Milo said, “Consulting.”
That seemed to kick up Heck’s anxiety. A faint sheen of sweat had veneered his face. His hands were fisted tight, his eyes jumpy.
He said, “I don’t—”
Bel Geddes quieted him with a throat clear.
Milo said, “Good morning, folks. Here’s the deal, Mike.”
—
As he spoke, Heck shifted his body away from Bel Geddes. Subtly, less than an inch each time. By the time Milo was finished, over a foot gapped their chairs.
She noticed it and frowned. He avoided looking at her.
She said, “All right. I’m going to respond to all that—”
Heck said, “No,I’mgoing to respond because this comes down on me.”
“Michael, we—”
Heck waved her off. “Here’s the real deal, Lieutenant. I had nothing to do with any murders. Not Sophie’s, not that lady’s, no one’s. Ever. I’m not that person. Just a guy caught up in a…Did I screw up by going to jail for two days? You bet, it wasn’t fun.”
“Michael!” Bel Geddes’s arm landed on his sleeve. He shook it off.
“And for that I’m sorry, Lieutenant, but you need to know it wasn’t my idea in the first place. And I’m still the one who suffered. For real. Even for two days, that shithole is hell on earth, I’m not even going to describe some of—”
He wrung his hands. “Like a bad dream but yeah, I own it, my bad, I shouldn’t have agreed to it but she thought it was agreatidea.”
Bel Geddes talked fast and loud. “Oh no you don’t, mister! You do not do that. No, you donot.Whatever ensued was the product of a genuine attorney-client weighing of the relevant—”
“Cut the bullshit, Bettina. You thought of it and you convinced me.”
“I was looking out for you! For your welfare. Because until things were clarified you were going to have to spend at least some—”
“Bullshit, Bettina. You could’ve stopped it cold but you didn’t want your husband to find out what you were doing.Thenyou thought of the money shit and you went straight for it likea—”
“Shut up, moron!”
“Oh, so now I’m the moron.” Heck laughed.
Bel Geddes sprang to her feet, red-nailed hands curled into talons.
“You stupid, lacking-in-judgment son of a bitch! You should be thanking me, not trying to screw me.”
Michael Heck said, “Screwing’s already been taken care of.”
She moved toward him. Heck’s hands came up protectively.
Milo’s arm got between them.“Stop it. Now.”
Bettina Bel Geddes stood there, red-faced, panting, rocking laterally like a boxer seeking an opening.
“Sit down, Bettina.”
Bel Geddes remained on her feet.
Milo said, “If you’re gonna disrupt, leave. It’s Mike we’re interested in talking to.”
