I fished it out and ate it, wondering, as I did, why I liked these things so much. It had to be the color. It certainly didn’t taste like a cherry. It just tasted sweet.
    â€œQuite frankly, my children are involving you in something that is none of their business.”
    â€œAh.” I put the stem back in my glass and took another sip of my manhattan while waiting to hear the rest.
    â€œPat Humphrey is a close friend of mine. I don’t wish her disturbed.”
    â€œI wasn’t planning on disturbing her.” A lie, but then I’ve always felt telling the truth is an overrated virtue.
    â€œYou already have by coming to her house, and don’t bother denying it,” Rose Taylor snapped before I could.
    â€œI wasn’t going to. I just asked for a reading. As far as I know, I have a right to do that.”
    â€œYou gave a fake last name. Richardson, wasn’t it?”
    â€œTrue. Maybe I was embarrassed. Maybe I didn’t want anyone to know what I was doing.”
    Rose Taylor began tapping her fingers on her martini glass. “Don’t demean my intelligence.”
    â€œExcuse me. I didn’t think I was.” I took another sip of my manhattan and put the glass back down on the tray. “So who told you? Pat Humphrey?”
    â€œIt’s irrelevant.”
    â€œNot to me.” I had another thought. “It was Amy, wasn’t it?” She’d been so scared of her mother finding out, it made sense that she’d be the one to tell. I’ve noticed that people who are extremely anxious about something often precipitate the event just to get it over with.
    â€œWhat a ridiculous notion,” Rose scoffed. But I could tell from the way her eyes blinked that I’d hit home.
    â€œHasn’t it occurred to you that Pat Humphrey could have stolen Sheba and...”
    â€œLet me worry about that,” Rose Taylor said. She leaned forward. I could see that the effort cost her. “I’m not a sentimental person, and I’m not a fool. I don’t believe in lying to myself. About anything. And that includes Pat Humphrey as well as my children. They don’t like the fact that I control the money. I can understand that. You probably think I’m terrible, but there’s a reason why my husband wrote his will the way he did.
    â€œIt pains me to say this about my children, but all of them have problems. All of them have been in therapy on and off for as long as I could remember. I don’t know...” She looked away for a second. “Maybe we asked too much of them when they were little. It’s true Sanford wanted them to be strong... but we only wanted what was best for them...”
    The plaint of parents everywhere. Especially when their children turn on them, demanding explanations.
    â€œPerhaps we should have been more... understanding... but that wasn’t the fashion then, you know. When I was raising children, you expected them to listen to you. You weren’t supposed to be their pal. You were supposed to teach them values. Now, I don’t know what they told you about me....”
    â€œNothing bad,” I quickly said.
    â€œThat would be a novelty,” Rose said dryly. “I