Where we went skinny-dipping?”
Waters’s skin went cold.
“Or we could go to the cemetery. Behind Catholic Hill, where the big cross is.”
“ Stop. ” He realized that he had whispered, that he too was now trying to keep those outside from hearing their exchange.
Eve leaned across the desk. Perfume wafted to him as her silk blouse parted, revealing the deep cleft between her breasts. “Take it easy, Johnny. Everything’s all right.”
Waters shivered at the familiar way she said his name.
“It just takes some getting used to,” she went on. “It’s really simple, once you understand. Like all profound things. Like gravity.”
“Listen to me,” Waters hissed. “I don’t want to see you again. I don’t want you to call me. If you come around my daughter, I’ll have you arrested. And if you try to hurt her…”
Eve opened her mouth, feigning shock. “You’ll what? You’ll kill me?”
“You said that, not me.”
“But you thought it.”
He had thought it. That was the level of threat he felt in the presence of this woman. “Yes, I did. So…now you know the rules.”
The mocking smile again. “I was never one for rules, was I, Johnny?”
He had to get out of the office. As he came around the desk, he half expected her to try to stop him, but she didn’t. She stepped aside and watched him, letting her eyes do their work. He felt an almost physical tug as he broke her gaze, and then he was in the main office again, storming past the staring realtors and pushing into the sun of the parking lot.
He felt strangely grateful for the familiarity of the Land Cruiser, which he started and pointed up the bypass toward the bridge. As he turned right at Canal Street, toward his office, he punched Cole’s number into the cell phone. Sybil answered and put him straight through.
“What’s up, John?” Cole asked. “Is Annelise okay?”
“Yeah. But I want you to do me a favor. You still have a good relationship with your law school buddies in New Orleans?”
“More or less.”
“They have investigators on their payroll, right?”
“Sure.”
“I want a copy of Mallory’s death certificate.”
A pregnant silence.
“I also want to see the newspaper accounts of her murder. The Times-Picayune, The Clarion-Ledger, anyone who covered it. And if it’s possible, I want to talk to the homicide detective who handled her case.”
More silence. Then Cole said, “Okay, Rock. I think you’ve lost it, but if that’s what you want, you got it.”
“And I want everything there is on Eve Sumner. I mean everything. Pull out all the stops.”
“What the hell did she tell you? Have you seen her?”
“I’ll call you tonight and explain.”
“You’re not coming back to the office?”
Waters had intended to go back to work, but he was already passing the turn on Main Street, headed toward the north side of town. “Can you handle things for the rest of the day?”
“No problem, amigo.”
“Thanks. And look, about that loan…”
“Forget it, man, I shouldn’t have asked you.”
“Bullshit. I’ll cut you a check in the morning.” Lily would kill him for doing this, but she didn’t need to know about it.
“Thanks, buddy,” Cole said softly. “You don’t know how big a favor this is.”
“I have a feeling I do. And when the mood strikes you, I want you to tell me what the hell is going on.”
Cole gave a noncommittal grunt, and Waters clicked off.
Three minutes later, he found himself driving along Cemetery Road, looking off the bluff at the river. When he came to the third gate of the cemetery, he turned in. Why he had come back, he wasn’t sure. The open space and the silence had always drawn him when he had things on his mind, but something else had brought him here today. He parked atop Jewish Hill, but instead of walking to the edge of its flat summit, where the river view was spectacular, he walked toward the line of oaks that shaded Mallory’s grave. Even from a
Waters’s skin went cold.
“Or we could go to the cemetery. Behind Catholic Hill, where the big cross is.”
“ Stop. ” He realized that he had whispered, that he too was now trying to keep those outside from hearing their exchange.
Eve leaned across the desk. Perfume wafted to him as her silk blouse parted, revealing the deep cleft between her breasts. “Take it easy, Johnny. Everything’s all right.”
Waters shivered at the familiar way she said his name.
“It just takes some getting used to,” she went on. “It’s really simple, once you understand. Like all profound things. Like gravity.”
“Listen to me,” Waters hissed. “I don’t want to see you again. I don’t want you to call me. If you come around my daughter, I’ll have you arrested. And if you try to hurt her…”
Eve opened her mouth, feigning shock. “You’ll what? You’ll kill me?”
“You said that, not me.”
“But you thought it.”
He had thought it. That was the level of threat he felt in the presence of this woman. “Yes, I did. So…now you know the rules.”
The mocking smile again. “I was never one for rules, was I, Johnny?”
He had to get out of the office. As he came around the desk, he half expected her to try to stop him, but she didn’t. She stepped aside and watched him, letting her eyes do their work. He felt an almost physical tug as he broke her gaze, and then he was in the main office again, storming past the staring realtors and pushing into the sun of the parking lot.
He felt strangely grateful for the familiarity of the Land Cruiser, which he started and pointed up the bypass toward the bridge. As he turned right at Canal Street, toward his office, he punched Cole’s number into the cell phone. Sybil answered and put him straight through.
“What’s up, John?” Cole asked. “Is Annelise okay?”
“Yeah. But I want you to do me a favor. You still have a good relationship with your law school buddies in New Orleans?”
“More or less.”
“They have investigators on their payroll, right?”
“Sure.”
“I want a copy of Mallory’s death certificate.”
A pregnant silence.
“I also want to see the newspaper accounts of her murder. The Times-Picayune, The Clarion-Ledger, anyone who covered it. And if it’s possible, I want to talk to the homicide detective who handled her case.”
More silence. Then Cole said, “Okay, Rock. I think you’ve lost it, but if that’s what you want, you got it.”
“And I want everything there is on Eve Sumner. I mean everything. Pull out all the stops.”
“What the hell did she tell you? Have you seen her?”
“I’ll call you tonight and explain.”
“You’re not coming back to the office?”
Waters had intended to go back to work, but he was already passing the turn on Main Street, headed toward the north side of town. “Can you handle things for the rest of the day?”
“No problem, amigo.”
“Thanks. And look, about that loan…”
“Forget it, man, I shouldn’t have asked you.”
“Bullshit. I’ll cut you a check in the morning.” Lily would kill him for doing this, but she didn’t need to know about it.
“Thanks, buddy,” Cole said softly. “You don’t know how big a favor this is.”
“I have a feeling I do. And when the mood strikes you, I want you to tell me what the hell is going on.”
Cole gave a noncommittal grunt, and Waters clicked off.
Three minutes later, he found himself driving along Cemetery Road, looking off the bluff at the river. When he came to the third gate of the cemetery, he turned in. Why he had come back, he wasn’t sure. The open space and the silence had always drawn him when he had things on his mind, but something else had brought him here today. He parked atop Jewish Hill, but instead of walking to the edge of its flat summit, where the river view was spectacular, he walked toward the line of oaks that shaded Mallory’s grave. Even from a
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