‘Except it’s not the only thing, is it, when you really care about someone?’
Grace smiled again. ‘Not always.’
‘I’ve never met anyone like him before.’ Terri sat down again. ‘He’s so gentle and kind, but he still manages to have this real lust for living, you
know?’
‘Like his dad,’ Grace said.
‘I’m not sure his dad doesn’t have the same kind of doubts about me,’ Terri said. ‘Saul says he doesn’t, that I’m imagining problems,
but—’
‘Don’t you trust Saul?’ Grace asked.
‘Of course I do.’
‘Then why not believe him?’
‘You’re telling me I’m worrying unnecessarily, too.’
‘Yes,’ Grace said. ‘I think I am.’
She was not at all certain, when Terri left a few minutes later, that she had managed to convince her of that.
‘I think this is where the janitor was killed.’
They had covered less than a mile, running south along the beach, were just approaching North Shore Open Space Park, when Cathy said that to Kez. Then, less than a second later, she let out a
cry of pain and jolted to a halt, sending up a cloud of sand.
‘Damn,’ she said. ‘My ankle.’
Kez came quickly to her side. ‘Bad?’
‘Don’t think so,’ Cathy said, wincing. ‘I just turned it a little.’
‘Sit down.’ Kez nodded towards an Australian pine. ‘Let me help you.’
Cathy shook her head. ‘I can walk.’ She tested her left ankle. ‘Just don’t think I should run on it yet. I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Kez said. ‘We should get some ice on it.’
They got a makeshift ice pack and some mineral water at the 81st Street Café on Collins Avenue opposite the park gate.
‘I didn’t realize your dad was working on the janitor case,’ Kez said after she’d organized another chair for Cathy to rest her foot on.
Cathy nodded. ‘Working all hours.’
‘No suspects yet?’
‘I’d be the last to know,’ Cathy told her. ‘Sam hardly talks about work at home, and never in front of me – ’ her smile was self-conscious – ‘in
case it messes with my head.’
‘Your head,’ Kez remarked, ‘seems pretty well screwed on to me.’ She paused. ‘Though I guess I can understand why your folks might prefer to keep off that kind of
subject.’
Cathy was silent for a moment. ‘I presume you know about my history.’
‘Some,’ Kez replied.
‘The edited highlights.’ Cathy was wry. ‘Freak show, huh?’
‘Sad, cruel show,’ Kez said.
Cathy saw sympathy in her face and something more besides and, not being quite certain what that was, she averted her eyes and looked down at her ankle.
‘Pain?’ Kez asked.
Cathy shook her head. ‘It’s feeling better.’
‘Take care of it,’ Kez said.
‘I will.’
Kez took a minute, then said: ‘I’ve thought about what you must have gone through back then, but it’s hard to imagine. Just losing my own dad messed with my head for the
longest time, and that was natural causes, or kind of.’
‘Kind of?’ Cathy felt a touch of guilt. ‘Sorry, it’s personal.’
‘I raised it,’ Kez said. ‘And yes, it is very personal, but I don’t think I’d mind sharing it with you – which is interesting, because I’ve never shared
it with anyone else before.’
Cathy was silent.
‘I loved my dad a lot, and I always knew he was pretty crazy about me.’ Kez took a breath. ‘I thought he felt that way about my mom, too.’ Her mouth compressed for an
instant. ‘But when it came right down to it, Joey Flanagan was no better than a lot of men.’
She was looking directly at Cathy as she spoke, but a veil of something, perhaps of self-protection, had slipped down over her eyes, and Cathy could not tell if it was pain or toughness that lay
behind.
‘Fact was,’ Kez continued, ‘he had a massive heart attack in the middle of screwing Mrs Jerszinsky, our next-door neighbour, while my mother was out shopping and I was watching
them through the keyhole of my parents’ bedroom
Grace smiled again. ‘Not always.’
‘I’ve never met anyone like him before.’ Terri sat down again. ‘He’s so gentle and kind, but he still manages to have this real lust for living, you
know?’
‘Like his dad,’ Grace said.
‘I’m not sure his dad doesn’t have the same kind of doubts about me,’ Terri said. ‘Saul says he doesn’t, that I’m imagining problems,
but—’
‘Don’t you trust Saul?’ Grace asked.
‘Of course I do.’
‘Then why not believe him?’
‘You’re telling me I’m worrying unnecessarily, too.’
‘Yes,’ Grace said. ‘I think I am.’
She was not at all certain, when Terri left a few minutes later, that she had managed to convince her of that.
‘I think this is where the janitor was killed.’
They had covered less than a mile, running south along the beach, were just approaching North Shore Open Space Park, when Cathy said that to Kez. Then, less than a second later, she let out a
cry of pain and jolted to a halt, sending up a cloud of sand.
‘Damn,’ she said. ‘My ankle.’
Kez came quickly to her side. ‘Bad?’
‘Don’t think so,’ Cathy said, wincing. ‘I just turned it a little.’
‘Sit down.’ Kez nodded towards an Australian pine. ‘Let me help you.’
Cathy shook her head. ‘I can walk.’ She tested her left ankle. ‘Just don’t think I should run on it yet. I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Kez said. ‘We should get some ice on it.’
They got a makeshift ice pack and some mineral water at the 81st Street Café on Collins Avenue opposite the park gate.
‘I didn’t realize your dad was working on the janitor case,’ Kez said after she’d organized another chair for Cathy to rest her foot on.
Cathy nodded. ‘Working all hours.’
‘No suspects yet?’
‘I’d be the last to know,’ Cathy told her. ‘Sam hardly talks about work at home, and never in front of me – ’ her smile was self-conscious – ‘in
case it messes with my head.’
‘Your head,’ Kez remarked, ‘seems pretty well screwed on to me.’ She paused. ‘Though I guess I can understand why your folks might prefer to keep off that kind of
subject.’
Cathy was silent for a moment. ‘I presume you know about my history.’
‘Some,’ Kez replied.
‘The edited highlights.’ Cathy was wry. ‘Freak show, huh?’
‘Sad, cruel show,’ Kez said.
Cathy saw sympathy in her face and something more besides and, not being quite certain what that was, she averted her eyes and looked down at her ankle.
‘Pain?’ Kez asked.
Cathy shook her head. ‘It’s feeling better.’
‘Take care of it,’ Kez said.
‘I will.’
Kez took a minute, then said: ‘I’ve thought about what you must have gone through back then, but it’s hard to imagine. Just losing my own dad messed with my head for the
longest time, and that was natural causes, or kind of.’
‘Kind of?’ Cathy felt a touch of guilt. ‘Sorry, it’s personal.’
‘I raised it,’ Kez said. ‘And yes, it is very personal, but I don’t think I’d mind sharing it with you – which is interesting, because I’ve never shared
it with anyone else before.’
Cathy was silent.
‘I loved my dad a lot, and I always knew he was pretty crazy about me.’ Kez took a breath. ‘I thought he felt that way about my mom, too.’ Her mouth compressed for an
instant. ‘But when it came right down to it, Joey Flanagan was no better than a lot of men.’
She was looking directly at Cathy as she spoke, but a veil of something, perhaps of self-protection, had slipped down over her eyes, and Cathy could not tell if it was pain or toughness that lay
behind.
‘Fact was,’ Kez continued, ‘he had a massive heart attack in the middle of screwing Mrs Jerszinsky, our next-door neighbour, while my mother was out shopping and I was watching
them through the keyhole of my parents’ bedroom
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