Best Kept Secrets(152)

picked up the house.

"Why?"

He cut the truck's engine. "Because I'm afraid to let you

out of my sight. People turn up dead or wounded when I

do."

He left her sitting in the truck while he went to unlock the

front door. She thought about driving off, but he'd taken the

keys. In some ways, Alex was relieved she'd been robbed

of taking the initiative. She wanted to defy him, but didn't

have the physical or mental energy. Tiredly, she pushed open

the Blazer's door and got out.

The house looked different at night. Like a woman's face,

it fared better under soft lighting that helped camouflage its

flaws. Reede had gone in ahead of her and turned on a lamp.

He was crouched in front of the fireplace, putting a long

match to the kindling beneath the stacked logs.

When the dry wood started crackling, he stood up and

asked her, "Are you hungry?"

"Hungry?'' She repeated the word like someone unfamiliar

with the language.

"When did you eat last? Lunch?"

"Junior brought a hamburger to my room last night."

He made a grumpy, grunting sound and headed for the

kitchen.' 'I don't promise anything as fancy as a hamburger.''

Thanks to Lupe's niece, the pantry had been recently

stocked with more than peanut butter and crackers. After

taking a quick inventory, he recited their choices. "Canned

soup, canned spaghetti, frozen tamales, bacon and eggs."

"Bacon and eggs."

They worked in companionable silence. Reede did most

of the actual cooking. He had little regard for tidiness and

none for culinary finesse. Alex enjoyed watching him. When

he slid a plate in front of her and dropped into the chair across

the small table, she smiled at him pensively. He noticed her

expression and did a double take as he lifted the first forkful

to his mouth.



"What's the matter?"

She shook her head and shyly lowered her eyes. "Nothing."

He didn't seem ready to accept her answer. Before he could

pursue it, however, the telephone rang. He reached for the

wall extension.

"Lambert. Oh, hi, Junior." He looked toward Alex.

"Yeah, it was a real mess." He listened. "She, uh, she had

a meeting with him right before it happened. . . . I'm afraid

she saw everything."

He paraphrased Alex's official statement. "That's all I

know. . . . Well, Christ, tell them to calm down. They can

read about it in tomorrow's paper, like everybody else. . . .

Okay, look, I'm sorry," he said, "it's been a bitch of a day

and I'm tired.

"Give Sarah Jo one of her pills and tell Angus he's got

nothing to worry about." He caught Alex's frown, but kept

his expression bland. "Alex? She's fine. . . . Well, if she

doesn't answer her phone, she's probably in the shower. If

you want to play Good Samaritan, there's somebody who

needs you more than Alex tonight. . . . Stacey, you idiot.

Why don't you go over there and sit with her for a while. . . .

Okay, see you tomorrow."



After he broke the connection, he left the phone off the

hook and went back to his food. Alex asked, "Why didn't

you tell him I was here?"

"Did you want me to?"

"Not particularly. I just wondered why you didn't."

"He didn't need to know."

"Will he go see Stacey?"

"I hope so, but you never can tell about Junior. Actually,"

he said, swallowing a bite, "you seem to be all he's thinking

about."

"Me, personally, or what I heard from Judge Wallace?"

"A combination of both, I guess."

"Angus is upset?"

"Naturally. Joe Wallace was an old friend."



"Friend and coconspirator." Reede didn't rise to the bait;

he didn't even divert his attention from his supper. "I must

talk to Angus, Reede. I want you to drive me over there as

soon as we finish eating." He calmly reached for his coffee

cup, sipped, returned it to the saucer. "Reede, did you hear

me?"

"Yes."

"Then, you'll drive me over?"

"No."

"I've got to talk to him."

"Not tonight."

"Yes, tonight. Wallace implicated him in a cover-up. I've

got to question him about it."

"He's not going anywhere. Tomorrow's soon enough."

"Your loyalty is commendable, but it can't protect Angus

forever."

He set his silverware on his empty plate and carried it to

the sink. "Tonight, I'm more concerned about you than Angus."

"Me?"

He glanced at her plate and, satisfied that she was finished,