Omens (26 page)

——

We were in the car before Gabriel spoke.

“You handled yourself very well, Olivia.”

I gazed out the window. “I did adequately.”

I vaguely heard him say something as he backed the car out, but I didn’t quite catch it.

“Olivia?” he prodded.

“Sorry. Just…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “This whole media thing has me feeling … helpless. I was looking forward to taking control of the situation, and I didn’t get the chance.”

A pause. “I see.” Awkward. Damn it. I’d overshared.

I settled into my seat. “Go ahead, set the appointment for seven and dump me at the nearest library.”

“Skip the research. It’s not critical. We’ll get dinner and I’ll distract you with tales of my day in court.”

“The guy who dissolved his victim with quicklime? Or was it chemical hydrolysis?”

“Chemical hydrolysis. Or that’s what he
would
have used, had he killed the man, which he most certainly did not.”

“Of course.” I smiled. “Okay, take me to dinner and distract me.”

We’d been inside Tim Marlotte’s condo for less than five minutes before we knew exactly what had gone wrong between him and Jan, and why he hadn’t been terribly distraught over their breakup. It wasn’t the tasteful decor that gave it away. This was Wicker Park, a trendy neighborhood filled with wannabe artistic types. According to Anna Gunderson, Marlotte had recently given up a bank job to pursue dreams of being a sculptor. So I wasn’t jumping to any conclusions … until a guy my age slipped into the foyer and gave Marlotte a kiss before leaving the apartment.

As we settled into the living room, I said, “As I’m sure Mr. Walsh explained, we’re here to talk about your breakup with Jan Gunderson. I’m guessing that”—I hooked a finger toward the foyer—“is the reason.”

Gabriel cleared his throat. “What Ms. Jones means is—”

“Yes, I’m not being subtle.” I looked at Marlotte. “But that kiss wasn’t subtle, either. Did you know you were gay when you were engaged to Jan?”

Marlotte scratched his neat beard. Then his ear. I kept waiting for Gabriel to jump in and say something soothing, take the edge off my bluntness, but he stayed silent. After a moment, his gaze flicked my way. Prodding me.

“I take it that’s a yes,” I said. “You knew, but at the time you had no intention of coming out. So you dated the sister of a good friend. You’d known her for years, liked her, could imagine a life with her, if you had to, and you thought you had to. Then she meets Pete Evens and discovers what was missing in your relationship. She breaks it off. You realize you’re relieved. You let her go gracefully.”

“I wasn’t…” His fingers drummed the arm on his chair. “When I was engaged to Jan, I wasn’t using her. I
did
care for her. I loved her. Just not … not that way.”

“Did Christian know? He was your best friend.”

“My
straight
best friend. That makes a difference, Ms. Jones. If a gay man confesses to his male best friend that he prefers men, he may very well find himself looking for a new friend.”

“So Christian never suspected anything.”

“I never confirmed anything.”

I glanced at Gabriel. He motioned for me to keep pressing. Apparently, I was playing bad cop tonight.

“That’s not what I asked, Mr. Marlotte. Did Christian
suspect
you were gay?”

He wriggled in his chair, pretending to just be shifting for comfort, but from his expression, wishing he could disappear into the deep cushions.

Finally he said, “I don’t see what this has to do with—”

“It is important, I’m afraid,” Gabriel said, his voice spiced with apology and regret. “You are aware, I know, that Christian was viewed as a potential suspect in his sister’s death. We have heard that he was very upset about your breakup. Angry with her, which would be very unlikely if he knew you were gay.”

“I … he … I confessed one night, just after I got engaged to Jan. We went out drinking, and I had too much.”

“Before the breakup?” I said.

He nodded.

“And what did he say?”

“That it didn’t matter.”

“What?”

“He said it didn’t matter.” Marlotte spit the words now, old anger and resentment bubbling up. “Jan loved me, and as long as I treated her well, it didn’t matter.” He turned sharply to face me. “I wasn’t really drunk. I pretended to be so I could confess. No one wants his sister marrying a guy who’s gay, right? Maybe Chris wouldn’t talk to me again. Maybe he’d beat the shit out of me. But whatever happened, I’d be free from the lies and maybe, just maybe, it would be the kick in the ass I needed to come out.”

“Only that’s not what happened.”

