Project Seduction (6 page)

A range of wardrobes ran along one wall. Georgina was determined to keep the place tidy by throwing any clutter inside.

She looked at the pictures propped on the floor against the wall. A red oil of a woman with hollow eyes, her mouth open in a silent scream. Two watercolor landscapes. Another oil of a tabby cat hunting in long grass. Hanging them up was the final chore before the apartment could be called home.

Georgina had barely finished tugging on a pair of loose pants and a baggy sweatshirt when the doorbell chimed.

With an angry mutter, she marched out to the hall. Not bothering to peep through the spy hole, she opened the door.

"Andy?” she said, frowning.

"Am I disturbing you?” the girl asked politely. She was dressed in denim shorts and a huge black top that swamped her. The long dark hair hung damp along her back.

"Doesn't your dad mind you borrowing his clothes?” Georgina said. She pursed her lips, puzzled by the remark. Where had that sprung from? Her mouth seemed to have come up with it without any help from her brain.

Andy broke into a smile. “He says I'll have to stop if my boobs ever get so big that I put bumps in his sweaters."

"The size he is, you'd need a camel to put humps in his sweaters,” Georgina said.

Andy's grin widened. “He's kind of big, isn't he? He works out a lot."

"Did he send you?” Georgina asked with suspicion.

"No. He's at work."

"I've still got your pool thingy. Did you come for that?"

"I don't need it back right now. You can keep it for a while, if you like."

"They are great,” Georgina said, trying to overcome her irritation at being disturbed. “I was thinking of buying one, but I haven't had time to go shopping yet."

"I could come out to the mall with you, show you where I got them from.” Andy shot her a hopeful glance.

"I don't know when I'll have the time to go.” Georgina shifted awkwardly on her feet, feeling guilty about rebuffing the timid offer of friendship.

"I'm sorry, I must be disturbing you,” Andy said. “But I need help, and I don't know who else to ask."

Georgina sighed. “Oh dear. Sounds serious. You'd better come in."

"If you are sure it's not too much trouble."

Georgina was already on her way into the kitchen. She lifted one hand to brush the apology away. “Do you want a cup of tea?"

"If that's not too much trouble."

Georgina threw a sharp look at Andy over her shoulder. “If you don't stop saying that, you're going to get on my nerves."

Andy bit her lip to keep from smiling. Georgina was perfect, tough and smart and sassy. It wouldn't be fair to pair her dad with someone weak.

"I was going to have some tea myself, so making another cup is no trouble,” Georgina pointed out.

"Thanks,” Andy said. She eyed Georgina's sweatshirt and shapeless pants and frowned. She had to fix Gina's appearance before her dad arrived. She'd seen him look at women often enough to have figured out what worked with him and what did not.

"Where do you want to sit?” Georgina asked. “Inside, or out on the balcony?"

"Inside,” Andy told her. The evenings were already getting cool. It wouldn't be hot enough for her purpose on the balcony.

"Is it all right if I use your bathroom?” she asked, keeping her voice a little shy.

"Sure. Help yourself. That way.” Georgina pointed down the hall.

Andy strolled over, but when the bathroom door clicked shut behind her, she moved like lightning. The heating control that allowed her to by-pass the thermostat in the hall was up near the ceiling, above the washing machine. Her dad had shown her how to rig the switch when she had complained it got too cold in the winter, even when the dial in the hall was turned up to eighty.

She twisted the heating to max, and scaled back down from the washing machine she'd climbed up on. It had only taken a few seconds. She used extra time by poking around in the medicine cabinet and in the cosmetic bag that stood open on the little table next to the bathtub.

Georgina used something called Clarins for her skin. Andy opened a jar and sniffed. It didn't smell like anything at all. Then she looked at the label which said ‘fragrance free’ and realized it was on purpose.

She rummaged inside the cosmetic bag. There wasn't much there, just a tube of toothpaste and a lipstick and a wand of mascara. No condoms anywhere, so it must be true about there being no boyfriend. Andy knew what to look for, because her dad always forgot to take the little silver foil envelope out of his hip pocket when he dropped his jeans in the laundry hamper.

