From the beginning I’d felt an almost overwhelming attraction to this man, initially resisting, finally succumbing. Right off it was more than just sex or the assurance of a Saturday-night date. Ryan and I had spent hours together, days, watching old movies, cuddling by fires, arguing and debating, holding hands, taking long walks.
Though never roommates, we’d been as close as two people can be. We’d shared secret jokes and played silly games no one else understood. I could still close my eyes and recall the way his back curved into his hips, the way his fingers shot through his hair in frustration, the way he smelled just after a shower, the way our bodies molded when dancing.
The way he could stop my breath with a wink from across the room. With a suggestive quip on a long- distance call.
Then, one day, he just walked away.
Now Ryan was drinking beer in my kitchen in Charlotte.
How did I feel?
Hostile. Cautious.
Confused as hell.
Did I still love him?
Pain also has a way of wearing love down. And Ryan had never been easy.
Nor, to be fair, had I.
Did I want that melodrama back in my life?
I felt compelled to say something. What?
The tension in the room was almost palpable.
Mercifully, my cell sounded. I checked the caller ID. Slidell.
Mumbling an apology, I walked into the dining room and clicked on.
“Yes.”
“Talked to Evans.”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“Home.”
“You OK?”
“Yes.”
“What? You sick again?”
“No. What did you learn from Evans?”
“Well, ain’t we Miss Congeniality?”
I was definitely not up to soothing Skinny’s wounded sensitivity.
“Evans?”
“He’s sticking with his story. Lingo had nothing to do with Jimmy Klapec, wasn’t in town on October ninth.”
“Did you confirm that the commissioner was actually in Greensboro?”
“Gee. Never thought of that.” Pause. “Yeah. They were both there, returned to Charlotte late the next afternoon.”
“Too late to kill and dump Klapec.”
“If Funderburke’s remembering right about the body turning up the morning of the ninth.”
“The insect evidence suggests forty-eight hours as a PMI.”
“Yeah.” Skeptical. “The bugs.”
I was so unsettled by Ryan’s sudden appearance my thoughts were all over the map.
“Couldn’t you drive from Greensboro, kill someone, dump the body, and get back to Greensboro in just a few hours?”
“You’d be setting a land record.”
“According to Pinder, Gunther saw Klapec fighting with someone right before Gunther went to jail. Did you ask where Lingo was at that time?”
Slidell gave me a moment of reproachful silence.
“Lingo’s got his eye on the statehouse, so he’s stumping hard to scare up dough. Between September twenty-eighth and October fourth he and Evans were in Asheville, Yadkinville, Raleigh, Wilmington, and Fayetteville. They’ve got dozens of witnesses can put ’em in each place.”
“Does Lingo have a record?”
“I ran a rap sheet search. Not so much as a citation for spitting on the street.” Slidell drew air through his nose. It whistled. “But I’m catching bad vibes off Evans.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s hiding something.”
I was about to press the point when the line beeped, indicating an incoming call.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Lowering the phone, I glanced at the screen. Dear God. Charlie Hunt.
I hesitated. What the hell?
“You looked very down at the cemetery this afternoon.”
“Rinaldi and I worked together for many years. I’ll miss him.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
Beat.
“That went badly today, didn’t it?”
“It’s not your fault.”
“That wasn’t a line, Tempe.”
“I believe you.” I had to smile. “You use them so sparingly.”
“I really do understand how hard it is to start over. I was married eight years. I loved my wife. She died at the Trade Center on nine-eleven.” Charlie sighed deeply. “Perhaps it’s harder when the other person is still alive.”
“Perhaps.”
“I can work around that,” Charlie said.
“I’m sure you can.”
“Shall I try?”
“The man in question showed up from Montreal today.”
There was a moment of dead air.
“I like a challenge.”
“Your odds are not good, Charlie.”
“I’ve always preferred the tough three-pointer to the easy slam dunk.”
“Outside the arc.”
“That’s me.”
After disconnecting, I stood with the phone pressed to my chest, recalling my admission to Charlie earlier at the cemetery. Until the words left my mouth I’d been in denial. Then, there it was.
Now here
What mistakes? Taking up with me? Leaving me? Wearing a jacket that was crazy warm for the day?
The door opened and Ryan came in.
We looked at each other as though across a great chasm.
“I’ve missed you,” Ryan said, spreading his arms and beckoning me forward.
I stood motionless, Gran’s clock ticking a metronome for my crashing emotions.
Ryan moved closer.
And that was it.
I stepped into Ryan’s embrace and pressed my cheek to his chest. I smelled starched cotton, male sweat, and the familiar Hugo Boss cologne.
Ryan stroked my hair and pulled me closer.
