And there was talk, talk and more talk-most of it coming from Brandon’s mouth. He told the soccer moms how much he believed in public education. The chesty Lions Clubbers how antiterror he was. The environmentalists how he intended to protect the Sound from natural gas pipelines. The realtors that he was for “quality” development. The man never came up for air. Never stopped smiling. Never stopped working, working, working the crowd. As Des watched him it dawned upon her for the very first time that Brandon Stokes wasn’t an attorney at all. He was a natural born performer. Someone who could be hip or square, funny or serious, compassionate or outraged. Whatever the person who he was belly up to needed from him at a particular moment. Then he could move right along and do it all over again with someone else-and make the transition seem utterly effortless. Truly, this porch was Brandon’s stage. And he was totally at ease on it.
Which made exactly one of them.
Des was watching her man do his thing, utter fascinated, when without warning she felt another of her damned blackouts coming on. The porch swaying under her feet. The voices and laughter growing fainter. Horrified, she groped her way out to the farthest end of the porch and slumped into a wicker chair with her head down. Breathed slowly in and out, waiting for it to pass. Which, thank God, it did. But she did not want to risk hitting the deck in front of all of these people. So she stayed put for a while, directing her mind elsewhere.
To the phone call she’d just made to Megan Chichester, Carolyn Procter’s very capable sounding sister up in Blue Hill, Maine. Megan was aware that Richard had moved out, but knew nothing of Clay Mundy. She’d been shocked by Des’s description of her sister’s physical state and by her concerns over Molly’s welfare. Promised Des she’d drive down to Dorset as soon as possible-if not tomorrow then the day after-to get Carolyn whatever help she needed. And, if necessary, bring Molly home with her for an early summer holiday. “I’ll take charge of the situation,” she assured Des. Which made it a good day’s work all in all. This was the job, Des reflected. Giving a family a chance to heal itself. Piecing together a way to keep the law out of it. She’d tried, anyhow. The rest was up to them.
As she sat there, Des found herself gazing across the gardens at Bella’s lights in Mitch’s windows. Wondering how many more months it would take before the doughboy was no longer inside of her. When he would finally, mercifully, fade away.
She heard footsteps clacking toward her now. It was her hostess, Bitsy, bringing her a goblet of white wine.
“I thought you could use this,” she exclaimed brightly.
Des took it from her gratefully. “You thought right.”
“Your Brandon is certainly one handsome man. Do you know who he reminds me of?”
Des nodded. “Denzel Washington.”
“I was going to say Harry Belafonte.”
“Really? My bad.”
Bitsy Peck was a round, snub-nosed woman in her fifties with light brown hair that she wore in a pageboy. She had always been very warm and friendly toward Des, and got on extremely well with Mitch. It was Bitsy who’d taught Mitch the joy of gardening. “I did invite Bella,” she said, her gaze following Des’s. “But she told me she couldn’t make it.”
Des drank down some of the wine. “I know,” she responded quietly.
Bitsy studied her shrewdly. She was one of those Dorset housewives who gave the impression of being unfailingly merry and dim, and was neither. She was smart and tough. Had lost her husband right after Des came to town. And seen her daughter, Becca, battle heroin addiction. “Are you okay, Des?”
“Never better.”
“We’re going to lose you, aren’t we?”
“Excuse me?”
“I can see it in your eyes as you look around. It’s as if you’re trying to memorize everything. My kids looked at this place that way when they were getting ready to leave me.”
“Bitsy, I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do.”
Some of the Town Committee members were starting to trickle back to their cars. Bitsy scurried off to say her good-byes. Des stayed put, sipping her wine.
Brandon found her there a few minutes later. He was all pumped up, his eyes gleaming. “Man, this is some way to live,” he exclaimed, taking in the remains of the sunset over Long Island Sound. A few sailboats were still out on the water, taking advantage of the breeze. “It’s almost enough to make you want to be white.”
She smiled faintly. “But not quite.”
He turned and looked at her. “This is going to take you some getting used to, isn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Same here. I still have to get over my long held personal belief that all politicians are assholes.” He let out a big laugh. “But we did good tonight. Huge thanks, Desi. These people carry a lot of weight.”
“Brandon, there’s something serious I need to talk to you about.”
“So talk to me. But smile or it’ll look like we’re having a fight.”
“I got pulled over by a fed named Grisky just before I came here. He told me to keep away from Sour Cherry Lane. I phoned my C.O. right away and got another earful from him-mostly about Grisky and his strong-arm tactics. But he confirmed that the guy’s legit. It seems there’s been an independent operation going on here in Dorset.”
“And you’re telling me this because…?”
“When I asked Grisky what it was he told me to ask you.”
Brandon’s face dropped. He said nothing.
“I ran criminal background checks on Clay Mundy and Hector Villanueva. Both out of Atlanta, supposedly. I came up empty. Brandon, what’s going on?”
“I can’t discuss it with you,” he responded quietly. “All I can say is they wanted you kept clear of it.”
“Kept clear of what? This is my town. If something’s going on here, I have a right to know.”
“Don’t get all huffy.”
“Trust me, this is not huffy. But if you want huffy I’ll be more than happy to-”
“Keep your voice down, Desi. And please listen to me, will you? We are talking about a highly classified investigation involving multiple federal and state agencies. They’ve had trouble with leaks in the past, so a high- level policy decision was made to keep local uniformed personnel out of the loop. They want you going about your normal business.”
“That’s them. What about you and me?”
“What about us?”
“If you’d given me any kind of a heads-up I’d have watched my step. Instead, you let me blunder my way right into the middle of whatever. And so tomorrow I’m getting called on the carpet. Do you realize how humiliating this is?”
“I had no idea you were working anywhere near Sour Cherry. You didn’t tell me.”
“I shouldn’t have to. You’re my man. I expect you to be watching my back.”
“I’m watching out for us. Desi, this is the biggest case of my career. It just may put me over in this district.” His eyes found and held hers. “What’s good for me is good for you. You know that.”
“I know that you’re good at keeping secrets. I know I don’t like secrets. And I don’t like being with anyone who does.”
“I am not about secrets.”
“Brandon, your whole damned life is divided into secret compartments.” Like the one that had contained his law school classmate, Anita, and the affair that they never broke off the whole time he and Des were married. “For me, it’s real simple. Either we’re honest with each or we’re not. Either we’re together as a couple or we’re not.”
“Now you’re not being fair,” he objected.
“I think I’m being more than fair. Are you going to tell me what the feds are doing in my town?”
“You know I can’t.”
“Okay, fine. Then I’ll listen to what they have to say tomorrow. And until then you’re sleeping in the guest room.”
