Herndon’s head came up, and his eyes brightened with excitement. “You mean it, Layne?”
“Sure. You keep this thing from hurting us, and you’re in.” Then a hard light came to Russell’s eyes. “But if you blow it, Phil, it’s all over. You’ll be selling insurance instead of being attorney general!”
“I’ll handle it, Layne!” Herndon got to his feet, and hope brightened his eyes. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’m going to stay right on top of it.”
After Herndon left the office, he went to a public phone booth and closed the door behind him. Picking up the receiver, he dialed a number. When a voice answered, he said quickly, “Johnny? This is Phil. Gotta talk to you. Meet me at Banyon’s.” He listened as the voice posed a question, then said carefully, “It could come to that, Johnny. We’ll do what we can to keep it easy—but if that doesn’t work—it might have to be a contract job. We’ll talk about it.” He hung up and stepped out of the booth. A look of satisfaction came to his face.
“Attorney general!” he said to himself.
Then the smile faded, and a look of grim determination came into his brown eyes. “Nobody’s going to stand in my way,” he muttered, then walked with a new sense of purpose as he left the building.
When Dani came into the kitchen, she found her younger sister sitting at the dinette table staring out the window.
“Mom’s sleeping late, I guess. You’re up early, aren’t you?” Dani said brightly. “What’s the occasion?”
“I just couldn’t sleep.”
The brevity of the reply caught Dani’s attention, and she considered Allison’s expression thoughtfully. She’s worried about something. I know that look. She moved to the counter, put four spoonfuls of coffee into the Mr. Coffee machine, added water, and threw the switch. “How about if I make us an omelet?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You will be when I get this masterpiece done,” Dani said. She was not particularly hungry herself, but making breakfast would provide a good opportunity to talk to Allison.
As she gathered the contents for the omelet, she talked casually about unimportant things. When the omelet was done, she slid it onto a blue and white plate, then brought it to the table. “Here, you’ll just have to eat half of this. If I eat it all, it’ll go right to fat.”
Sitting down she bowed her head and prayed briefly, then began to cut the omelet with a fork. “We haven’t had much time to talk, have we, Sweetie? What’s happening with you?”
Allison was cutting her half of the omelet into rectangular portions, but her mind was not on it. She said offhandedly, “Oh, nothing, I guess.”
“Come on, now—I know that look,” Dani said. “What’s bothering you?”
Allison’s blue eyes were fixed on her plate, but when she lifted them and looked across the table, Dani knew the girl was troubled. “Oh, Dani, I get so mixed up sometimes!”
“Well, join the club,” Dani nodded. “Wish I could tell you that it’d all go away, that when you get older you’ll have perfect control over everything—but you know that’s not so.” She sipped her coffee, then shook her head. “You’ve seen your big sister muddling around too much to believe that.” She leaned forward, her eyes intent, saying, “Come on, Sweetie—what’s the problem?”
Allison was wearing a pair of pajamas with a cuddly bear on the front, and her hair fell about her face as it had done when she was younger. She looks about ten years old, Dani thought suddenly. She was a sensitive girl, this younger sister of hers, more than she herself had been—which was saying a lot.
“There’s this boy at school,” Allison said in a subdued voice. “He’s the most popular boy in the whole school, Dani. And he likes me!”
When Allison paused, Dani said quickly, “Well, who wouldn’t like you, Allison Ross?”
“I could give you a list,” Allison replied with a trace of bitterness.
“What does that mean? You’ve always had good friends.”
“Oh, sure—girl friends,” Allison shot back. “But I’ve never had a real boyfriend.”
“And here you are at the creaky old age of sixteen!”
Allison said, “Oh, don’t make fun of me, Dani!”
“I’m not making fun, Sweetie,” Dani said quickly. “Do you think I can’t remember what it’s like growing up?” She laughed shortly, adding, “Whenever I hear people talking about the ‘golden days of youth,’ I want to throw up!”
“Really, Dani?”
