“What happened to you two?” he asked softly.
The images flashed through my mind, and I shuddered to myself.
“I have to get back to work,” I said softly and then walked away.
∞∞∞
“Well?” Daniel, who had been waiting for me back at my office, demanded the moment I stepped in.
“Well?” I threw the question back at him.
He stared at me for a minute as I walked to the cabinet and poured myself a scotch. I knew it was a bit too early to be drinking. In fact, I even knew that what happened last night was because I had drunk too much. And yet, if I was to survive the day, I would need all the help I could get.
“What happened to her?” Daniel asked.
“I took her back to my place, and once she was sober, she went home,” I stated simply.
“Are you still not going to explain yourself? You bailed on me and the boys for some strange girl who just happened to collapse on your feet,” Daniel said, looking at me with those piercing eyes of his.
“I have nothing to explain,” I said. “I felt a sense of responsibility of making sure that she got home safe. That’s all there is to it.”
“Do you know Stella has been asking about you? She called me last night,” Daniel said softly.
“What Stella says to you is none of my concern,” I snapped. “Keep me out of it.”
Daniel sighed, well aware that he wasn’t going to get any more information out of me.
“What are we doing about Mrs. Durrick,” he asked.
“Seth has a plan,” I said. “If he can slip the new witness up just enough during the cross-examination, he could discredit her account in front of the jury. We will call Mrs. Durrick to the stand, and after a heartfelt performance, the jury will yield in favor of the heartbroken wife.”
I knew that she could pull it off. After all, she managed to fool me too.
“And if you fail to discredit the witness?” Daniel probed.
“Our firm deals with everything,” I said softly. “While I don’t approve of such methods, if it has to be done, then it has to be done. The witness will be bought. Everyone has a price.”
“Does your father know?” he asked.
“Of course not,” I said. “And it would be better if he never found out. So let’s keep it that way, shall we?”
“I am worried about you, Gale,” he said softly. “I am worried that you still haven’t recovered from the pain Stella caused you. I am worried that you are still suffering, and I am scared that it’s making you into a person you are not.”
“You have nothing to worry about,” I said cooly. I thought back to the girl last night, and I once again questioned myself.Did I really do it because I felt it was my responsibility?Or did I do it because she reminded me of Stella? I knew I’d tried to deny it all this time, but it was the truth. Anyone else who saw them both would think I was crazy for seeing a resemblance; they looked so different.
But they both had the same strong, independent spirit. They both had the same look in their eyes. They both had the same lips, and – darn it – they both had the same smile. Both of them were nothing but a mistake.
