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appraising glint in the other woman’s 29
    eyes. For a confused moment, Kate wondered if Madeleine had 30
    been watching her. But before she could be sure, it was over.
    31
    Madeleine was studying her folded hands, and Carter Mills was 32
    winding up the meeting. “I want a legal memo by the end of next 33
    week. I’d like Kate to start in on that. If there aren’t any other ort 34
    questions, I’ll see you all Wednesday afternoon.”
    reg 35
    w

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    E Q U I V O C A L D E A T H
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    After the two associates left the room, Madeleine Waters re-1
    mained seated on the leather couch. Still smiling, she studied 2
    Mills. But when she spoke her voice was cold.
    3
    “I can see that the magic hasn’t faded.”
    4
    He returned the gaze but said nothing.
    5
    “In any case, that was quite a demonstration. Make them feel 6
    like they’re part of your world. The quickest path to loyalty and de-7
    votion. Not to mention endless billable hours. That’s what you 8
    taught me, isn’t it? Well, congratulate yourself. It worked like a 9
    charm. You could see it in their faces.”
    10
    Mills had assumed an air of calm detachment. “You see what you 11
    want to see,” he said. “You always have.”
    12
    Madeleine paused, as if contemplating the next maneuver in 13
    some delicate game of chance. “How comforting to find that noth-14
    ing has changed,” she finally said. “It’s been quite a while since 15
    we’ve worked together. Closely, that is. And you always wonder” —
    16
    and here she pronounced the words with odd emphasis — “if —
    17
    something — might — change. And then you realize that nothing 18
    ever does.”
    19
    A smile flickered across Mills’s face.
    20
    “It sounds like you’ve got it all figured out, Madeleine. Let’s be 21
    clear about this. Neither of us is happy with this arrangement. Un-22
    fortunately, Thorpe has demanded that you work on this case. Ob-23
    viously, we have no choice. You have no choice. I’m sure you 24
    understand that.”
    25
    But Madeleine was barely listening. Her mind seemed to be 26
    somewhere else. “That associate. Kate Paine. You hired her, didn’t 27
    you? It’s because of you that she came to work here.”
    28
    Mills’s expression didn’t change. “I have no idea what you’re 29
    talking about.”
    30
    And now it was Madeleine who was silent as her eyes roamed 31
    Carter Mills’s face. Then, abruptly, she laughed. When she spoke 32
    her voice was heavy with scorn.
    33
    “You’re so obvious, Carter. It would be fascinating if it weren’t so 34 sh
    pathetic. Are you wondering how I knew? Just look at her. ”
    35 re

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    1
    Tuesday, January 5
    2
    3
    9:22 a.m. The morning was not going well. Just out of the shower, 4
    Kate had spent a good five minutes rubbing hair conditioner into 5
    her sunburned legs before realizing her mistake. Swearing under 6
    her breath, she stuck her legs under the bathtub faucet and turned 7
    on the water full force. What was it with chic cosmetic lines? Why 8
    did all the little bottles have to look alike?
    9
    Toweling off her legs, Kate smeared moisturizer into her tanned 10
    skin — carefully checking the label first — and grabbed a new 11
    pack of stockings from her dresser drawer. She’d already snagged 12
    one pair. She skipped breakfast, planning to grab a bagel at the firm 13
    cafeteria. But by the time she got to her desk, the red light on her 14
    phone was already flashing. A message from Madeleine Waters, 15
    who wanted to see Kate right away.
    16
    Now, twenty minutes into the meeting, Kate was still unsure ort 17
    why she’d been summoned, and the rumbling in her stomach reg 18
    wasn’t helping her concentration. After a good fifteen minutes of 9858_01_003-152_r5hb.qxd 9/28/00 3:57 PM Page 23
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    small talk, Madeleine had embarked on a series of questions about 1
    the memo Kate would be