place.
"This is fun," he announced.
"I haven't done anything spontaneous in a long time."
"Me, neither. My life is predictable. There's work, work and more work."
"Ever get tired of it?" "Yup. Then the phone rings, I get a new case and I'm revived."
They walked along at a jaunty pace.
"You're not really representing Dorothea Win- chell, are you?" Sawyer asked.
"Sure am."
"She's a fraud."
Faith wasn't at all offended.
"Uh-uh. She loved the man. She was with him for ten years. Ten years. And in that time, she took a lot of abuse."
"He chose not to leave her anything in his will."
"He had Alzheimer's. Did he choose, or was he unable to choose? Or did his children prevent him from choosing?"
"You'll lose," Sawyer warned, but playfully. That was the kind of mood he was in.
Faith was in a similar mood.
"Losing is relative. As his common-law wife, she has a right to a little protection. We won't get all we're asking, but something is better than nothing." She sent a perky look up at him.
"And you're a fine one to be talking. You're representing John Donate. Now, if that isn't a lost cause, I don't know what is."
He was undaunted.
"It's a great cause. Donate puts up a building.
Halfway through construction, the city council finds an obscure code that says the building can't be that tall. Donato is expected to lower the building at a million dollar loss. The city owes him. "
"From what I hear," Faith drawled, looking off toward the Aquarium, "Donato obtained his original permit in a slightly, uh, unorthodox manner."
"Y'heard that, did ya?"
"Yup."
"Who'd you hear it from?"
"I'm not telling. Is it true?"
"Now, if I told you that, it'd be a violation of lawyer-client privilege."
"I won't tell anyone," she whispered loudly.
In answer, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
Their hips bumped. Laughing, they adjusted their gaits to match, and walked on. To the left, the lights of the Marketplace lent a gaiety to the night. To the right, the Harbor was unusually serene. They felt peaceful, happy, totally at ease with the night and each other, and because of that, they talked about things they might not have normally discussed.
Such as the people they'd dated since their respective divorces.
"Brandi Payne? You actually went out with Brandi Payne?" Faith asked in good-humored disbelief as they turned into Union Wharf.
"Sure did."
"I hear she's a bitch."
"You hear right. She gives new meaning to the term swelled-headed. I suppose you have to give her some credit. She came in as the Channel 4 anchor when the station was trailing the other two, and she's brought it to the top. But full of herself? Whew!" "What possessed you to go out with her?"
"We have a mutual friend. He had a party. We met. I asked her out. I wanted to see what the private persona was like, and boy, did I ever.
We ran into Alee Soames and Susan Siler at the restaurant. They were in town to do a signing at the Ritz, and they happen to be a stunning couple. Brandi didn't like that much. She wants all eyes on her. The comments she made to Alee and Susan about their book were bad enough, but the fuss she made about what table we were going to have and whether the service was good enough and whether the butternut squash soup had too much salt were downright embarrassing. "
"Poor Alee and Susan."
"Poor Sawyer."
Faith was grinning as she opened the door to her condo.
"What I want to know," she said, punching out the code to turn off the alarm, 'is whether you took her to bed. " When the alarm didn't stop, she frowned, concentrated, punched out the code a second time.
"That's a very personal question."
"You're a very personal friend. Damn, what's wrong with this?" The alarm was still humming, waiting to be disengaged. Slowly and with deliberation this time, she gave separate emphasis to each digit in the code. Still the alarm resisted.
"I don't believe it," she cried.
"Are you hitting the right numbers?"
"I'm hitting
"This is fun," he announced.
"I haven't done anything spontaneous in a long time."
"Me, neither. My life is predictable. There's work, work and more work."
"Ever get tired of it?" "Yup. Then the phone rings, I get a new case and I'm revived."
They walked along at a jaunty pace.
"You're not really representing Dorothea Win- chell, are you?" Sawyer asked.
"Sure am."
"She's a fraud."
Faith wasn't at all offended.
"Uh-uh. She loved the man. She was with him for ten years. Ten years. And in that time, she took a lot of abuse."
"He chose not to leave her anything in his will."
"He had Alzheimer's. Did he choose, or was he unable to choose? Or did his children prevent him from choosing?"
"You'll lose," Sawyer warned, but playfully. That was the kind of mood he was in.
Faith was in a similar mood.
"Losing is relative. As his common-law wife, she has a right to a little protection. We won't get all we're asking, but something is better than nothing." She sent a perky look up at him.
"And you're a fine one to be talking. You're representing John Donate. Now, if that isn't a lost cause, I don't know what is."
He was undaunted.
"It's a great cause. Donate puts up a building.
Halfway through construction, the city council finds an obscure code that says the building can't be that tall. Donato is expected to lower the building at a million dollar loss. The city owes him. "
"From what I hear," Faith drawled, looking off toward the Aquarium, "Donato obtained his original permit in a slightly, uh, unorthodox manner."
"Y'heard that, did ya?"
"Yup."
"Who'd you hear it from?"
"I'm not telling. Is it true?"
"Now, if I told you that, it'd be a violation of lawyer-client privilege."
"I won't tell anyone," she whispered loudly.
In answer, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
Their hips bumped. Laughing, they adjusted their gaits to match, and walked on. To the left, the lights of the Marketplace lent a gaiety to the night. To the right, the Harbor was unusually serene. They felt peaceful, happy, totally at ease with the night and each other, and because of that, they talked about things they might not have normally discussed.
Such as the people they'd dated since their respective divorces.
"Brandi Payne? You actually went out with Brandi Payne?" Faith asked in good-humored disbelief as they turned into Union Wharf.
"Sure did."
"I hear she's a bitch."
"You hear right. She gives new meaning to the term swelled-headed. I suppose you have to give her some credit. She came in as the Channel 4 anchor when the station was trailing the other two, and she's brought it to the top. But full of herself? Whew!" "What possessed you to go out with her?"
"We have a mutual friend. He had a party. We met. I asked her out. I wanted to see what the private persona was like, and boy, did I ever.
We ran into Alee Soames and Susan Siler at the restaurant. They were in town to do a signing at the Ritz, and they happen to be a stunning couple. Brandi didn't like that much. She wants all eyes on her. The comments she made to Alee and Susan about their book were bad enough, but the fuss she made about what table we were going to have and whether the service was good enough and whether the butternut squash soup had too much salt were downright embarrassing. "
"Poor Alee and Susan."
"Poor Sawyer."
Faith was grinning as she opened the door to her condo.
"What I want to know," she said, punching out the code to turn off the alarm, 'is whether you took her to bed. " When the alarm didn't stop, she frowned, concentrated, punched out the code a second time.
"That's a very personal question."
"You're a very personal friend. Damn, what's wrong with this?" The alarm was still humming, waiting to be disengaged. Slowly and with deliberation this time, she gave separate emphasis to each digit in the code. Still the alarm resisted.
"I don't believe it," she cried.
"Are you hitting the right numbers?"
"I'm hitting
Similar Books
The Humans
Matt Haig
The Legend
Kathryn Le Veque
The Summer Invitation
Charlotte Silver
Cold Case
Kate Wilhelm
Captcha Thief (Amy Lane Mysteries)
Rosie Claverton
Unseen
Nancy Bush
The Listening Walls
Margaret Millar
Ghost Aria
Jeffe Kennedy
Nights of Villjamur
Mark Charan Newton
Flesh for Fantasy
Kelex