Commitments (37 page)

-Ve're not working with a very broad fund base.' You don't need one. If you don't have to involve enses Yourselves with filming, the only significant exp 375 will be travel and phone bills. A typewriter and paper, a word processor if you want one; beyond that, your greatest resource is up here.' He tapped his head. His hand fell back to his mug. He squinted into it. ''ve totally severed yourselves from the networkv Justin nodded. ' didn't want to be drafted to work on Greer's campaign.' Vould that have happened?' Sabrina asked. Derek was the one to say, ' bet.' Ann turned to her. it had already started - the order was sent around that all staff members were to be there when he announced his candidacy. That was when Justin and I knew it was time to quit. We'd been thinking of doing it for a while. We'd both been increasingly frustrated.' She looked at Derek. ' you stopped by last November, things got more tense.' ' do you mean?' Derek asked in a low, still voice. ' were a living, breathing example of what happened if one didn't toe the line:' Silently Derek held her gaze, willing her to go on. She shot a nervous glance at Justin, then swallowed and faced Derek again, this time with determination. Ve know, Derek. We may not know all the details, much less have concrete proof, but we know that Greer had something to do with what happened to you. Everyone at the studio knew it. No one knew quite how he did it, or why, but everyone knew it., ' antagonism between you two was legendary Justin began. Ann cut in. ' it didn't account for the lengths to which he went to put you away., ''re not asking that you tell us "Maybe you don't even know -' ' we wanted to say that we'd be glad to help - 376 the deprciodfoeutnodgosialfetenrcehi mthat followed the rapid Sabrina realized she was holding her breath. -released it slowly and looked from Ann's face to is. Both were focused expectantly on Derek, and was giving nothing away. In a flash, Sabrina was in Parkersville on the day of her first visit. She ed sensing a barrier between Derek and her, and the world. The barrier had been shored up r and hostility. His thoughts @ad been his own. hadn't welcomed any intrusion. ow, too, there was a barrier, but it was one of While old wounds weren't raw, they were far healed. Derek seemed suddenly set apart, separm the rest of them. He was the ex-con, the one made monthly calls to his parole officer, the one visible scars for time spent with violent men. He "',..the intimidator. all waited for him to speak. When he did, his intimidated only through its utter control. ' talk at the studio, then?' nt's pause during which Ann accepted a mome he wouldn't immediately take them up on their to help, she answered, ' little, and that was of the things that was so odd. There's always talk studio - nonsense chatter in the lunchroom, e halls - but this time there wasn't. it was in th no one knew who to trust and who not to.' e could probably make some pretty good guesses t. who was involved/ Justin added, ' we have _jproof. Page 136

Barbara Delinsky - Commitments

After years of scrabbling to pay the, bills, y Hoddendez was suddenly able to move his y out of the city, but, who was to say that the he used didn't really come from his uncle in 377 Cincinnati, as he said? Word went around that Suzanne Lyons' appointment as an anchorwoman in Charleston came at least in part because she was sleeping with the producer down there - and who could question that? I Derek's fingers were tight around his mug. His lips were pursed, the muscle in his jaw working to betray his thoughts as he wouldn't do in words. ''s a tyrant, I Ann said, and they all knew she was talking about Greer.

