Tough Customer

department of trying to cheat him out of it. I hate to bother you with this now, Caroline, but would it be too much of an inconvenience--'

'Of course not,' she said, not even letting him finish. 'I'm happy to write him a check.'

It was decided that they would go together and get that matter taken care of. They immediately departed for the courthouse. Dodge looked at Berry. 'Guess that leaves us at loose ends, and, frankly, I think you should cut bait on this guy. The sooner you do, the better off you'll be.'

'Perhaps you're right.'

'Trust me. I'm hungry. You hungry?'

'I am,' she said, just now realizing she couldn't remember when she'd last eaten. She glanced at her watch. 'But it's late by Merritt's standards. I don't know what's open.'

'I do.'

'Hi, Grace.'

'Hi, Dodge.'

The bartender's smile dimmed a bit when she saw that he had Berry with him. 'This is Berry Malone.'

'We met once,' Berry said, smiling at the other woman.

'You must be awfully relieved that that Starks character has been caught.'

'I am.'

'Is he still alive?'

'Hanging on by a thread,' Dodge said. 'Are you serving food this time of night?'

She nodded toward a row of booths along the far wall. 'Claim a table. I'll bring menus over. What would you like to drink?'

Dodge ordered a bottled beer. Berry said that sounded good and ordered the same. They sat opposite each other on faux leather benches. The tabletop between them was made of heavily shellacked wood. Providing light was a red glass holder with a flickering candle inside. Grace brought their drinks. After a quick review of the laminated menu, they both ordered cheeseburgers and fries.

Grace returned to the bar. They were alone. Dodge watched Berry take a sip from her bottle of beer. He chuckled.

'What?' she said.

'Nothing.'

'You're surprised that I'm drinking beer from the bottle.'

That was precisely what he'd found amusing, but he remained noncommittal.

'Mother wouldn't be caught dead,' Berry said. 'She thinks it's unladylike.' She took another drink, watching him down the length of the chilled bottle. When she lowered it to the table, she said quietly, 'But you know that, don't you, Dodge?'

He leaned back against the tufted leather and studied her for a moment, knew that she knew. Gruffly, he said, 'That's just one of your mother's prissy taboos.'

'But you loved her in spite of them.'

He reached for his own bottle, but, although his mouth had gone dry, he found he no longer had a thirst for the beer. He rubbed the condensation between his fingers as his gaze stayed fixed on the familiar beer label. 'So you know. About me. Us.' Although it took all the courage he had, he lifted his eyes to those of his daughter.

She nodded.

'When Caroline finds out, she'll be furious.'

'She knows.'

'She does? Since when?'

'Last night. I had figured it out. She confirmed it.'

'She didn't want you to know.'

She gave him an arch look. 'Oh no? Then why did she involve you in this?'

Grace brought their burgers. After serving them and asking if they needed anything else, she left them to their meal. Berry wasn't shy. She dug in. Dodge had lost his appetite.

'How'd you guess? I treated you no differently than--'

'It wasn't how you treated me,' she said, licking a smear of mustard from the corner of her lips. 'It was how you and Mother treated each other. First of all, she's been a nervous wreck. She's never nervous. I'm the one who's high-strung and impatient. In my life, I've never seen her so tightly wound. At first, I thought it was because of the crisis situation. But then I became aware of how she was with you. She was never like that with Daddy.'

Dodge's gut was tied in a knot. He craved a cigarette, but not as much as he craved to know how Caroline's behavior toward him was different from what it had been with Jim Malone. He hated himself for asking, but he did. 'What was she like with him?'

'They had a very solid marriage. They loved each other. I'm convinced of that. But they were unfailingly reserved and polite. She and Daddy never fussed over each other the way the two of you do. They never fussed at each other the way you do. Their relationship ... well, it didn't spark. I never knew any differently, so I didn't think anything of it until I saw how the two of you are with each other. There's no polite formality.'

'We spark?'

She laughed. 'Yeah. You do.' She was reflective for a moment, then said, 'Looking back on Mother's relationship with Daddy, I think she was always trying to ensure his approval of her. She doesn't strive for yours.'

'My standards aren't as high as his.'

Berry smiled. 'No. She knows she has your approval. Unconditionally.'

Grace appeared at the end of the booth. 'Something the matter with the burger, Dodge?'

'No. Guess I wasn't so hungry after all.'

'I'm going on a smoke break in a minute. Want to join me?'

'Check back.'

Looking disappointed, she removed their plates. Berry's eyes followed her. When they came back to Dodge, she said, 'She likes you.'

He shrugged and reached for his beer.

'All women do.'

'That's an exaggeration if I ever heard one.'

'I don't think so. Mother hinted as much.'

'Did she?'

'Was that the problem?' Berry asked.

He looked across at her but said nothing.

'You're popular with the ladies, Dodge. Is that why you didn't marry my mother?'

CHAPTER 24

Houston, Texas, 1979

IF WORK HADN'T SUCKED SO BAD, DODGE'S LIFE WOULD HAVE been perfect.

Roger Campton's family had trundled him off to South America, ostensibly to