Free In Death 22 - Memory in Death by authors_sort

a purpose. Maybe the purpose is jollies, but she didn’t go to all the trouble and expense to come here just to bust my balls. It’s about you.”
    “You need to calm down. In the parlor.” He took her arm. “There’s a nice fire. You’ll have some wine.”
    “Will youstop.” She slapped his hand off, but he simply shifted and tugged off her wet coat.
    “Take a minute, catch your breath,” he advised. “You may not be wanting a drink, but I am. Filthy weather.”
    She did take a breath, pressed her hands to her face to steady herself. “I couldn’t think, that was the trouble. Didn’t think. Just reacted. And I know better. She must’ve figured she’d come see me, try to play the reunion card. I was just a kid, and messed up with it. So maybe she banked that I didn’t remember what it had been like with her. Then she can be the long-lost mother, angel of mercy, whatever, grease those wheels so when she tapped me for money, I’d ask you to give it to her.”
    “Underestimated you. Here.” He handed her a glass of wine.
    “Backup plan.” She took the wine, paced to the hearth with its snapping fire, back again. “Someonelike her has one. I’m not receptive, she’ll have a way to go straight to the source. Right to you. Try for sympathy, some hard-luck story. Move to threats if that doesn’t shake the money tree. She’d want a
    nice fat lump sum, come back for more later, but get a juicy bite right off…”
    She took a moment to study his face. “And none of this is news to you.”
    “As you said, you’d have come to it yourself right away if you hadn’t been sotwistedup.” He lowered
    his head enough to brush his lips over her jaw. “Come, sit by the fire.”
    “Wait, wait.” She grabbed his sleeve. “You didn’t go warn her off. You didn’t go see her.”
    “I had and have no intention of going to her. Unless she continues to harass and upset you. Do you know she had eleven other children put in her care over the years? I wonder how many of them she tormented as she did you.”
    “You ran her? Of course you ran her.” She turned away. “I’m really slow on this one.”
    “It’s taken care of, Eve. Put it out of your mind.”
    She kept her back to him, took a slow sip of the wine. “How is it taken care of?”
    “She came to my office today. I made it clear that it would be best for all concerned if she went back to Texas and didn’t attempt to contact you again.”
    “You spoke to her?” She squeezed her eyes shut against the helpless anger. “You knew who she was, what she was, but you let her in your office.”
    “I’ve had worse in there. What did you expect me to do?”
    “I expected you’d leave this to me. That you’d understand this is my problem. This is for me to handle.”
    “It’s not your problem, but oursor was. And it was for us to handle. Now it’s done.”
    “I don’t want you dealing with my problems, my business.” She whirled around and before either of
    them knew she intended it, she let the glass fly. Wine and glass splatted and shattered. “This was my personal business.”
    “You don’t have personal business from me any longer, any more than I do from you.”
    “I don’t need to be shielded, Iwon’tbe shielded. I won’t be tended to.”
    “Oh, I see.” His voice softened, a dangerous sign. “So it’s perfectly fine, we’ll say, for me to see to those pesky little details. Can this get wrapped, for instance. But the things that matter, I’m to keep my nose out?”
    “It’s not the same. I’m a lousy wife, I get that.” Her throat was clogging up, and her voice thickening as the words fought their way through. “I don’t remember to do thingsdon’t know how and don’t give a rat’s ass about finding out. But”
    “You’re not a lousy wife, and I’d be the one to judge that. But you are, Eve, an extremely difficult woman. She came to me, she tried to shake me down, and she won’t try it again. I have every right to