conclusion of the case, the investigator does a walk-through to ensure the scene investigation is complete.”
“You mean the case is closed?”
“I don't know. I don't see how it could be this soon. Hopefully it means they'll let us open for business.”
Jake arrived shortly after, and I went to the side door to let him in.
“Argyle lives in Ojai, so make sure you've got whatever you need for the next few hours.”
“ Ojai? ”
His gaze was curious. “Is that a problem?”
“I don't know.” I said reluctantly, “That's—what? An hour and a half, two hours, each way?”
“Yeah?”
52
Josh Lanyon
“I'm not sure I'm up to it.” It was painful to admit, painful to acknowledge how uncertain I was of myself. Even more than convalescence, I felt tethered by my fear of what might happen.
It was frightening and frustrating. Was I ever going to be up for anything again? It didn't feel like it.
I could feel Jake assessing me, though I didn't meet his eyes.
“I'll make sure you don't get into any trouble.”
“Thanks.” I had to work at a smile. “I should probably play it safe.”
“I think it'd do you good to get out of here for a while.”
I nodded. I agreed with him, but it wasn't that simple. What if something happened? Did he really want to try and deal with that? I didn't.
“Why don't you phone your doctor?”
I looked up, startled.
Jake clarified, “Why don't you ask him if you're well enough to spend about three or four hours in a car?”
Uh, Hello Kitty , as Em would say. So simple it was disconcerting that it hadn't occurred to me.
I left Jake to Natalie's mercy while I went into my office and called Dr. Cardigan. I was reassured that, provided I wasn't doing the driving, I was permitted to travel, although there were a few restrictions.
I dutifully reported back to Jake. “I'm supposed to get out and stretch my legs for five to ten minutes every hour or so.”
“That's easy enough. Anything else?”
Dr. Cardigan had suggested that if the trip was more than two hours one way, I should spend the night at a motel or hotel. I wasn't about to suggest that to Jake.
“No. That ought to do it.”
I grabbed my meds and a tea towel to place between the seat belt and my chest to minimize irritation to the incision. “I'll be glad when this bullshit is over,” I commented as Jake pulled out onto East Colorado Boulevard.
“What's that?”
“I'm fed up with being scared all the time.”
He threw me a quick glance. It was weird the stuff I told Jake. Stuff that I wouldn't tell anyone else for love or money. Weird, because no one would ever think of Jake as someone patient with weakness—his own or anyone else's.
He didn't reply to that. “How was the movie?”
“Movie? Oh. Two movies. The Big Sleep —which I nearly did, because I have the stamina of a goddamned infant—and The Blue Dahlia . They're both quintessential Chandler. He was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay on The Blue Dahlia , and The Big Sleep has Bogart and Bacall, so—”
“A good time was had by all?”
“You could say that.”
An Adrien English Mystery: The Dark Tide
53
Instead, he said hesitantly, “I didn't realize Davis was back in the picture. Doesn't he teach at UC Berkeley?”
He had remembered. Well, one thing about Jake: he paid attention to details.
I said, “Yes. He's down visiting. His dad recently had heart surgery.”
The silence between us was filled by Marc Cohn's “Walking in Memphis.”
“He's not in the picture,” I said. “It's hard to explain. The way it ended between us—things were unresolved. That's all.”
He asked drily, “Isn't that pretty much the way it is when most relationships end? Is anything ever really completely resolved?”
“I think so, yeah.”
Jake nodded thoughtfully and, to my relief, did not ask the question I dreaded. He changed the subject. “I'm hitting a wall with Henry Harrison. Not unexpected, because we've got almost nothing
“You mean the case is closed?”
“I don't know. I don't see how it could be this soon. Hopefully it means they'll let us open for business.”
Jake arrived shortly after, and I went to the side door to let him in.
“Argyle lives in Ojai, so make sure you've got whatever you need for the next few hours.”
“ Ojai? ”
His gaze was curious. “Is that a problem?”
“I don't know.” I said reluctantly, “That's—what? An hour and a half, two hours, each way?”
“Yeah?”
52
Josh Lanyon
“I'm not sure I'm up to it.” It was painful to admit, painful to acknowledge how uncertain I was of myself. Even more than convalescence, I felt tethered by my fear of what might happen.
It was frightening and frustrating. Was I ever going to be up for anything again? It didn't feel like it.
I could feel Jake assessing me, though I didn't meet his eyes.
“I'll make sure you don't get into any trouble.”
“Thanks.” I had to work at a smile. “I should probably play it safe.”
“I think it'd do you good to get out of here for a while.”
I nodded. I agreed with him, but it wasn't that simple. What if something happened? Did he really want to try and deal with that? I didn't.
“Why don't you phone your doctor?”
I looked up, startled.
Jake clarified, “Why don't you ask him if you're well enough to spend about three or four hours in a car?”
Uh, Hello Kitty , as Em would say. So simple it was disconcerting that it hadn't occurred to me.
I left Jake to Natalie's mercy while I went into my office and called Dr. Cardigan. I was reassured that, provided I wasn't doing the driving, I was permitted to travel, although there were a few restrictions.
I dutifully reported back to Jake. “I'm supposed to get out and stretch my legs for five to ten minutes every hour or so.”
“That's easy enough. Anything else?”
Dr. Cardigan had suggested that if the trip was more than two hours one way, I should spend the night at a motel or hotel. I wasn't about to suggest that to Jake.
“No. That ought to do it.”
I grabbed my meds and a tea towel to place between the seat belt and my chest to minimize irritation to the incision. “I'll be glad when this bullshit is over,” I commented as Jake pulled out onto East Colorado Boulevard.
“What's that?”
“I'm fed up with being scared all the time.”
He threw me a quick glance. It was weird the stuff I told Jake. Stuff that I wouldn't tell anyone else for love or money. Weird, because no one would ever think of Jake as someone patient with weakness—his own or anyone else's.
He didn't reply to that. “How was the movie?”
“Movie? Oh. Two movies. The Big Sleep —which I nearly did, because I have the stamina of a goddamned infant—and The Blue Dahlia . They're both quintessential Chandler. He was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay on The Blue Dahlia , and The Big Sleep has Bogart and Bacall, so—”
“A good time was had by all?”
“You could say that.”
An Adrien English Mystery: The Dark Tide
53
Instead, he said hesitantly, “I didn't realize Davis was back in the picture. Doesn't he teach at UC Berkeley?”
He had remembered. Well, one thing about Jake: he paid attention to details.
I said, “Yes. He's down visiting. His dad recently had heart surgery.”
The silence between us was filled by Marc Cohn's “Walking in Memphis.”
“He's not in the picture,” I said. “It's hard to explain. The way it ended between us—things were unresolved. That's all.”
He asked drily, “Isn't that pretty much the way it is when most relationships end? Is anything ever really completely resolved?”
“I think so, yeah.”
Jake nodded thoughtfully and, to my relief, did not ask the question I dreaded. He changed the subject. “I'm hitting a wall with Henry Harrison. Not unexpected, because we've got almost nothing
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