Fiona Silk Mysteries 2-Book Bundle. Mary Jane Maffini
Читать онлайн книгу.
sprouts.”
“I hear you.”
“I’ll get you some recipe books from the library.”
“You don’t have to do all that, Josey. I can look after myself, you know.”
“It’s okay, Miz Silk. Remember, I’m saving up. I got a lot of expenses and more coming. I need all the odd jobs I can get. You got until I turn sixteen to settle your tab.”
I said, “Well...”
“You should ask Miz Lamontagne if she has any food magazines.”
What was this thing everyone had with trying to solve my money problems? Everyone except the one person who had a legal obligation, namely Philip.
I picked up the phone. While I was out, Josey had thoughtfully programmed Philip’s home, office and cell phone numbers into the speed dial. First, she’d found a phone set for me that had a speed dial, back when I still had a few dollars. The phone rang on and on, as it had on my previous seven tries. Finally, blessedly, it was snatched up.
“Philip,” I chirped, “let’s agree to get this settled once and for all. Imagine how much happier we’ll both be. Freedom from each other at last! How exhilarating would that be?”
“Look, Fiona, you have to stop hounding me.”
“Hounding you? You mean my phone calls this week? You’ve been artfully stalling for months.”
“Hardly. I’m a busy man.”
“Right. You’re a busy man with property and assets. All I want is my share. I realize you’ll cheat me, and I don’t even care. Let’s just get it finished. “
“Sure, now that you’re not making it as a writer, you want to plunder my assets. Get the rewards without working for them. If you wanted the good life, you should have stayed married.”
I was proud of myself. I didn’t let him get to me. I didn’t bleat that I had put him through law school working multiple jobs when he didn’t have two cents to rub together. I didn’t mention that I’d spent the entirety of our marriage in dreary but well-paying employment that had sapped my spirit.
He knew that just as well as I did. There was no point in bringing it up. I wanted to rid myself of Philip, not plunge back into the unwinnable situation of two people who never should have hooked up together in the first place.
Move on, I breathed to myself.
“No problem,” I said. “You can talk to my lawyer next. Or your lawyer can. Of course, that’ll cost you.”
“That’s easy for you to say. Hit me when I’m down. That’s just like you, Fiona. Take advantage when I’m distraught.”
There was so much wrong in that statement, I hardly knew where to begin. I started with, “What do you mean down?”
“You haven’t heard?”
I bit back irritation. “Heard what?”
“You’re just doing this to get to me.”
“You know what? You’re getting to me. Take care of the settlement and make it snappy.”
“My partner’s dead.”
“You don’t have a partner.”
“Not a law partner, but I had business dealings with him, investments,” Philip yelled.
“Did you say dead?”
“Yes. Killed on the highway near St. Aubaine, yesterday. Don’t you even listen to the radio? What do you do all day?”
“What do you mean, don’t I even...never mind. That’s terrible. Dead. I’m sorry.”
“That’s right. Danny’s dead. So you’ll understand I have other things on my mind beside your money grab.”
I stood there with my mouth open.
After a while, Philip said, “Fiona? I’m a busy man. Hello? Are you there?”
I was there all right.
What’s more, I had finally figured out why the face of the man in the Escalade was familiar. I’d met him with Philip, without the sunglasses. He’d given me the finger then too. Metaphorically, of course.
Danny Dupree.
Grilled Asparagus
Courtesy of Sgt. F.X. Sarrazin
1 bunch of asparagus, the nice thick kind, not the skinny ones Wooden skewers soaked in water for twenty minutes Olive oil
Sea salt, the best you can afford
Pre-heat BBQ grill to medium. Snap asparagus at their natural breaking point. Discard woody ends. Attach asparagus, four or five at a time, with skewers (across, not lengthwise). Brush asparagus with oil. Season with sea salt, to taste. Grill just until nice grill marks appear.
Live a little.
Six
Luckily, I still had Sarrazin’s telephone number from the troubles of the previous fall. I dialed it before I lost my nerve.
“I know who he was now,” I said.
Sarrazin simply grunted on the phone. Of course, he’d already known the answer.
“Daniel Dupree. A colleague of my husband.”
“And you just figured this out how?”
“I told you before that there was something familiar about him. When Philip mentioned this morning his friend had been killed, I realized where I’d seen the driver.”
“Hard to believe you wouldn’t recognize him right off.”
“Shouldn’t be. I met him at some business reception a couple of years ago, when I was still married. I probably saw him a few times at fundraisers and cocktail parties. He wasn’t wearing sunglasses then and whipping past me in a vehicle.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Do you have anything else you want to tell me?”
“What else would I want to tell you?”
“You never spent any amount of time with this guy?”
“I didn’t even like him. He was sort of a blowhard. Anyway, I wasn’t his type. He always seemed to have a beautiful young woman with him.”
“You didn’t like him. Did he have a problem with you?”
“I’d be surprised if he even remembered my name. I don’t think he even noticed me.”
Sarrazin paused before speaking. “Are you sure? You are the kind of woman that men notice.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Sure you are. Just your hair alone is enough to get attention. And how many people have violet eyes? Maybe he just pretended.”
I wish people wouldn’t talk about my hair. I have nothing but trouble with it, and I don’t get what the fuss is about. “Trust me. There’s a type of man who doesn’t register your existence if you’re over thirty. Or maybe even over twenty-five. He was definitely that type.”
“Oh, come on. You were the wife of a colleague. He must have been polite.”
“I’m telling you, he never acknowledged my presence. He didn’t say hello. He didn’t shake hands. He looked right through me. I felt invisible. Of course, I disliked him instantly.”
“Did your husband get upset about the way he reacted to you?”
“You