“No, it’s not.” Bitterness etched lines around Marlotte’s mouth. “I confessed to my best friend, and he told me to keep lying. Keep hiding. Which I did. For nearly twenty years. All because of Christian.”

A
s we were leaving Marlotte’s place, Gabriel checked his e-mail. One so engrossed him that he walked right past the car.

“Everything okay?” I called.

“Hmm.”

I figured that was all I was getting. Not surprising. I’d only asked to be polite. When we got into the car, though, he started it up and said, “You won’t need to worry about Niles Gunderson anymore.”

My heart thudded, and I said nothing. Then he looked over, frowning slightly, and I realized some response was required.

“Been locked up in the psych ward again, has he?” I said, as casually as I could.

Gabriel’s head tilted. A barely perceptible movement, but I noticed it, and I knew what it meant—that behind those dark shades, his eyes were studying mine. I had to force myself not to turn away. After a moment, I said, “Gabriel?”

He put the car into reverse and backed from the spot.

“After the incident at your house, I was concerned that Mr. Gunderson might be a problem for you. I put out a request to various contacts, asking to be alerted if he spoke to the media or issued a threat of any sort.”

Again, silence. Again, a split second too late I realized a response was required.

“Thank you,” I said.

He glanced over at me. Was my tone too casual? As if I’d known that Niles Gunderson wasn’t a threat—and why.

“You are my client,” he said. “As such, I will look after your interests. It seems, though, that it was unnecessary. Niles Gunderson was found dead in his apartment this morning.”

“What?”

Gabriel paused. I was sure I’d sounded shocked enough. Too shocked? Damn it. I should tell him.

Why? To clear my conscience? Leaving Niles dead in his kitchen was wrong, but if I admitted that, I’d only be burdening—and entrusting—Gabriel with my secret.

“He’s been dead a few days, it seems,” Gabriel continued. “Natural causes. It doesn’t affect our investigation, but we will need to temporarily avoid contacting his daughter.”

“Okay,” I said, and lapsed into silence for the rest of the trip.

My phone rang while I was still sound asleep, and I leapt up, thinking I was late for work. I was so paranoid that I had two alarms for my 7 a.m. shifts—a bedside clock and the one on my phone. In my old life, the only time I woke before eight was when I had an early flight. My biological clock wasn’t liking the new world order.

When I glanced at the clock, though, I saw that it was just past five thirty. I fumbled for my phone and peered at the screen.

Gabriel.

Why would—? Oh, shit. The article. I’d been sure it wouldn’t run today. Lores still had to write it and sell it.

I answered. “The article ran, didn’t it?”

“Good morning to you, too. Yes, it did.”

“How bad?”

“Not bad at all. I think you’ll be pleased. My apologies for calling so early, but I have court today and I know you’re on the day shift. I’ve e-mailed you the article. I thought you’d want to take a look as soon as possible.”

“Thanks.”

“Also, you’ll be getting a delivery at my aunt’s. You can pick it up there after work.”

“Files?”

“No, a laptop. I recently replaced mine, and I still had the old one.”

“I appreciate that, but I don’t want—”

“—charity. I know. And if I’m not inclined to give it to a homeless man on the corner, I’m certainly not giving it to someone with a multimillion-dollar trust fund. Twenty-five dollars a week seems a reasonable rental fee for a used laptop. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes, but I’ll still need to find Internet—”

“My aunt has wireless. I’m sure I can persuade her to part with the password if you promise not to download movies.”

“I don’t have time to
watch
movies. Thank you. That will make research much easier.”

“Which is the point, so gratitude is not required. I despise online research, and I’m happy to delegate all of it to you.”

“So happy that you’ll reduce the rental to twenty bucks?”

“No, but I’ll persuade my aunt not to charge you for the Internet.”

The article was fine. There was nothing to link me to Cainsville. No speculation over what I was doing visiting Pamela Larsen. It was all in my words—or an edited version of them that I was satisfied with. As for the photo, because it was black and white, you couldn’t see the leftover red in my hair or that my makeup wasn’t the right shade for my skin tone. Martin Lores had treated me fairly and gotten his scoop—the first words from the long-lost daughter of Illinois’ most notorious killers. I was old news now. At last.

After work, I went over to Rose’s to collect my laptop. I’d intended to just grab it and go, but walking into her appointment room was like stepping into a candy store.