The fact that there was always one in the pocket of his jeans worried Andy. Did it mean that her dad had no luck with women, and he carried the thing around for nothing? Or did it mean that he had an endless supply of them, and he rushed to replace the one in his pocket as soon as he'd used it.

Every time she was done with the laundry, Andy slipped the condom back in the pocket. One day she would summon up enough nerve to mark it with a little dot, so she could check to see if it was always the same one.

Realizing she'd taken too long, Andy quickly flushed the toilet and went back into the kitchen.

"Your tea's over there.” Georgina pointed at a mug with pink and blue piglets on it.

Andy picked up the mug and took a sip. The tea was scalding, despite the milk.

"I put in a drop of milk but no sugar. There's some in the cupboard if you want any,” Georgina told her.

"This is fine.” Andy checked out Georgina's mug. That one had black and white cows. She watched as Georgina drank, hoping that her tea was equally hot and would make her sweat. “Neat cups,” she said.

"I brought them over from England,” Georgina said. “Tea tastes better from real bone china."

"Yuk.” Andy lowered her mug and spluttered. “Do you mean it's made of bones?"

Georgina's brows lifted. “I never thought of that. I have no idea. We can look it up on the Internet later."

Andy nodded. That was good, the way Georgina had said ‘later'. It meant she was in no hurry to throw her out. Better make her next move.

"My dad's working. I was supposed to stay the night with Mrs. Donati, but something came up and she can't make it.” Andy's initial idea had been to say that Dominic the Creep was sick, but she decided she'd be less likely to get caught if she used a non-specific excuse. That way Georgina couldn't spill the beans by asking Mrs. Donati if Dominic was better. Andy left it vague, and just stood in the middle of the room and fidgeted with her pink and blue piglet cup.

"Go on,” Georgina said.

"So, I thought, like, maybe I could stay with you tonight."

Georgina frowned. “Does your father know?"

"No.” Andy shook her head. “He's doing surveillance on a big narcotics case. I can't call him unless it's a real emergency."

"And I guess this doesn't qualify?"

"I could get him killed if I called at the wrong moment and blew his cover,” Andy said quietly.

"All right.” Georgina finished her tea and put down the cup with cows. “You can stay, but you'll have to go down and leave a note for your father, so that he knows where you are when he gets home. What time will he be back?"

"Some time before the night is over."

"Tell him that you're with me, and that you'll go back in the morning after breakfast. It's Saturday. I want to sleep late. I don't want him banging on the door and looking for you until I'm up."

"Sure. I can do that.” Andy had already written the note, but she'd go through the motions anyway, just to make it look good.

"It's awfully hot in here, don't you think?” Georgina said.

Andy smiled. “It must be because you're dressed for the arctic."

"Oh?” Georgina looked down her body. “I guess you're right."

"I normally just sleep in a T-shirt,” Andy said. “My dad used to sleep with nothing on, until I told him it was gross. Now he wears boxer shorts in bed. What do you sleep in?"

"When it's hot, I sleep in a T-shirt,” Georgina said

"It's hot now,” Andy said firmly. She noticed that Georgina had blushed at the mention of her dad. That was a good sign. All she needed now was to get them talking to each other.

"You are right,” Georgina agreed. “I'm sweltering. I'll change while you go down to leave the note for your father."

It was almost too easy, Andy gloated as she skipped down to her floor. Georgina had never even stopped to ask what kind of problem had come up with Mrs. Donati, and it had been a piece of cake getting Georgina to change out of those awful clothes into something her dad would like better.

Andy fished out the key that hung on a string attached with a safety pin to the inside of her shorts pocket, unlocked the door, and went inside. She read again the note she'd written earlier, and chuckled out loud. Her dad would be, like, what the hell's going on, when he got it. He'd be in Georgina's apartment like a shot.

She tacked the note on the cork notice board in the hall and raced back upstairs.

Georgina was putting fresh sheets on the bed in the guestroom when Andy rang the doorbell again.

"Do you want to help me with this?” Georgina asked as they trooped together through the apartment.

"Sure."

Andy dashed around, tucking in corners with a competent air. Georgina bet she did all the housework while her father watched football on TV and drank gallons of beer.

"It's almost ten,” Georgina said with a quick glance at her wrist. “What's your bedtime?"

