“I’m sure you will.”
“Let’s hope the trial’s over by next weekend, because we don’t want to come back. The animals need us. I want to take Wish home with me, but van Wagoner’s got his mitts on him, too, so he’ll be staying. For the moment.”
“Can’t your daughter’s family take care of the animals for you?”
“Not the mare. She’s got the vet scratching his head. Not the geese. My daughter’s afraid of them. She can’t take care of her own husband, much less the animals.”
Earth fell away from Nina’s desk. She placed both hands palm down to steady herself, and said, “Sandy, I know you’re upset, but I need you here! You said you’d stay through the trial.”
“I’ll stay through the trial, but the minute it winds up, I’m gone.” Sandy then did something rare. She sat down in the chair in Nina’s office across from her desk. “Is there a chance you’ll come back to Tahoe? Because ring or no, I’m wondering.”
Nina scratched her head, trying to think of how she could persuade Sandy to stay on. “Paul and I haven’t planned that far into the future.” She twisted her romantic, twinkling ring. The pragmatic issues stuck to the edges of those many-colored facets were not only murky, they were piercing. “Would a raise help?” she asked. “I realize this is stressful for you, not being at home.”
“A raise is always good, but I don’t live here. I need a real job in Tahoe that’s going to be around next week. I have the ranch, and Joseph is basically retired, you know. Besides, the air isn’t right down here. It’s thick. Congests everything.” She sniffed. “Can’t think straight.”
“I was born here, Sandy. It feels good to me.”
She nodded. “You’re adapting to this altitude, and that’s right and good, if you’re staying. But up there, the sky is closer. You can see farther. Down here, it’s soft. Everything’s fuzzy. You can’t even see the Milky Way at night.”
“You’re right about that much.”
“I have to go back.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
“Even my daughter admits that sometimes I know something. We were doing good up at Tahoe. We had our own setup. You picked your own cases and saw ’em all the way through. You had a career. Now look what’s going on. You’re babysittin’. The case is a mess ’cause we got here too late.”
Nina had never heard Sandy sound so severe. Sandy was unhappy, and without her, Nina was going to be even more unhappy. She looked at the files on her desk. “Sandy, let me get through this trial. Then we’ll talk about all this. Promise me you won’t make any other commitments.”
“I have a life, too. I have to move on.” Folded arms. They stared at each other for a moment, and Nina realized how important Sandy was to her. How could she keep her?
Hauling herself to her feet, Sandy adjusted her jacket. “If you love him, you’re just going to have to get with the program. He’s here; you’re here. Deal with it.”
The phone rang in the other room. Sandy closed the door on her way out. But it wasn’t her daughter again, it was Nina’s family getting into the picture now.
“It’s your sister-in-law,” the firm’s obsolete intercom stated flatly.
“We miss you and Bob,” Andrea said, after greeting her. “People with three kids never go anywhere. You were our social life. Even Matt’s complaining.”
Nina told her about the ring.
“Well, isn’t that wonderful!” Andrea said, only it sounded more like a question than a statement. “Does this mean you aren’t coming back? Because the woman who was using your place is gone. Your house is empty again.”
“Thank God.”
“But-will you and Paul be keeping it? I could help you find someone to rent, if you want.”
“Oh, Andrea.” Nina felt choked up, and put her hand up to her face to press her cheek, holding in the emotion.
“Are you okay, Nina?”
No wonder Andrea was so successful in her work at the women’s shelter. Eventually, even the hardest core cracked and revealed all. The silky warmth in her voice made Nina want to climb through the phone and sink into her arms. Instead, she told her everything, about her problems with the befuddling case, about her confusion about Paul.
“As soon as you finish the trial, come for a visit,” Andrea urged. “We’ll help you sort things out.”
“Oh, I don’t know. It’s wonderful to hear that our house is ready for us again, but Paul and I have a commitment to each other. We’re working on moving back in together. So don’t go looking for me. On the other hand, I don’t want to make any decisions about the house up there yet, okay?”
“I guess you’ll want to consult with Paul about it, decide whether to sell,” Andrea agreed. “Gee, I can’t imagine you without Sandy.”
“Neither can I. And, as happy as I am with Paul, I’m afraid of all the changes. But I never let fear stop me.”
“Matt and I will keep a close eye on things. Just come when you can.”
“How’re the kids?”
“Well, Troy’s trying out for basketball at the junior high tomorrow. He’s stressed out. Brianna’s good. I’m teaching her to sew.”
“How do you find time? With the baby?”
“She’s a good little thing,” Andrea said, and Nina could imagine her reaching out to touch her daughter June.
“You’re astounding. You do it all with such-such elan.”
Andrea laughed. “Funny you should say that. We’re having roast elan for dinner. Take care of yourself.”