“Sure. I can remember very few days of my ‘golden youth’ when I wasn’t scared or embarrassed.”
“What were you afraid of?”
“Oh, lots of things,” Dani smiled briefly. “Afraid that I’d grow up to be too tall. Afraid that my face would never clear up. Terrified that no boy would ever like me enough to go on a date.”
Allison had forgotten the omelet. She leaned forward, wonder in her eyes. “I didn’t know you were like that!”
“I think all girls are like that,” Dani answered. “Even beauty queens. I read a story once about them. The writer said every one of them he interviewed had one thing in common—they were all unhappy about the way they looked.”
Allison sat there, thinking, and Dani knew that she was trying to get up enough nerve to tell the real problem. Finally she said, “Well—his name is Mark Gordon. And he goes with lots of girls, Dani. We worked together on a science project when the semester started.”
“He make any moves on you?”
Allison stared at her sister, then flushed rosily. “He tried to kiss me once—” then added quickly, “But I wouldn’t let him.”
“Good-looking, I’ll bet.”
“A dream—an absolute dream!” Allison’s cheeks glowed for a moment, then she looked down. “I think he’s going to ask me to go to a party, Dani.”
“Well, that’s fine, isn’t it?”
“I guess so—but he may ask Megan Loy.”
“Oh, fuzz! You can beat out any old girl named Megan!”
But Allison didn’t respond to Dani’s mild teasing. She twisted her fingers together, obviously longing to say more, but somehow couldn’t get it out. Dani thought carefully, then said, “Let me make a guess about Megan Loy. I guess she’s pretty wild.”
Allison’s head shot up, her eyes wide with astonishment. “How’d you know that? Did somebody tell you about her?”
“No, Allison, but I’m a private detective, you know. When you said that Mark went with lots of girls, that he tried to kiss you, and that he might go with Megan, I put it all together and made a deduction.” Dani sipped her coffee thoughtfully, then said, “What I guess is that you’re bumping into modern morality. The boys want sex, and they’ll go with the girls who’ll provide that. So you’re trying to decide if you’re willing to go the way of the crowd in order to get Mark Gordon.”
“I—I don’t want to be that kind of girl—like Megan Loy,” Allison whispered. “All the kids make jokes about her. But—”
When Allison halted abruptly, Dani said quickly, “It was no different for me, so don’t think this is something new, Allison. I was blind with adoration for a boy named Ted Brickell when I was about your age. And I had to make the same kind of decision.”
“But wasn’t it hard?”
“It’s always hard to do the right thing—always!” Dani shook her head and her lips grew tight. “This isn’t a modern thing, Allison. It’s been going on a long time. Do you remember the story of Joseph?”
“Most of it, I guess.”
“When I was mooning over Ted Brickell—and just about ready to pay the price he was asking—Dad asked me to read the story of Joseph. I don’t know how he found out I was about to do the wrong thing, because I never told a soul. But he must have known,” she added, “because he just said one day that he’d like me to read Genesis 39. I did—and it made all the difference.”
“What does it say? I can’t remember that chapter.”
“Well, Joseph had been sold into slave
ry by his brothers, and he was a slave in the house of an officer of Pharaoh, named Potiphar. But God blessed him greatly—so much so that he actually ruled over the whole house of Potiphar.”
“I remember,” Allison said slowly. “Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she did.”
“The first time I read that,” Allison said, “I was shocked. I didn’t think anything so—so sexy would be in the Bible!”
“The Bible is a book about men and women,” Dani responded. “And one of the proofs that it’s true is that it never overlooks the flaws of mankind. If the Bible were written by men, and not given by the Spirit of God, quite a bit of it would have been left out, because we don’t like to record our faults.”
Allison nodded slowly. “I remember now. Potiphar’s wife took hold of his coat and tried to pull him into bed, but Joseph just tore out of there and left his coat in her hand.”
“That’s what happened. And you’ll remember that Joseph paid a pretty high price.”