“I’ll make tea,” she said.

“No.” I yanked my gaze from a spirit photograph. “I mean, thanks, but that’s not necessary.”

“I’m making tea.” She waved to the room. “Poke around.”

When she came back, I was leafing through an old book.

“Which one is that?” she asked as she set down the tea service.

I showed her the cover.

“
A Magician Among the Spiritualists
. Do you know what it is?”

“Harry Houdini’s accounts of his attempts to debunk spiritualists.” I waved the book. “This cost him his friendship with Conan Doyle.”

She smiled. “It did. Have you read it?”

I shook my head. “I’ve read
The Edge of the Unknown,
Conan Doyle’s response. Wisely published
after
Houdini’s death.”

“Indeed. Borrow that if you like. It’s interesting reading.”

I hesitated, then nodded. As I approached the table, I saw the flower arrangement in the middle and stutter-stepped.

“Hawthorn blossoms?” I said.

“Yes. I stole them from Grace’s tree.”

“No, but … It’s May.” When I saw her expression, I gave an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry. Old wives’ tale. Bringing hawthorn into the house in May is bad luck.”

“Is it?” She stood and pulled the flowers from the vase, water droplets spraying.

“No, I didn’t mean— It’s just a superstition.”

She walked to the window, opened it, and tossed them out. “Yes, and while I’m sure Houdini would be appalled, I prefer to hedge my bets.” She came back to the table. “I also keep a sprig in the rafters to ward off bogarts. I wonder if that’s allowed in May?”

“Bogarts?”

“Brownies gone bad.”

“You keep hawthorn in your attic so your cakes don’t go stale? Freezing them would be much easier.”

She gave me a look. “I mean brownies of the wee folk variety. Bogarts are a particularly nasty form. Troublemakers. Not to be confused with bogan, which are just as troublesome but less maliciously so.”

“Bogan…?”

“Bogan, hobgoblin, bòcan, whatever you wish to call them.”

“Goblins, I know. They’re like trolls.”

Her brows shot up, in a look very much like her nephew’s. “My dear girl, you may know your superstitions, and you may know your fake fairy photography, but your knowledge of the wee folk is woefully inadequate. Hobgoblins are not trolls.”

“Troll-like creatures?”

A slow, sad shake of her head. “I take it you’ve seen
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
?”

“Sure. At the Shakespeare Theater out on Navy Pier.”

“Do you recall the character of Puck?”

I nodded.

“He’s a hobgoblin.”

I frowned. “Are you sure?”

An exasperated sigh. She tapped my laptop. “Look it up when you get home.” She poured the tea. “Now, about Houdini and Conan Doyle. What do you know?”

We fell into a long, nicely distracting chat about spiritualism.

As I finished my third cup of tea, I said, “Before I go, I have a question for you.”

“Ah.” A smug smile. “I knew you would eventually.”

“Not that kind of question. It’s about Gabriel.”

Her smile evaporated as she said, carefully, “Yes…”

I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “Is he seeing anyone? ’Cause I think he’s totally hot.”

“Can’t even finish that one with a straight face, can you?”

I choked back my laughter. “Sorry. But the way you were looking at me, that’s what you were expecting, and I hate to disappoint.”

“Actually, no, it wasn’t. I’ve just learned to dread any sentence that contains the phrase ‘question about Gabriel.’”

“Well, don’t worry. It’s strictly business. Yesterday he suggested I do a media interview. I refused, because I wasn’t ready. We got ambushed by a reporter and he helped me through it. I want to say thank you.”

“I see.”

“While I’m sure what he’d really like is a big check, my budget is limited these days. But he did me a favor, and I’d like to acknowledge it.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you. And I believe I know just the thing.”

She warmed my tea with another half cup and gave me her suggestion.

When I returned to my apartment, I had a visitor waiting at my door. The black cat.

“Sorry, but unless you like toast with peanut butter, there’s nothing in there.”

It just waited, the tip of its tail flicking, gaze fixed on my door. I opened it. The cat zoomed inside.

As I set up my new laptop, I heard a squeak. Then a crunch. The cat trotted over to me, dead mouse hanging from its mouth.

“Oh, so it wasn’t about me at all. Your dinner squeezed under my door.”