"Someone has to stop him.' q know/Derek muttered, ' know.' We'll work for you/ Justin repeated the offer. ' the word and we'll do it. Somewhere there has to be proof that he set you up. If not that, there has to be proof that he blackmailed Ned Weinick into resigning as news director, or that he was responsible for sabotaging his major competitor's coverage of the last presidential election, or that he cheated on his income taxes - somethin& anything. I'm not ready to believe that the man is as invulnerable as he thinks.' Ann had come forward in her seat. ' we need direction in that, too. You know what you went through. You have to have suspicions. We'll do the legwork if you tell us where to go.' . Derek knew that he should tell them to go straight to hell. They were butting in where they didn't belong. This was his hurt, his war. And even beyond that, they had no concept of the danger involved. If Sabrina hadn't been sitting right there, he'd have spelled out that danger in living color. But it probably wouldn't have mattered to Justin and Ann. They were young and zealous. They wouldn't be put off by danger. They'd probably get even angrier on his behalf if they knew all that Greer had done. ' think/ Derek said, taking a tempering breath, ' 378 , ahead of yourselves." He shifted a level one face to the other. ' thought you came -46cause you wanted to set up a business.' did, I Justin said. '.' added, ' just thought you could be our first I already have a biographer.' pairs of eyes turned toward Sabrina, who shrank into her chair anti - holding both UP, palms out - told Ann and Justin, ''s got @.@'hamstrung, too/ which was in some respects a revealing statement, but one she didn't regret. at Derek, gnawed on her lower hp for a before suggesting, ''s the bam.' thought she was being vague. She thought that and Justin couldn't possibly know what she t, and therefore Derek could freely decide one or another. To her chagrin, Ann jumped at her on. e'll take it. All we need is a little comer. The is, Justin's apartment in the city just went condo, mine is too small to do anything but sleep in, and ,*,,know that we're going to have to find something to for a home base, but this has all happened really y.' She took a quick br@ath. ' we could use barn until we get our plans straight - not Iong, a few days, maybe a week thatd be great.' got sleeping bags for warmth/ Justin said, ' bam would be great. just a roof over our heads e we brainstorm.' He looked at Derek and sheepm amended that to, ' we pick your brain.' ed to Sabrina and said as quickly and Ps I edy as she could, ' know this is a terrible imposi-but we'd work to make it not so. I'll pick up ries. We'll eat out there. You wouldn't even have 379 to know we're around.' She swallowed, then added more meekly, ' for the time we're ... picking Derek's brain. I Sabrina thought the idea sounded just fine. She liked having a houseful of people. Not that it was actually the house that was going to be full. She looked at Derek. He was thinking the same thing. ''s only one problem/he told Justin and Ann. Justin held up a hand in smooth assurance. ' grew up on a farm in Kansas.' He splayed the hand over his chest. ' got animals in that barn, I can handle Animals.' ' exactly animals/ Derek said. '

arguable point/ Sabrina murmured. Leaning close, Derek murmured back,

"He's behaving, isn't he? I ' you call emerging from the barn once a day to sit in a trance at the dinner table behaving ...' ''s writing. Page 137

Barbara Delinsky - Commitments

You said it yourself, that's his style.' ' I thought we'd see a change. He's been better about other things.' ''re looking for miracles.' '. Maybe.' Derek turned to Justin and Ann. ' have another guest. J.B. Monroe. Ring a bell?' For a split second, both faces looked stunned. Then, simultaneously - and comically so - they came alive. ' J.B. Monroe?' Justin asked excitedly. Derek's nod set them off. ' have read/ Justin said, conveying his awe in the separate emphasis he gave each word, ' single one of his fourteen novels." Ann's eyes were wide. ''s made the New -York Times fist, the Publishers Weekly list, two of his books have been made into movies, another one adapted for 380 another used as the basis for a Saturday cartoon show. He's incredibly successful - he's in your barn?' ded. erek nod s tin went limp. ' can't believe you put a man like .-I. Monroe in your barn.' @10;i the other hand/ Ann said, ''m not sure I'd want in my house. His books are too scary for me, and I erstand that the man himself is i feel it only fair/ Derek interrupted, ' warn you t J B Monroe is my brother-in-law. justin straightened. ' rother-in-law?' Ann finished, cheeks flaming. Her flew to Sabrina, who'd been watching in arnuset. ''m sorry. I didn't mean to sound critical. I

.... Prstand the kind of skill it takes to do what he s. It's just that I ... I have a vivid imagination ... I rites.' nightmares ... so I can't read what he w S b iled. ' problem-there. But J.B. is living a rma sm th b which is pretty well fixed up, by the way, W e am - A. ,.,Ao there's no danger of your freezing. There are several a rooms. You're more than welcome to use them '-do ong as you promise not to disturb J. B.' J.. Ann and Justin promised. It Was late that night when Derek finally went to bed. Sabrina had been lying beneath the quilt, waiting for what had seemed an eternity when she finally heard roos e '@bis f t teps. H undressed silently, slid between the beets and drew her to him. She snuggled against .34midiar lines to find that while his body was warm, A..,11111P"his feet were like ice. He'd obviously sat at the hearth after the fire died. e you okay?' she whispered. '-huh/he whispered back. 381 ' seemed preoccupied when you came in from the, barn.1 He'd gone out much earlier to see that Ann and Justin were settled. ijust thinking.1 Sabrina didn't need to ask about what. it hadn't taken Ann and Justin's arrival to make him think of Noel Greer. The man had become a presence. Sabrina always knew when Derek was thinking of him because his eyes would get angry, his body tense. Increasingly there were spells of tossing and turning during the night. Sometimes Sabrina would awaken to find him standing stark naked before the window, surrounded by the blue glow of the moon's reflection on the snowy landscape. He would look eerie. Forbidding. Like something from one of J. B.'s books. Unwilling to acknowledge the reality of the image, she would turn over and W@qi it gone, and by morning it was. Until the next time. It was inevitable that Ann and Justin's arrival intensified his thought. On the one hand, Sabrina liked Derek's friends. She thought Derek would enjoy being their ''

