The Killing Game(52)

He yanked open the drawer and dug through some T-shirts before he found the baby bump. It wasn’t that large. He’d bought it for her as soon as she’d miscarried, already thinking ahead. She should be showing a lot more by now, he thought. Still, it would probably do the trick. He handed it to Mimi, who reluctantly took off her T-shirt and fastened it around her middle. She put the T-shirt back on and Scott was happy with how it looked. She could be the kind of woman who didn’t show a lot. “You’re wearing this to work, aren’t you? We talked about this, Meems.”

“I wear it,” she said, her lower lip thrust out in protest.

“Good. Don’t let Greg’s wife get too near,” he warned.

“I can’t do this.”

“Yeah. You can. You have to. Now listen . . . you need to let her know that you really want this child, even if abortion would be the better choice. You got that?”

“I would never have an abortion!”

“Mimi, we’re playacting here. Use your f*cking head for once. Jesus. This is important.”

“I know we need money!”

“That’s right. That’s exactly right. We need money. And you don’t like Greg’s wife. She’s a rich bitch. You know that’s true.”

“They met at college. She has an MBJ.”

“MBA,” he corrected.

“Oh yeah. Masters of business and . . .”

“Administration. Meems, please . . .” He despaired of her. “Come on.” He grabbed her hand and led her toward the kitchen table. “After you let her in, go back and sit in this chair. Keep the table as a barrier, you understand? You don’t want her to look too closely at you, and you definitely don’t want her to touch you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Make some coffee. Oh, shit, you’d probably be drinking decaf. . . .” He looked around the kitchen.

“I drink decaf tea,” she said, slipping from his grasp. Opening a cupboard, she collected two mugs and set them on the counter. Then she lifted the lid on the cookie jar that sat next to the toaster and pulled out two tea bags. “I just fill the mugs with water and zap them in the microwave.”

“Good enough. Make sure she doesn’t stay long.”

“What does she want? Why is she coming?” She started chewing on her thumb again.

“Stop that. It has to be about the baby.”

She dropped her hand. “What if she wants to touch my stomach? People do that, y’know. I like to do it. It’s good luck.”

“Just sit at the table. Got that? Just sit at the table and keep her away from you.”

“After I give her a cup of tea.”

“Yes.”

“I wish she wasn’t coming.”

You and me both, he thought, but he said, “Yeah, well, maybe this is a good thing. They’ve all ignored you for months. Maybe this’ll get the ball rolling.”

Mimi swiped at another round of tears. “I wish I still had the baby for real.”

“You fixed that for all of us. But get over it. We have work to do.”





Chapter Thirteen



Andi drove into the parking lot of Brightside Apartments, Mimi’s address, which was on the north side of the lake and about half a mile from the water. In those weeks after she’d first learned of Greg’s relationship with Mimi Quade, she’d been half crazed with anger and a wild possessiveness. She’d found herself following him from work, and it hadn’t taken long before he drove to a large complex designed with rows of town houses. It wasn’t one of her finest moments by a long shot, but when Andi had learned Mimi’s address, she’d filed the information away for future use, just in case she needed it. Later Greg had told her about going to see Mimi himself. He’d let her know it was over. He insisted Mimi wasn’t pregnant and the affair was really over before it had begun. Andi hadn’t fully believed him, though she’d wanted to, but she wasn’t convinced Greg had been faithful even before Mimi. There were rumors . . .

But at the time she’d pretended to believe Greg. It was easier than fighting. Later, though, she’d found out where Mimi worked and she went to the nail salon and observed Mimi as she gave a manicure to an older woman who requested a glittery diamondlike gem be affixed to every one of her nails. Andi got a pedicure from another woman and wore fake glasses, her hair bound in a scarf in case Mimi chanced to look her way. She figured if she was found out, too damn bad; she’d take the heat. But the scattered girl with the big eyes who’d gazed at Greg so adoringly in their offices had been too involved with her work that day to notice.

Greg had been true to his word about ending it with Mimi, however. As soon as Mimi and her brother announced her pregnancy, the affair was over. From Greg’s point of view, a quick transgression was turning into something more complicated that didn’t fit with his plans. He told Andi the only woman he’d ever really loved was her, that he’d failed her and that he wanted to make it up to her. Andi hadn’t believed him, but the words had soothed her wounded heart, and somewhere in the next few weeks she’d forgiven him enough to sleep with him again. All of that was a blur. Lost time. Blackouts. The fog of misery. Call it what you will, at the time Andi had felt like she was going through the motions of someone else’s life.