Part 69 (1/2)
He turned to her, frowning, sensing an implication but unable to grasp it.
”What makes you say that?”
Her face softened and she gave an innocent shrug.
”Just that I've heard your father's reputation” she said.
”A fairly well-known criminal lawyer, wasn't he?”
”The word criminal is a noun, not an adjective,” he said.
”My father's got nothing to do with me She laughed slightly, raising her eyebrows.
”Oh, come now,” she said.
”He has everything to do with you. He drew you into this.”
He searched her face, begging for more.
”If you know more than I do, I'd love to hear it ' ”Of course I don't,”
she scoffed.
”All I'm saying is that if you search your memory-” ”I don't know one bit more than you do!” he snapped at her quickly, tension and a vibrating headache getting the better of his nerves.
”How many times do I have to tell you that?”
She lowered her eyes demurely, not challenging him, but rather embarra.s.sing him. He sighed.
”I'm sorry. I don't mean to yell at you He tried to smile.
”I owe you too much, I guess' She returned his smile. She could forgive as easily as she could sketch or dispose of a body.
They were no more than a hundred feet from docking now. The buildings of the Woods Hole wharf were visible through a misting rain, and a gray fog.
”Ever paint seascapes?” he asked.
She wore a fleeting smile, her artistry being recalled to her.
”Occasionally,” she answered brightly.
”I went to the Gaspe in Quebec for a summer. Fabulous land- and seascapes up there. You should see it sometime. Breathtaking' ' ”I should” he agreed, though his breath had been taken often enough recently to last far into the future.
Her smile vanished.
”I don't think I could do a seascape again for a while though” she said.
He asked why, as she knew he would.
”I'd become involved with the water,” she said.