Part 42 (1/2)
”Nothing's changed,” Decker said. ”So I'll ask you again, where would you like to live?” .
Something in Beth's eyes seemed to die.
”If we split up,” Decker said.
”Split up?” Beth looked bewildered. ”But why on earth would-”
”If we had a very public argument back in Santa Fe, at noon in Escalera or some other popular restaurant, if word got around that we weren't an item any longer, Renata might decide there's no point in doing something to you, because she wouldn't be torturing me if she killed someone I didn't care about.”
Beth's bewilderment intensified.
”In fact,” Decker said, giving her a way out, wanting to learn the truth, ”the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced Renata would leave you alone if we broke up.”
”But ...” Beth's voice didn't want to work. No sound came out.
”It would have to be convincing,” Decker said. ”I could accuse you of knowing who I was from the start of our relations.h.i.+p. I could make a scene about how you only pretended to love me, how you bribed me with s.e.x, how all you wanted was a bodyguard living next door to you and sometimes in your house. In your bed.”
Beth started weeping.
”I could tell everybody that I'd been a fool, that I'd risked my life for nothing. If Renata was keeping tabs on me, she'd hear about the argument. She'd believe it. Especially if I left Santa Fe but you stayed.”
Beth wept harder.
”Who killed your husband?” Decker asked.
Beth didn't answer.
”I suppose we could make up a theory,” Decker said, ”about someone in the organization, maybe one of his guards, shooting him, taking the money, and blaming it on you. Another theory would be that Nick Giordano's son, Frank, was so jealous of the attention his father gave to your husband that he decided to set matters straight and blame it on you.” Decker waited. ”Which theory do you like?”
Beth wiped at her eyes. ”Neither.”
”Then ...?”
”I did it,” Beth said.
Decker straightened.
”I shot my husband,” Beth said. ”The son of a b.i.t.c.h won't ever beat me again.”
”You took the money?”
”Yes.”
”That's how you could afford the house in Santa Fe?”
”Yes. The money's in a numbered bank account in the Bahamas. The Justice Department couldn't get their hands on it, so they let me support myself with it-especially since they wanted my testimony.”
”Did you know who I was before you met me?”
”Yes.”
”Then you did use me.”
”For about forty-eight hours. I didn't know I'd be so attracted to you. I certainly didn't expect to fall in love with you.”
Blood trickled from one of the open gashes on Decker's face. ”I wish I could believe you.”
”I've always had an inclination to live in the south of France,” Beth said unexpectedly.
Now it was Decker who wasn't prepared. ”Excuse me?”
”Not the Riviera. Inland,” Beth said. ”Southwestern France. The Pyrenees. I once read an article about them in a travel magazine. The photographs of the valleys, with pastures and forests and streams running down from the mountains, were incredibly beautiful. I think I could do some good painting there.... Provided you're with me.”
”Knowing that you'd be putting your life in danger, that Renata would want to use you to get at me?”
”Yes.”
”For the rest of your days, always looking over your shoulder?”
”Without you”-Beth touched the blood trickling from the gash on his face-”I'd have nothing to look ahead to.”
”In that case,” Decker said, ”we're going back to Santa Fe.”
3.
”Are you sure this is a good idea?” Esperanza asked.
”No. But it makes more sense to me than the alternatives,” Decker said. They were in the clamorous, crowded expanse of Newark International Airport. Decker had just come back from the United Airlines counter, rejoining Esperanza and Beth, where they waited for him in an alcove near rest rooms and schedule-of-flights monitors. He handed out tickets. ”I've got us on an eight-thirty flight. We switch planes in Denver and arrive in Albuquerque at twelve forty-eight this afternoon.”
”These seats aren't together,” Beth said.
”Two of them are. One of us will have to sit farther back.”
”I will,” Esperanza said. ”I'll check to see if any pa.s.sengers show unusual interest in you.”
”With my crutches, I'm afraid I can't help being noticed,” Beth said.
”And the scratches on my face definitely attracted attention from the woman at the United counter.” Decker looked around to make sure they weren't being overheard. ”But I don't see how Renata could antic.i.p.ate which airport we would use. I'm not worried that she's in the area. When we get back to Santa Fe, that's when we start worrying.”
”You're sure she'll be waiting for us there?” Beth asked. ”What other choice does she have? She needs to start somewhere to find us, and Santa Fe is her best bet. She knows if I'm not coming back, I'll need to sell my house and transfer my bank account. She'll want to be around to persuade the Realtor or the bank manager to tell her where the money is being sent.”
Beth frowned toward pa.s.sengers hurrying past, as if afraid that Renata would suddenly lunge from among them. ”But that information is confidential. She can't just walk into the real estate agency or the bank and expect someone to tell her your new address.”
”I was thinking more along the lines of a gun to the head when the Realtor or the bank manager came home from work,” Decker said. ”Renata's an expert at terrorizing. In addition to hating me because I killed her brothers, she has the incentive of the million dollars of her money that I've got in this carry-on bag. She'll do everything possible to get even. In her place, I'd be waiting in Santa Fe until I knew in which direction to start hunting.”
Esperanza glanced at his watch. ”We'd better head to the gate.”