Best Kept Secrets(136)
door and said, "It's me."
She opened the door. "What was that all about?"
"She thought I'd spent the night with you, since we were
having breakfast together in the coffee shop."
"Lord," Alex whispered. "People in this town certainly
have fertile minds. You'd better leave before anybody else
gets that impression."
"What do you care? I don't."
"Well, I do."
Uneasily, Alex glanced toward the unmade bed. On any
other morning the housekeeper was knocking while she was
still in the shower. This morning, of all mornings, she was
running late. Alex was afraid that the bed would give away
her secret. The room was redolent of Reede. His essence
lingered on each surface like a fine coating of dust. She was
afraid Junior would sense that.
Gently, he removed her sunglasses and traced the lavender
half-moons beneath her eyes. "Bad night?"
That's an understatement, she thought. "You might as
well hear it from me. I'm sure it will get around. Late yesterday
afternoon I went to Nora Gail's place."
His lips parted with surprise. "Son of a bitch."
"I needed to talk to her. It seems she's Reede's alibi for
the night Celina was killed. Anyway, while I was there, a
man got shot. There was blood, an arrest."
Junior laughed with incredulity. "You're kiddin' me."
"I wish I were,'' she said grimly.' 'Here I am, representing
the D.A.'s office, and I get involved in a Shootout between
two cowboys in a whorehouse."
Suddenly it all collapsed on her. Instead of crying, she
began to laugh. Once she started, she couldn't stop. She
laughed until her sides ached and tears were rolling down her
cheeks. "Oh, God, can you believe it? If Greg Harper ever
hears about this, he--"
"Pat Chastain won't tell him. He has a girl out at--"
"I know," she said, "Reede told me. He responded to the
call and hustled me out. He didn't seem to think there would
be any repercussions." She shrugged in an offhanded manner
that she hoped didn't look as phony as it felt.
"It's good to hear you laughing for a change," Junior
commented, smiling down at her. "I'd like to stick around
and cheer you up even more." He placed his hands on her
derriere and began to move them up and down. Alex pushed
him away.
"If you wanted to cheer someone up, you should have
gone with Stacey. She looked like she could use it."
He glanced away guiltily. "It doesn't take much to make
her happy."
"Because she still loves you."
"I don't deserve her."
"That doesn't matter to her. She'll forgive you anything
She already has."
"Of murder, you mean?"
"No. Of loving someone else--Celina."
"Not this time, Alex," he whispered and dipped his head
to kiss her.
She dodged his well-aimed lips. "No, Junior."
"Why not?"
"You know why."
"Am I still only a pal?"
"A friend."
"Why just a friend?"
"I keep getting the present mixed up with the past. Hearing
you talk about wishing you could have been my father stifled
my romantic inclinations."
"When I look at you now, I can't relate you to that tiny
baby in the crib. You're an exciting woman. I want to hold
you, love you, and not like a daddy."
"No." She shook her head adamantly. "It just doesn't sit
right, Junior. It's out of whack."
This was the speech she should have made to Reede. Why
hadn't she? Because she was a phony, that's why. And because
the same rules didn't always apply to similar situations,
even when one wanted them to. And because she didn't have
any control over whom she fell in love with. She and Celina
had that in common.
"We can never be lovers."
He smiled and said without rancor, "I'm stubborn. Once
this is over, I'll make certain that you see me in a whole new
light. We'll pretend that we're meeting for the first time and
you'll fall hard for me."
If it soothes his ego, let him think so, Alex thought.
She knew it would never be, just as it could never have
been with him and Celina.
And in both cases, Reede Lambert was the reason.
Thirty-seven
Angus's secretary escorted Alex into his office at ME headquarters.
It was an unpretentious complex, situated in a
professional building between a dentist's office and a two-partner
law firm. He stepped around his desk to greet her.
"Thank you for stopping by, Alex."