“How do you know?” Paul asks, still mildly but asking for trouble. I want to tell him to justshut up. But the damage is done.
“Because,” Jack barks, “I’m not a rookie. I’ve been asking people questions for twenty years, so I know how to ask them about her without tipping my hand. She hasn’t approached them. And she hasn’t approached you. She knew you were Mom’s lawyer but couldn’t get herself to call.”
“Did you tell her what Paul just told us?” I ask.
“Hell, no,” he replies, only marginally softer. “It’s not her business. The money’s gone, my mother’s dead, we’ll never know for sure what happened on that boat. End of story. So why not let her stay in town? She needs the money. And she likes it here.”
“She said that?” I ask.
“Yeah, and I believe that one, too. I’ve seen her on the beach. And working at Anne’s. She’s having fun. She isn’t a bad kid.”
“What about the PI?”
“They broke up.”
“That didn’t last long.”
“No, but I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I feel sorry for her. She seems lost. She could be a server anywhere, but she has a connection to this place. And then there’s Anne, who doesn’t need the complication of finding a replacement. So, anyway, I told her not to leave. I said it’d be a helluva lot easier keeping tabs on her if she’s here in town.”
“You didn’t say that,” I chide.
“Sure did,” he says with a snide grin. “Naturally, she took it totally the wrong way, like I’m a relative looking out for her welfare. But I’m just being realistic. She can go back to Boise and do research if she wants. She can do research from wherever. If she’s here, she’s visible.”
“I buy her interpretation,” I say. “You’re a softie.”
“It was a decent thing to do,” Paul adds
Jack straightens. Unfolding his arms, he extends one behind me so that the side of his hand hits my shoulder. He doesn’t hold me exactly. But it’s a statement. “Some of us do know what decency is.”
“Jack,” I warn, knowing where he’s heading.
But Paul is up for the challenge. “Okay. Spit it out.”
“She grew up being hurt.” No doubt who thesheis. “With Tom dead, that’s over. I don’t want it starting up again from you.”
“And how might I do that?” Paul asks.
“Paul,” I caution, knowing how tenacious Jack can be.
“No, no,” he reassures me, “this is good. Let’s air it.” He sits forward just enough to squarely face Jack. “How might I hurt her?”
“By disappearing again.”
“I never disappeared. I was always here.”
“Skulking in the shadows.”
“I don’t skulk, and if I’ve been in the shadows, it’s out of respect for Eleanor and Tom.”
“And now?”
“Now, what?”
“Are you promising things you can’t deliver?”
“Like what?”
“Affection. Loyalty. Support.”
