“He’s not your friend, Mr. Tripp,” I said. “He slept with your wife. He stole your money.”
“No,” Tripp said. “I’ll hear no more.”
He stood up. Chip stepped in beside him.
“You can’t stop me,” he said to Farrell. “Come on, kids.”
“Last chance,” I said to Tripp. “For all of you. You’ve got to look at this. You’ve got to stop pretending.”
“Get out of my way,” Tripp said again. His voice sounded strangled. “Not my wife, not with my friend.”
He moved past Farrell toward the door. Chip went with him, knotted with excitement, frantic to explode. Meredith stared at him with her mouth half open, motionless.
“Come along, Meredith,” Tripp said. Except that his voice was strangled, he spoke to her as if she were dawdling by a toy store.
“He’s . . . not . . . your . . . friend,” Meredith said.
“Meredith,” Tripp said. The squeezed-out voice was parental—exasperated, long-suffering—but not unloving.
“For crissake, Mere,” Chip said.
“He . . . was . . . fucking her,” Meredith said.
Tripp flinched. Chip’s face reddened.
“He was fucking me,” she said in a rush. “Since I was fourteen and he came in my room at one of those big parties.”
The silence in the room was stifling. No one moved. Meredith was rigid, her hands at her sides, a look of shock on her face.
“Jesus,” Chip said. “Mere, why didn’t you . . . ?”
“Dr. Faye says I was getting even with Mommy, and I wanted Daddy to . . .” She put both her hands suddenly over her mouth and pressed them, palm open, hard against her face, and slowly slid her back down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, her legs splayed in front of her. Chip looked at his father, who seemed frozen in time, then he went suddenly to his knees beside his sister and put his arms around her and pressed her head against his chest. She let him hold her there.
Loudon Tripp stared for a moment at both of them, and then, without looking at anyone else, he walked across my office and out the door and down the corridor past the two guys in their London Fogs. They looked in the office uncertainly. Farrell shook his head at them and they stepped away from the door. Stratton continued to sit in his chair with his head down, staring at the floor, contemplating his ruin.
Human voices wake us, and we drown.
forty-six
* * *
ON A BRIGHT Sunday morning, Susan and I took Pearl over to Harvard Stadium to let her run. We sat in the first row of the stands while Pearl coursed the football field alert for game birds, or Twinkie wrappers. Her nose was down, her tail was up, and her whole self seemed attenuated, as she raced back and forth over the field where generations of young Harvard men had so fiercely fought.
“Your name was in the paper this morning,” Susan said. She was wearing a black and lavender warm-up suit, and her dark hair shone in the sunshine.
“Did you cut it out and put it up on the refrigerator with a little magnet?”
“Most of the story was the Senator Stratton indictment. Detective Farrell is quoted extensively.”
Pearl spotted a covey of pigeons near the thirty-yard line and went into her low stalk. The closer she got, the slower she went, until finally the pigeons flew up and Pearl dashed to where they had been and wagged her tail.
“He did the work,” I said. “And he did it even though he wasn’t feeling too swell.”
“How are you feeling?” Susan said. “You did some work too.”
“Not enough,” I said.
“You’re worrying about the Tripps,” Susan said.
“Wouldn’t you?” I said.
“Up to a point,” Susan said. “You didn’t get them into this dysfunctional mess. You have done something to start getting them out of it.”
“By pulling the lid off,” I said.
Susan nodded. “By pulling the lid off. Someone had to. If it could have happened more gently, and more gradually, that would have been better. But you didn’t control that.”
I nodded.
Pearl finished hunting the stadium, and came up into the stands, and sat in front of us with her mouth open and her tongue hanging out.
“Dr. Faye is a well-respected and experienced therapist,” Susan said.
I nodded again. We were near the open end of the stadium. Across Soldiers Field Road, the river moved its oblivious way toward Boston Harbor.
Susan put her cheek against my shoulder.
“And,” she said, “you’re kind of cute.”
“There’s consolation in that,” I said.
I put Pearl’s leash on, and we stood and started out of the stands. Susan took my hand and we strolled back through the Harvard Athletic Complex toward the Larz Anderson Bridge. There was a red light at the pedestrian crossing. We stopped.
“What are you going to do about the murder?” Susan said.
“When Jefferson told me the truth that night,” I said, “there were six or eight dogs sleeping in the atrium.”
The light changed and we started across.
“I think I’ll let them lie.”
Click here to see a list of more books by this author
Robert B. Parker is the author of more than fifty books. He lived in Boston. Visit the author’s website at www.robertbparker.net.