"Nine on school nights, ten or eleven at the weekend, depending on what's on TV."

"We don't have the TV on, so I guess it's got to be ten,” Georgina said.

"Maybe we could talk a while.” Andy fidgeted with her hair, peering timidly at Georgina. “Huh, it's hot in here. Are you cooler now?"

"Yes.” Georgina inspected the white T-shirt with a scooped neckline that kept falling off her shoulders. Her legs were bare. She tugged at the fabric to pull it away from her damp skin. “It was a good idea to change."

Andy wriggled out of her shorts, folding them neatly and placing them on the chair. The black top reached past her hips. With a bounce, she threw herself on the bed and stretched out. Then she grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest, leveling an earnest gaze at Georgina. “Can I ask you something?"

Georgina sat down on the opposite side of the bed, folding up her legs. She'd been boxed in. Girl talk was on the agenda next, whether she wanted it or not.

"Sure,” she said, with an easy grace that stemmed from her willingness to accept her defeat. “Fire away."

"How old were you when your mom died?"

"I was four. It wasn't just my mom. My mom and dad died at the same time. It was a car crash. A juggernaut driver fell asleep and crossed to the wrong side of the road. The car was totally flattened. It had to be cut open like a sardine tin to get their bodies out."

"What's a juggernaut?"

"A huge transport vehicle. I think you'd call it a tractor-trailer."

"Why were you not in the car with them?"

"I was at home with a baby-sitter. My parents had gone out to dinner, and they never came back."

"Who brought you up? Did you go to an orphanage?"

"No. I went to live with my grandmother."

"Was she nice to you?"

Georgina selected her words carefully. She'd thought about it many times, but apart from Annabel she'd never confided in anyone.

"She tried her best, but she wasn't very good with children. She had never had any of her own. She wasn't really even related to me. She was my father's stepmother."

"Was there nobody else to take care of you?"

"My other grandparents didn't want me. They traveled a lot, and they thought a child would tie them down. My mother had argued with them when she married my father, so I'd never even met them until my parents died. It was decided I'd go to Grandma Ethel."

Andy's eyes were intense on Georgina's. “What was she like?"

"She was very strict and old-fashioned.” Georgina's voice shook a little as she felt the memories flooding back. “I wasn't allowed to dress the same as other kids, which set me apart. And when I first started school I spoke like her, using old-fashioned expressions. People thought I was weird."

"Did you have any friends?"

"Not really.” Georgina reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Andy's ear. “I did love my grandmother, and I know that she loved me. She was just not very good at showing it. I wasn't unhappy."

"My mom doesn't love me,” Andy said quietly.

"Why do you think that?"

"She's a drug addict. Sometimes she'd forget to feed me. When I was really small, I got sick all the time because she forgot to feed me, or change my diapers. Sometimes she left me alone in the house and went out. Half the time I was in foster homes because the social services took me away."

"It's an illness,” Georgina said softly. “She can't help it."

"She could at least try, if I was important enough to her."

Georgina bit her lip. She couldn't really argue with that. “How old were you when your mom and dad split up?” she asked.

"They were never together.” Andy's face lost its sadness and broke into an impish grin. “I'm the product of a careless one-night stand."

"What?” Georgina burst out laughing. “Who told you that?"

"My mom's sister. Sometimes my mom sent me to stay with her. I used to sneak out and listen to her talking on the phone with her friends."

"Is she the one who called your mom a good for nothing dope-head who should never have been allowed to have kids?"

Andy gave a reluctant nod. “Yeah."

"I thought it might have been your father,” Georgina admitted.

"No way,” Andy cried. “He's always defending her."

"Where was he?” Georgina demanded. “Why wasn't he around to help?"

"He didn't know I existed. My mom didn't know who my dad was. My dad didn't know I existed until two years ago."

"I don't understand.” Georgina sat up straight on the bed and scrutinized Andy. “How come you are with him now, if he didn't know about you?"

"Do you think we look alike?” Andy asked.

Georgina took stock of the dark hair and the extraordinary black eyes. The likeness didn't stop there. It was also in the square jaw and the full mouth. It simply wasn't obvious because the miniature version was feminine, and the grown-up original was so totally masculine.