Finding Isadora(85)

“Damn it, Jimmy Lee.” I glared at him, tears of worry and frustration rising and threatening to spill over.

A hand touched my shoulder gently. Gabriel’s hand, resting there as if to comfort me. “Easy, Isadora. Yes, your parents broke the law, but their motives were good. People had to protest that war. Besides, we all do things when we’re young that come back to haunt us.”

Blinking back tears, I said, “Not arson. I mean, it was one thing to use drugs and participate in demonstrations, but arson’s a crime.” Seeing him through a damp haze, I said, “You’re defending them, Gabriel. Tell me, did you ever do anything so bad?”

He froze and his hand tightened its grip, then he pulled it away. “Our best strategy now,” he said tightly, “is to figure out who really burned the lab, and get hard evidence to present to the police.”

Barely listening, I wondered about his own past. He hadn’t answered my question. If he was anything like my parents—and I already knew that, in many ways, he was—that meant he had committed a criminal act. But how could he have been called to the Bar? Unless, like Jimmy Lee, he’d never been caught.

Studying his face, I wanted to believe that, whatever he’d done, it had been for a good reason.

Then I glanced at my parents, who were standing with their arms around each other. Who was I to judge them? Yes, they’d burned a draft office. In a gesture of protest against a war that was the height of immorality. A war that cost thousands of young people their lives. Gabriel was right. How could you not protest something like that? I took a step toward them.

Jimmy Lee, without interrupting what he was saying to Gabriel, reached out an arm and hooked it around me, pulling me close.

Snuggled close to my father, I tuned back in to the conversation and realized they were talking about the lighter that had been found at the Cosmystiques site. It seemed Gabriel had checked with an engraving shop, and they’d said it wasn’t a professional job.

“So,” Gabriel said, “know anyone who’s got a home engraving kit?”

“Sandor Kaminski is into carpentry,” Jimmy Lee said reluctantly. “He has a workshop in his basement. But he’s a good guy. He’d never do this.”

“And Lara Martinelli’s teenage girl is keen on that kind of thing,” Grace said. “She’s always boasting about how skilled Lisa is. But I can’t see the Martinellis being involved in this.”

“I thought you were working on the theory that Cosmystiques burned their own lab,” I protested.

“We’re definitely pursuing that line of investigation,” Gabriel confirmed, “but we can’t leave any stone unturned.” To my parents, he said, “What can you tell me about Kaminski and Martinelli?”

Grace stepped away from Jimmy Lee, shaking her head. “Not now. Our pasta’s cooked. Isadora and I need to finish the salad, and Alyssa will be back any minute. Jimmy Lee and I’ll put our heads together later, when we have some free time. We’ll go through our whole list of friends and colleagues, and see if we can think of anyone who might be able to engrave a lighter. I promise, Gabriel, we do take this seriously.”

He nodded. “Fair enough.”

I wondered how we’d be able to act normally over dinner, but as soon as Alyssa, oblivious to any undercurrents, began chattering about her adventures at the vet clinic, the tension dissipated. Or at least one tension dissipated.

Gabriel was unusually quiet, and more than once I looked up to find his eyes resting on my face. And a different kind of tension, that weird fizzy sexual energy, built between us.

Normally, I loved Grace’s carrot cake, but tonight I could barely force it down my throat.

After we’d finished dessert, she said, “We need to get Alyssa to the hospital during visiting hours. Gabriel, do you want to come and meet Alyssa’s mother?”

He shook his head. “Later, when she’s out of the hospital and feeling more comfortable.” Then he turned to me. “I’ll give you a lift.”

It felt more like a command than an offer, and I didn’t have the will power to resist.

Five minutes later we were all out on the street, my parents and Alyssa heading for the van as Gabriel and I walked to his car.

When we got in, he said, “Are you in a hurry to get home? Want to go walk on the beach?”

Surprised, I echoed, “The beach?”

“Spanish Banks? Nice view of the city.”

I had to have a serious talk with Gabriel. Maybe I’d been misreading the situation, and he wasn’t attracted to me. If so, that was a good thing, and I’d be able to get control of my own feelings.

If the attraction was mutual…Well, then we’d have to find a way of… What? Banishing it? There was no other option.

“Sure. Spanish Banks sounds nice. Too bad I didn’t bring Pogo.”

“He could chase gulls,” Gabriel said as he pulled away from the curb. “Like Valente’s doing, in doggy heaven.”

Would the man never stop surprising me? “That’s a nice thought,” I murmured. Then, because I was feeling far too sentimental, I changed the subject. “Have you found out anything more to suggest that Cosmystiques burned their own plant?”

“I was telling your dad about this earlier, when he and I were alone in the living room. Miki’s been doing some research. Turns out Cosmystiques is a family-controlled business, with the head of the family, Jack Luce, as President and CEO. The business is in the toilet. They were making a profit until the recession, but there was a major downturn and they never recovered. Huge losses the last two years. My guess, they’d have been forced into bankruptcy.”