“Yes, the woman told her husband that Joseph had tried to rape her. As a result, Potiphar had him put in prison.” Allison frowned, saying, “That must have been awful for Joseph, being put in prison for something he didn’t even do!”
“It was tough,” Dani agreed, “but I can think of something that would have been worse.”
“What could be worse than being put in jail for something you didn’t even do?”
“Remember the story of Joseph after he was thrown in prison?”
“He interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and became the most important man in Egypt, next to the Pharaoh.”
“That’s right. And because of this, he was able to save his family back in Judah from starving when a famine came. But suppose he’d given in to Potiphar’s wife. It would have been easy, wouldn’t it? But if he had, he’d never have been in prison, and he’d never have been Pharaoh’s second in command. He’d have died a slave in Egypt, and his family back home would have suffered.”
Allison’s face was thoughtful. She looked at Dani with a faint smile. “I guess it’s not so important that I go to that party with Mark Gordon.”
Dani got up and walked around the table. “I think you’re super cool, Allison Ross!” She leaned over and gave the girl a hard hug, then kissed her on the cheek. Allison grabbed her and held her for a long moment. When she finally released her, she said, “It’s good to have a sister—especially one who’s a detective and can deduce stuff!”
Dani laughed, hugging her again, then stood up. “I’m late. You can have the whole omelet.”
“Okay.”
Dani started to leave, but the phone rang at that moment. She picked it up and said, “Hello?”
Ben’s voice came to her, “Hey, Boss, glad I caught you.”
“What’s up, Ben?”
“Sunny thought somebody was trying to get into her place. She called me, so I went over and checked it out.”
“When did all this happen?”
“Oh, about three this morning. I didn’t find anything, but Sunny was pretty scared, so I hung around to run the monsters off.”
Dani asked tightly, “You’re still there? You’ve been at her apartment since three this morning?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, if you can tear yourself away, come to the office!”
Dani slammed the phone down harder than necessary, and was suddenly aware that Allison was staring at her. She found her face growing warm, and said inanely, “That was Ben.”
Allison asked, “Are you jealous?”
“Me?”
“You’re the only one here besides me.”
“Oh, don’t be silly, Allison!”
“I’ve seen Sunny Sloan. She’s a real dish.”
“She’s on television. It’s part of her trade to look nice.”
“She’s a yummy.”
“She’s a what?”
“A yummy. When guys look at some girls they say, ‘She’s a yummy.’”
Dani felt Allison’s gaze and became more uncomfortable. “I don’t think it’s wise for one of my employees to be with a client all night.”
“You didn’t say anything when Ben had to stay with that woman in Yazoo City,” Allison said relentlessly. “But she was sixty-two years old and fat.”
“The circumstances were—different,” Dani said, faltering. “I’ve got to run,” she blurted out.
“Do you love Ben?”
Dani stared at her sister, knowing that she was going to have to be honest. She’d taught Allison all her life that honesty was the foundation of all true relationships, and now she was going to have to measure up.
“Allison—I don’t know the answer to that,” she said carefully. “Ben’s so different from any other man I’ve known. We were thrown together in that silo and had to learn to trust each other to stay alive. He saved my life, and that’s something I’ll always be grateful to him for.” She hesitated, then faced Allison, saying, “He’s kissed me a few times—and I have to say that I felt something—more than I should, I guess.”
“He loves you, Dani,” Allison said quietly. “I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you.”
Dani felt trapped, and finally said, “If Ben were a Christian, I’d marry him, I think. But we’re not one on that—and to me it would be wrong to try to put my life with a man unless we agreed on the most important thing of all.”
Suddenly, Dani felt tears begin to gather, and said quickly, “We’ll talk some more when I get home, okay?”
“Okay. And Dani—thanks!”
Allison sat at the table long after Dani left, and when her mother finally came in and asked what she’d been doing, she said, “Oh, just talking to Dani about stuff.”
