I suppose it was his daughter Edith who paved the way for my ending up liking the old man. She was actively getting the rest of the family to reexamine certain attitudes toward insularity, and Graydon backed her up on all of it.
NO ONE had heard from Dexter. The largest donation toward the reward for his capture came from his wife.
ONE other thing made me decide I liked Graydon. When it was discovered that he was the sole beneficiary of Sheila Dolson’s will, he made a gift of Altair to Ethan Shire.
ALTHOUGH he suffered a few permanent effects from his gunshot injuries, Ethan recovered and went back to work. Shortly after that, he moved in with Ben, who was teaching him how to work with Altair.
LATE one evening, two days after Ethan moved out, Frank and I were sitting up in bed, finishing off bowls of chocolate ice cream in the nude. I got up and put the spoons and dishes in the kitchen sink without bothering to put on a robe. When I came back to bed, Frank had a look on his face that I couldn’t quite read.
“What?”
“Awfully quiet around here,” he said, reaching for me.
I felt my face break into a grin. “Ain’t it great?”
“Damn straight,” he said, and proceeded to try-successfully-to make me holler.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NATIONALLY BEST-SELLING author Jan Burke is the author of eleven novels and a collection of short stories. Among the awards her work has garnered are Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar® for Best Novel, Malice Domestic’s Agatha Award, Mystery Readers International’s Macavity, and the RT Book Club’s Best Contemporary Mystery.
She is the founder of the Crime Lab Project (www.crimelabproject.com) and is a member of the board of the California Forensic Science Institute. She lives in Southern California with her husband and two dogs. Learn more about her at www.janburke.com.
