'The stateys haven't got a clue. You know that.'
'I...'
'You know that or you wouldn't be talking to me. You're hungry--I knew that the first time I saw you. How long you been in this job?'
'Just over a year. I take it you're feeling a bit better. Are you going to tell me what happened to you tonight?'
'Where you from?'
'Here. At least I mostly grew up here. We moved to New Hampshire in my teens. Then I went to law school.' She held up a hand to forestall his next question. 'Being a lawyer just wasn't it for me. Then I tried like crazy to find myself, even ran with an EM service for a while. What?'
'Nothing. I...like I said, you remind me of somebody.'
'I wound up at the police academy in Boston.'
'So? You want to talk about it?'
'I couldn't take it, okay? No big deal. I burned out. Had a breakdown. Is that what you want to hear?' She crossed her arms defensively. 'Why am I telling you this?'
'Maybe because you trust me.'
'Then I should have my head examined.' She gulped a mouthful of tepid tea. 'Again.'
The cat moved in front of the sofa, and he dropped his hand. Quick as a cobra, the animal sank its fangs into the base of his thumb before darting away. 'Jesus.' He brought his hand to his lips.
'You all right?'
He took his thumb out of his mouth. 'It's not rabid, is it?'
From beneath the sideboard came a low snarl.
'I don't think so.'
'Let me know if it develops symptoms.'
'For heaven sakes, it's just a little bite. Here, there's some peroxide left.'
'You have any other cute pets around the place? Snakes? Scorpions?'
'Don't be such a wuss. Gimme.'
Sucking on his thumb again, he mumbled something.
'What?'
'Divorced?'
'I said you were good.'
'Just assuming. You know--cops.'
'Anyway, not exactly. We lived together for three years.'
'Another cop?'
'Graduate student. Philosophy. He ended up cutting his throat with a razor blade.' She drew her hand across her windpipe. 'Or, no, like this actually. He was a southpaw.' She switched hands and made the gesture again. 'Punishing me, I guess.'
'Tough.'
'That card you gave me--I haven't been able to track it down. There's no such company, is there?'
'How did you end up back here?'
'You just don't stop, do you? All right. My family had some connections here still. When one of the old-timers quit to do security work in A.C., they found out about the job.' She sighed. 'When I...when I got out of the hospital, you know, after the breakdown, I needed the work, and my parents still owned a house. At first, I thought I'd live there, but then I saw the condition of the place. They hadn't even been able to rent it in years.' She gestured about vaguely. 'A lot of the furniture was salvageable though. Too much of it probably. Are you through with this?' Abruptly, she gathered up the mugs and spoons and marched into the kitchen. When she returned a moment later, his position hadn't changed. 'All right--that's not the reason I came back. I thought maybe a small town like this, maybe I could do something real, maybe the ugliness wouldn't overwhelm me. Are we finished with this topic now?'
'And you found the town dying?'
'I never was much of a beach person anyway. Burn too easy. It's a redhead thing.' Shrugging, she paced into the kitchen again and began to rinse out cups. Behind her, a floorboard creaked. 'Should you be up? Watch out for the barbells on the floor.'
'Damn!'
'You okay?'
'Yeah. Broke my foot is all. You work out with these?'
'You're going to say it looks like a guy lives here, right?' Nervously, she stacked the mugs on a small drain board, then grabbed a can of cat food and began rooting through a drawer. 'Where's that can opener?'
'How do you have room to move?' A spasm of dizziness took him, and he pulled up a wooden chair.
'I'd get you some more aspirin, but you should probably put something solid in your stomach first. Do you think you could eat?' Her voice trailed off. The cat leapt, clicking softly across the countertop to the food. 'Get down from there.' She set the food on the floor, then glanced up. He had slumped forward. His hair gleamed a thick, dull gold under the kitchen light, and she reached out to stroke it.
'What?'
'Nothing.' She flinched. 'Sorry.'
'I mean...'
'No, it's all right.' She leaned against the sink. 'It's just you've got to be about the best-looking man I've ever seen.' She smiled at the confusion on his face. 'A lot of women must see that as a challenge.'
Unsteadily, he got to his feet. 'Not much of one.' He stared: the open button on her blouse exposed a pale cloud of freckles. 'Have you thought about what I said...about not telling the state police because...?' He stepped closer. 'You're so skinny.'
'Watch that, you.'
'You run, don't you?' Suddenly, he slid his hand along the curve of her hip.
'Now I know you're feeling better.'
He ran his hand along the fabric of her blouse, smoothing it absently, as though he wasn't aware of doing it. 'You should throw me out of here.' He grunted softly. 'I mean it. Don't let me do this to you.' The veins in his forehead swelled. 'You don't know what I'm like.'
Gently, she pushed against him. His breath grew heavy and uneven, and she felt its heat on her cheek. His beard stubble scratched her.
A sigh rose from him, husky with weariness, and he clutched her tightly, too tightly, as if trying to break through a barrier of flesh. His hands spread on her hips, slid down the back of her legs. Groaning, he pulled her up against him.
She caught sight of his face, blinked. 'Oh. Look, we don't have to do this, you know.' She tried to back away. 'If you're not feeling up to...'
He made her stop talking. Her mouth was wet, soft. He felt the little teeth behind her lips.
She pulled her face away. 'What?'
'You remind me...'
'You keep saying that.' She attempted a smile, played her fingers along his chest. 'I take it you work out.'
'Not in years.'
'So? We did mine. What about your stats? Divorced?'
Something clouded his eyes.
'What? She died?' Again, she tried to pull away. 'I remind you of her?'
'No. Somebody else.'
'What happened with that one?' When he didn't answer, she added, 'Another man? She must be nuts.'
'Worse.' He shook his head. 'A cause.'
'Oh.' She stopped stroking him. 'And you still love her, right?'
He barely nodded.
'I suppose I knew that.' Another thought hit her. 'She's mixed up in this somehow?'