10
Witness on Death Row
* * *
By the time Dani got to her office, she had attained an exterior semblance of peace, but the sight of Sunny threatened to ignite her temper. Put a cap on it, Ross, she told herself sternly when the sight of the reporter sitting gracefully on her couch giving Ben a dose of white teeth and big eyes stirred the embers.
“Sorry to be late,” she apologized briefly. Slipping out of her jacket, she walked to her desk, taking Sunny’s outfit in with one glance—a herringbone-patterned suit, the long jacket coming almost to the hem of the slim skirt. It was an outfit that should have made a woman look brisk and efficient, but it somehow emphasized the sleek sensuality of Sunny Sloan.
She’d look sexy in a pair of carpenter’s overalls! Dani thought, but resolutely forced herself to say, “I guess you had a rough night, Sunny.”
“I was petrified,” Sunny said at once. She looked up at Ben, who was lounging with his back against the wall, and came up with a smile measured in incandescent units. “Ben must hate it—having to watch over hysterical women all night long.”
“Goes with the territory,” Savage shrugged.
“Did someone try to break in?” Dani asked.
“I thought I heard someone trying the door,” Sunny answered. “But I was too afraid to look and see. All I could think of was Ben.”
Dani had the impulse to ask if she’d ever heard of the New Orleans Police Department, but resisted it nobly. “Well, I’m glad it was a false alarm.” She looked at the papers on her desk, then shrugged. “Work’s piled up. I’m going to have to wade through this.”
“Sunny thought we might go back to Baton Rouge,” Savage offered. “Some of those DEQ people know something.”
“That’s probably true,” Dani nodded. “Check back with me, Sunny, as soon as you get back.”
Sunny said, “Dani, I don’t think it’s safe for me to go alone. I think we’ve stirred up so much muddy water that whoever’s out to shut me up will try to get me. Couldn’t Ben go along?”
Sunny Sloan was not a small woman. Actually, she was Dani’s own height of five feet eight inches. But somehow, when she looked up at Savage for support, she seemed to make herself seem very small and vu
lnerable. She had a mobile face and complete control of her body in the way of dancers and gymnasts, so what Savage saw was a small, helpless, very young woman with an appealing face asking him for help.
“Might be a good idea, Boss,” he said, blandly unaware of Dani’s hard stare as he fell into the web. “Some pretty rough cookies out there.”
“I don’t want you over there, Ben,” Dani said instantly. “The police are sore as boils because you were set free. If they caught you inside the city limits, they’d find some excuse to jail you—or to give you a lump to match the one you’ve already got.”
Savage looked at Sunny, and felt pity for the poor girl who was staring at him in an appealing fashion. Dani was a worrying sort of woman, he reasoned, and had to be handled firmly. His jaw assumed the rather tight look that came when he was prepared to be stubborn, and he said with a rather insufferable air, “Oh, I’ll be all right, Boss. But we’ve got to take care of Sunny.”
Dani had run into this side of Savage’s character many times. From the first he’d treated her, at times, like a naughty little girl who needed the firm handling of a strong, understanding male. Nothing in him infuriated her so much as this “I’m big strong Daddy—and you’re my willful, cute little girl” attitude.
She stood there with anger rising in her, and wanted to scream at him, Wake up, Ben! She’s twisting you around her little pinkie! But she managed to say quietly—though her lips were somewhat tight—“Sunny, would you mind stepping outside for a moment. Ben and I have some confidential business to discuss. You understand.”
“Oh, certainly,” Sunny said. She rose from her chair, and Dani noted that Savage didn’t miss her progress out of the office.
“Ben, I’ve got an agency to run,” Dani said as soon as the door closed. “I know you want to tag along with Tinker Bell, but I don’t think she’s in much danger.”
Savage was relaxed, his back against the wall, but his dark eyes were alert as he studied his employer.
“I have a couple of days off coming. I could take them and tag along.”
“There’s no point in that, Ben,” Dani insisted. She was angry and it always disturbed her to lose control. But Ben Savage could be so provoking! “It’s not like she’s going into the inner city in the middle of the night. She’ll be all right.”
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