“Yes,” Stephanie whispered, although Craig knew from her mind that she was sure they had made it past the dangerous phase of bonding.
“Did you ever find out anything about the lawyer who sent the woman down here?”
“I didn’t pursue it.”
“Do you happen to know his name,” he pressed.
She hesitated, probably coping with all the sad memories he and Stephanie had dredged up. It would be kindest to let her be, but because they had come here for information, Craig gave her a push.If you know who the lawyer was, you should tell us. We’d really appreciate the information.
She was silent for several more moments, then said, “She came down here with the e-mail.”
“You mean from the lawyer?”
“Yes.” Mrs. Dubour got to her feet and left the room. While she was gone, they both waited tensely, wondering if she’d really be able to put her hands on the evidence. Finally, she returned holding a piece of paper. “Here it is.”
When she handed over the paper, Craig scanned it. It was from Lewis Martinson in Washington, DC.
“Thank you so much,” Stephanie said. “We really appreciate this.”
They talked to Mrs. Dubour for a few more minutes. When the woman stood up, her shoulders slumped.
“I’m sorry to have brought all this up for you,” Stephanie murmured.
“I hope it does some good.”
When they were back in the car, Stephanie turned to him, and he felt the relief in her mind.
“We could have ended up like David and that woman.”
“Yeah.”
“We both had a headache when we first made love. I guess that was a symptom of . . .”
“Getting ready to have a stroke,” he finished for her.
“What was the difference for them?”
“We can’t know for sure. Maybe the pain was too much for them to focus on the pleasure. Maybe they lost their nerve at the last minute, and when they didn’t bond, they’d already set the process in motion.”
When he saw a shiver go through her, he reached for her hand, holding tight.
“We got through it,” she said. “Thank God we didn’t understand the danger.”
“I guess it’s a crap shoot—how it turns out,” he said.
“I prefer to think that we had something they didn’t.”
He laughed. “We were hornier.”
She grinned, then sobered. “It looks like somebody wanted to get David and that woman together. Maybe to find out what would happen.”
“I don’t like being manipulated.”
“Likewise. How did you happen to come down to New Orleans?”
“I never gave up the idea of finding out who was responsible for Sam’s death, which was one of the reasons I maintained connections with police departments all over the U.S.”
“Interesting that the body turned up after all these years.”
