first look at her freed son, and before long we all lost it. Walker
insisted the sniffle I overheard was from allergies, but I knew
better.
'Is the poor guy still getting evicted?'
'Some people are working on it.' Dennis Coakley of all people was
intervening with HAP to hammer out an agreement for Melvin and the kids
to stay in public housing.
'So how does your case look?' How strange that after our years
together, this conversation would be like any typical one between
lawyers.
'Not too bad,' I said.
'Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you lay the
foundation for Townsend's letter. I was the last one to talk to him, I
guess.'
'All right, thanks.'
'You've probably got enough evidence without it. Jim Thorpe's been
keeping me up to date,' he said by way of explanation.
Gunderson had already cut a deal for three years on bribery and abuse
of corpse for helping Susan move the body. It was a gift, but, in the
end, we were never able to prove he'd been in on the murder. In
exchange, he had delivered the goods. Gunderson had come to suspect
that Susan wasn't quite as loyal as his old pal Herbie and recently
began taping their conversations. The recordings of Susan telling
Gunderson to hire Jackson a week before the murder and to come to her
house the night Clarissa died would be gold at trial. Add the
documents he had confirming Susan's investment in Gunderson
Development, and we had motive to go with opportunity. As for means,
we'd ask the jury to infer from the blood in the house that she had hit
Clarissa in the head and then planted the hammer at Jackson's.
'We'll see, right?' Roger knew me too well not to sense the impatience
in my voice.
'I'm holding you up. Just humor me on one more question: Was it
premeditated?'
Gunderson had confirmed that Susan was the one who asked him to hire
Jackson, but we knew Clarissa was trying to find a job for Melvin.
Susan may very well have made the request on her behalf. And from what
our shrinks were telling us about Susan, she was far more likely to
kill in a rage triggered by what she saw as Clarissa's betrayal. The
more closely we looked into her background, the more stories we were
hearing like the one Grace had told me about Susan burning her
husband's favorite humidor. My best guess was that, in Susan's
screwed-up mind, she'd done Clarissa and Townsend a favor by hooking
them up with Gunderson.
'I don't think we'll ever know,' I said, 'but my gut tells me it
wasn't.'
'Well, you've always had good instincts.' More awkward silence. 'So
I'll see you later, I guess.'
'Yeah, maybe.'
He stopped me before I walked out. 'I know it's not my business, but I
couldn't help but notice that you came with Forbes.'
I followed the direction of his glance to Chuck and my father in the
parking lot. 'You're right. On both counts.'
He nodded. 'I guess the two of you always were close.'
'Uh-huh.' It wasn't the most articulate response, but talking to my
ex-husband about my boyfriend was awkward, to say the least.
'You know, Sam,' he said, 'it might not matter to you anymore, but I do
feel bad about what happened between us.'
So that's what he'd been hemming and hawing about. As if 'what
happened' had involved both of us?
'If it makes it any easier, she didn't even mean anything to me.'
I looked at the floor while I summoned my patience. There was nothing
to gain by fighting him. 'I always knew that, Roger. And that's why I
couldn't stay with you.'
I left him then, wondering if I'd ever get over the fact that a man who
loved me as much as he knew how to love another person had thrown it
all away for someone who hadn't even mattered.
Outside, I was greeted by the sun for the first time in weeks. Dad put
his arm around me. 'You OK there?'
'I'm good,' I said, walking to the car. 'Less sad than I was a few
hours ago. Maybe it's because the rain finally stopped.'
'Maybe,' he said. He gestured to the lobby. 'What was that about?'
I paused, wondering the same thing. 'Nothing that mattered. We talked
