She touched my arm. 'Thanks for everything, and I'm really sorry. I know you'll help us get through this.'
The General Peds receptionist said, 'Dr. Eves stepped out. let me page her.'
I waited, looking out through the clouded walls of the phone booth at traffic and dust. The equestrians came into view again, cantering up a side street, heading back from what must have been a circuit. Slim jodhpured legs clamped around glistening torsos. Lots of smiles.
Probably heading back to the club for cold drinks and conversation. I thought of all the ways Cindy Jones could have chosen to fill her TIME
Just as the horses vanished, the receptionist came back on the line.
'She's not answering, Doctor. Would you like to leave a message?'
Any idea when she'll be back?'
'I know she's coming back for a five o'clock meeting-you might try her just before then.'
Five P.M. was almost two hours away. I drove down Topanga Back on Topanga, I pulled into the first gas station I saw and used the pay phone to call Milo at work.
'Perfect timing,' he said. just got off the phone with Fort Jackson.
Seems little Cindy was sick all right. And back in 83. But not pneumonia or meningitis. Gonorrhea. They drummed her out because of it, on an ELS-entry-level status. That means she served less than a hundred and eighty days and they wanted to get rid of her before they had to pay benefits.' just because of a dose?'
A dose plus what led up to it. Seems during the four months she was there, she set some kind of record for sexual promiscuity. So if she's fooling around on hubby, that just means she's being consistent.'
'Promiscuity,' I said. 'I just finished my home visit and this was the first time I got a sense of her sexuality. I arrived early, on purpose-curious about why she didn't want me out there until two-thirty.
She'd let her hair down. Literally. Was wearing short shorts and a T-shirt with no bra.'
'Coming on to you?'
'No. In fact she seemed really uncomfortable. A few minutes later she spilled some dirt on her clothes, hurried off to change and came back dowdied up.'
'Maybe you just missed her boyfriend.'
'Could be. She told me one-to-two was Cassie's nap time and Chip teaches a class that day from twelve to two, so what better time for an affair? And the bedroom smelled of disinfectant.'
'Masking the smell of love,' he said. 'You didn't see anyone?
Pass any cars speeding away?'
'Just the pool man pulling out of the driveway next door- Oh, shit, you don't think?'
'Sure I do.' He laughed. 'I see the worst in everyone.' More laughter. 'The pool man. Now there's your basic SoCal thang.'
'He was next door, not at her house.'
'So what? It's not unusual for those guys to service several pools on one block-that far out oof town, he might do the whole damned neighborhood. More ways than one. Do the Joneses have a pool?'
'Yes, but it was covered.'
'Get a look at Mr. Chlorine?'
'Young, tan, ponytail. The sign on his truck said ValleyBrite Pool Service, with an I-T-E.'
'He see you pull up?'