until he decided on the direction he wanted to take, professionally, himself. if, on the other hand, Ann and Justin's presence was going to be an emotional barb in his side, she'd as soon have them leave in the morning. Was I right to make the offer?' she asked, referring to the use of the barn. '. They're nice kids.' They lay silently for a time. Sabrina could tell Derek wasn't sleeping. She was far from sleepy herself, so she asked, Were they always a pair?' ''ve always been close, like two peas in a pod, but they're not romantically involved. I She raised her head from the pillow of his chest and 382 through the moonlight. ''s strange. I just they were.' t/Derek said with a crooked smile, is because w a very conventional lady. You see men as sex smile relieved her tremendously, so much so She decided to follow up on the train of thought. her head to his chest, she said, Vell, hell, blind. Justin is a good-looking man, and Ann is le. If they work Page 138

Barbara Delinsky - Commitments

together and travel together, It they romantically involved?, is shy.1

with Justin. 1 she isn't looking for involvement with at this point in her life., t why notv ybe she had a bad experience once., the problem isn't with Ann but with Justin. he's gay.' sibly/ Derek said without pause. a's head bobbed up. ' was only kidding.' She Derek's face, but it showed no sign of a smile. u really think so?, re was always. rumor to that effect, and Justin @Went out of his way to deny it., it bother you

- working with him? I you kidding? He's one hell of a researcher and I always fought to get him on my team. The way it, his sexual preference had no relevance to our therefore it was none of ' business.' He pushed @th i"head down and kissed her lightly on the forehead. ed he'll attack T.B. Vhe asked, and this time she have to look at his face. She heard the smile that he was teasing and answered it by rubbing his with her hand. She never tired of touching him. 383 ' you don't mind that they're here?, she asked, suddenly a bit distracted. ' depends on how long they stay.' He turned on his side to face her and ran his hand from her bare shoulder to the base of her equally bare spine. ''m not sure I'm going to like sharing you so much.' ' won't be sharing me."

"Sure, I will. First J. B., now Justin and Annie-Fitz, he nipped her nose - ' here I was hoping that you could subsist on a diet of me and me alone., She kissed his chin. ' can.' Tut you have so many other people to talk with now. Don't deny it. I heard you laughing with Ann while you were making dinner.' ' enjoyed having her there, which is not to say that I would have chosen her over you, because I wouldn't have done that. But you were carting wood to the barn, so you weren't around.' She took his chin between her thumb and forefinger. ' love you, Derek. I enjoy having other people around, but 6nly-if I know that we'll have times like this. Just the two of us. Quiet, relaxed, peaceful

- I Derek kissed her silent before she could say something that would make him feel guilty, but the kiss, as always, affected him, and before long he was seeking more. He loved her taste and texture. He loved the way she sighed when he touched her, whimpered when he stroked her, writhed when he tongued her most sensitive spots. He loved the way she took command at times, the way she made love to him with her hands and lips, the way she used her body, rubbing sleekly, rocking slowly, to drive him wild. He knew that if he searched the world, he'd never find another wo to satisfy him as she did. When he was joined with her, he felt complete. When he brought her to a climax, he 384 orious. When he reached his own, he felt that Aied and come back to life a richer man. only problem was that on this night when he back to life, he was thinking of Noel Greer. That M when he knew it was time to act. days later, Derek and Sabrina were in David 11's office in New York. Actually, they weren't ... bis office, per se, but in the computer room of his firm. Derek was at the keyboard of one of the halfcomputers. Sabrina was in a chair close by his Derek told her, ' LEXIS.' He keyed in one This, waited for new directions to appear on the screen, keyed in another. ' we had all the time and nce in the world, we would be sitting in the law poring through yearly volumes of the Supreme urt Reporter, but I don't have all the time and nce in the world,, so we're doing it this way.' He I AS continuing to type responses to prompts on the #creen. "What are we looking for?' Sabrina asked in a isper. e connection between Ballantine and Greer/ rek said in a voice low enough not to carry beyond eir station. ' we theorize that Greer had a personal lenough stake in at least one Supreme Court case to his bribing Ballantine, we have to find those cases where Ballantine's might have been the deciding vote.' ' do we do thatv TEXIS' memory contains all of the cases decided by the court, along with the date of the decision and the vote, by justice. We're looking for those decisions made during Lloyd Ballantine's years on the bench in 385 which Ballantine voted with the five-member majority - split decisions, five voted to four, where Ballantine voted with the five.' He studied the screen, entered another Page 139