15th Affair (Women's Murder Club #15)(68)

“Are you kidding?”

The idea of standing under hot water was just tremendous. “Not at all. I have a Taser,” he said. “Need I say any more?”

“No. I’ll behave. Where would I go, anyway?”

“Exactly,” said Anderson.

Alison thought Joe had arranged this. At least he had done this much. Maybe this shower was incentive for her to be more cooperative. Maybe that would work.

Anderson opened the cell door and stepped away, out of Alison’s reach. He patted the waistband of his pants under his jacket so that she could see the bulge of the Taser gun.

“Straight ahead, Ms. Muller. You’ll see an opening on your left at the end of the corridor. There’s a short flight of stairs, and the staff bathroom is up there. There’s soap and shampoo and a clean towel on a hook. Your dinner is being prepared now. Pork loin and boiled new potatoes. Chocolate brownies.”

“Wow,” Alison said, giving him a big grin. “Must be my birthday.”

She had walked about ten paces down the hallway when Anderson fired a .44-caliber bullet into the back of her skull. He fired again into her back as she fell. He stooped next to her, flipped his tie over his shoulder, and felt for a pulse.

There was none.

He sighed. Then he walked around her body on his way to the office to make his report.





CHAPTER 103


I WAS HAVING a dinner party. This was the first time in maybe a year since I’d had people over, and I was up for it. Julie was in a sparkly party dress, and she had a new word.

“Mommy.”

It was the best word in every language all over the world.

Mrs. Rose had spent the day helping me cook, and my buds were all in my house: Claire and her adorable husband, Edmund. Yuki and my boss and idol, Jackson Brady. Richie and Cindy, of course, and Jacobi had come with a date.

Her name was Miranda and she played “Dora” on a daytime TV show I had never seen, but Mrs. Rose had almost fainted when Miranda walked in the door.

We were all having cocktails. Mrs. Rose had refused the invitation to be my date. She had a new grandchild and was glad to get out of my house.

I gave her a hug and a check and she patted my arm and said, “Have fun. I’ll be here in the morning.”

Brady came into the open kitchen looking for the corkscrew. He opened a bottle of wine and said, “Whatever is cooking is making me slobber.”

I laughed. “Ten more minutes. That’s all. Just ten.”

Yuki followed Brady in, put her arms around his waist, and kissed his back. God, it had been a long time coming, but these two were just made for each other.

“Do you need help with the salad dressing?” she asked me.

“Of course I do,” I said.

Out in the living room, Edmund was roaring with laughter; Claire was, too, at something Miranda had said, and Jacobi was flushed in a very good way. Cindy was in the big chair, holding Julie on her lap. If or when to have babies had been the big logjam in her otherwise wonderful relationship with Richie, and I think every time she comes to my house, she’s trying Julie on to see if she can imagine herself as a mom.

I saw Richie standing behind the sofa, looking at Cindy holding Julie. Wow. He was in love.

As for me, I ached more than a little.

Joe had been over a few times to see Julie, and it was a meltingly beautiful thing to see them together. But I had never let him stay the night or even for a meal.

I just wasn’t ready. And I didn’t know how I would ever be ready. He had lied. He was mysterious. I didn’t know where he was living, what he was doing, or how I could ever fit in with a man I no longer trusted.

It was Brady, of all people, who helped me take the roast out of the oven. Claire got the vegetables onto the table and Edmund poured the wine.

Richie was clinking his glass with a spoon, saying, “Lindsay, it’s wonderful to be here. I’m personally so glad you had help with the cooking, since we all know you can’t even make coffee.”

Everyone laughed, even Julie and me.

The buzzer rang from downstairs.

Claire said, “That’s the dessert. I’m not telling you from where. Just get away from the door so I can still make it a surprise.”

Claire is a chocoholic, and I say that’s a good thing.

I said, “OK, surprise me.”

I went back to the table and Claire pressed the buzzer. A minute later, I heard the door latch open and Claire say, “You’re not the cake.”

So what was this?

I got halfway to the door and saw my husband standing there in the hallway.

He said, “Geez, Lindsay, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

I said to my bosom buddy, “Claire. You set this up.”

“Me? No. Not me. No way. I would never do anything like this. Nuh-uh.”

And she melted away from the door.

Joe had a bunch of roses in his hand. He looked like the prince who woke up Sleeping Beauty with a kiss. Handsome. Expectant. And like, maybe, his steed was tethered down at the curb. I stared into his face and saw the lines in his forehead, which were deeper than they had been a couple of months ago. He had some gray at his temples that I hadn’t noticed before.

I stood at the door, feet firmly planted, blocking the entrance.

He said, “Lindsay?”