The afternoon wore on. Paul had turned off his cell phone. Nina was having a hard time concentrating due to Sandy’s announcement.
At four, Nina called the attorney who had taken over her practice at the Starlake Building in South Lake Tahoe. As she expected, Carly Ann Moffatt was at the office on this magnificent Sunday in September. It is the way of my people, Nina thought.
“Hi!” Carly Ann said brightly, launching into a progress report. The cases were going very well. She had just finished the dissolution hearing on Mrs. Rennsalaer, and the client would get her share of her husband’s pension plan after all.
“Good work,” Nina said. “That case dragged on too long.”
Carly Ann had brought in twenty thousand bucks already this month, settling half a dozen small personal-injury cases, and one of the P.I.’s had brought in her brother yesterday. The brother was on crutches and in obvious pain. He had police reports and medical records, and the driver who had hit him was a drunk with deep pockets! A potential bonanza!
And the ladies down the hall were so nice. Carly Ann had lunch with them every day, and she wanted Nina to know she didn’t need to worry about a thing, Carly Ann had everything under control. She was loving it, in fact, and wondering if, well, Nina would let her buy Nina out.
“I’d pay you monthly, and just take over the practice, Nina! Isn’t it great, you can set up down there with Paul and you won’t have the practice hanging over your head!”
“Wait a minute, Carly Ann. Slow down.”
“It’s been months…”
“Just the summer…”
“Whatever. I can’t work on salary forever. I’m doing all the work up here, getting some super settlements. I thought you’d be ecstatic!”
“Maybe I am ecstatic,” Nina told her. “I’m glad you’re doing well. I’ll consider your offer.”
Hanging up, she sipped her tea, wondering where Paul was. She had a sudden strong desire to run over to the condo to see him, but she really had to work. She took a break and walked down misty Eighth Street to the Tuck Box, a tiny establishment with the curving shingles usually associated with rural England. One cottage pie, a steaming Darjeeling, and an hour later she was back at the shack, the office rather, bending her head over Ginger’s report.
Stefan’s blood matched the blood found at Christina’s. It was unlikely such tiny amounts of blood had been planted. Ginger had some tests pending.
Stefan must be lying. The blood evidence had gone through the state’s lab and Ginger’s lab. He had to have gone there, a glass had to have been thrown. Had Alex Zhukovsky hired him to kill his sister?
But he swore he’d never been there, and he didn’t even know her.
Then there was the complete blank on Constantin’s samples. Yes, Christina was his daughter; that was about all Ginger could establish. What was so important about the bones? Why were the Romanovs haunting her case almost a century after their tragic ends?
“Hello, Ginger.”
“Just a minute.” A wheeze of machinery. Ginger got back on the phone. “How are you doing?”
“Tired.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“That’s okay. I’m always tired on Sunday. So you’re working tonight, too,” Nina said.
“My night doesn’t start till midnight, my workaholic baby,” Ginger said, “but I’m glad you’re on the case tonight. You wouldn’t be as good as you are if you weren’t working all weekend. Never go to a lawyer who golfs or can talk to you about the latest movies, because those are sure signs of a procrastinator. Plus, I know you do it out of a sense of responsibility. I do it out of a sense of money, so I don’t get as many points. Did you get my bill?”
“Not yet.”
“Hold on to your baseball cap. It’s big. Figured out what day I’m testifying? Is it Tuesday or Wednesday?”
“I’m not sure yet. Ginger, I’m not sure about you testifying at all. You’re not helping us on this case.”
“I can sound dubious and talk at length about the unproved type of testing the state is doing, the rat-infested labs-wait a minute, I guess they want the rats there-but the news on the blood is bad. I got the second round of panels back this afternoon. I was just going over them one more time, trying to find some mistake I’d made. Bummer. My work is impeccable.”
“Then he did it,” Nina said, closing her eyes. She let a wave of exhaustion blank out her brain for an instant.
“He left his blood, unless the sample isn’t really from her apartment at all, and the cops are pulling something.”
“I’ve gone over the chain of custody. It’s solid. Thanks anyway, Ginger. Did you get anything from the bone samples?”
“There is something.”
“Judging by your voice, I’m not sure I want to hear it.”
“I have no idea if this will be a help or a hindrance to you. I know for sure it’s puzzling. Remember there was something I couldn’t remember the night I was attacked?”
“Yes.”
“Well, here’s what I was doing. I had the electrophoresis results for Constantin, Christina, and Stefan jumbled together on my bench, just kind of lying there side by side.”
“Electrophoresis?”
“It’s a way to separate out large molecules, like DNA fragments, from a mixture of similar molecules. You pass an electric current through a medium that contains your mixture. Each kind of molecule makes a trip through the medium at a different rate, and separates out. You get a picture that looks like a bar code in the supermarket, different for each person. Then you can compare them for similarities and differences.”