THE SPENSER NOVELS
Sixkill
Painted Ladies
The Professional
Rough Weather
Now & Then
Hundred-Dollar Baby
School Days
Cold Service
Bad Business
Back Story
Widow’s Walk
Potshot
Hugger Mugger
Hush Money
Sudden Mischief
Small Vices
Chance
Thin Air
Walking Shadow
Paper Doll
Double Deuce
Pastime
Stardust
Playmates
Crimson Joy
Pale Kings and Princes
Taming a Sea-Horse
A Catskill Eagle
Valediction
The Widening Gyre
Ceremony
A Savage Place
Early Autumn
Looking for Rachel Wallace
The Judas Goat
Promised Land
Mortal Stakes
God Save the Child
The Godwulf Manuscript
THE JESSE STONE NOVELS
Split Image
Night and Day
Stranger in Paradise
High Profile
Sea Change
Stone Cold
Death in Paradise
Trouble in Paradise
Night Passage
THE SUNNY RANDALL NOVELS
Spare Change
Blue Screen
Melancholy Baby
Shrink Rap
Perish Twice
Family Honor
THE VIRGIL COLE/EVERETT HITCH NOVELS
Blue-Eyed Devil
Brimstone
Resolution
Appaloosa
ALSO BY ROBERT B. PARKER
A Triple Shot of Spenser
Double Play
Gunman’s Rhapsody
All Our Yesterdays
A Year at the Races
(with Joan H. Parker)
Perchance to Dream
Poodle Springs
(with Raymond Chandl
er)
Love and Glory
Wilderness
Three Weeks in Spring
(with Joan H. Parker)
Training with Weights
(with John R. Marsh)
Praise for Robert B. Parker’s
Walking Shadow
“WILL CAPTIVATE both longtime and soon-to-be-devoted Spenser lovers.”—Kirkus Reviews
“THE OPENING PREMISE IS PARTICULARLY DELICIOUS . . . neat jolts of action, crisp, witty dialogue, the signature understated, deadpan zingers that Spenser and Hawk toss off so effortlessly and a lean, mean narrative that rockets the book along. If you’re already a Spenser fan, you’ll like this one. If you’ve never read Robert B. Parker, welcome aboard. After Walking Shadow, you’ll have a lot of books to catch up on.”—The New York Times
“BRISK . . . the expected pleasures of an adroit Spenser adventure are here in full supply.”—Publishers Weekly
“ENTERTAINING, AS ALWAYS.”—The Boston Globe
“A REALLY GOOD STORY.”—Chicago Tribune
“PARKER REMAINS IN FINE FORM.”—San Antonio Express-News
“A DEFT STORYTELLER, a master of pace, with a plot that pulls us along like taillights vanishing down a dark highway. . . . The wisecracking, deadpan dialogue is as snappy as ever . . . sheer escapist entertainment.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer
“IN WALKING SHADOW PARKER IS NEAR HIS PEAK FORM. . . . In terms of dialogue, this is his funniest book in years . . . a terrific story.”—Mostly Murder
Praise for Robert B. Parker’s Spenser Novels
“One of the great series in the history of the American detective story.”—The New York Times
Hugger Mugger
Spenser hoofs it down south when someone makes death threats against a Thoroughbred race horse. . . .
“Brisk . . . crackling . . . Hugger Mugger finishes strong, just like a Thoroughbred.”—Entertainment Weekly
Hush Money
Two cases at once: Spenser must first find a killer in a swamp of university politics, then help a stalking victim only to find himself the one being stalked. . . .
“Spenser can still punch, sleuth, and wisecrack with the best of them.”—Publishers Weekly
Sudden Mischief
A charity fund-raiser is accused of sexual harassment by four women, but after Spenser investigates the charges, the do-gooder is wanted for a bigger offense: murder. . . .
“Smooth as silk.”—Orlando Sentinel
Small Vices
Spenser tries to solve the murder of a wealthy college student before the wrong man pays the price. . . .
“His finest in years . . . one can’t-put-it-down story.” —San Francisco Chronicle
Chance
Spenser heads to Vegas to find the missing husband of a mob princess, but he’s not the only one looking. . . .
“As brisk and clever as always.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
Thin Air
Spenser thought he could help a friend find his missing wife. Until he learned the nasty truth about Lisa St. Claire. . . .
“Full of action, suspense, and thrills.”—Playboy
Paper Doll
Spenser searches for the killer of a model wife and mother, and finds some shocking surprises. . . .
“It takes Robert B. Parker exactly two sentences to get the tension crackling.”—The New York Times
Double Deuce
Spenser and Hawk wage war on a street gang. . . .
“Mr. Spenser is at his best . . . tense . . . suspenseful . . . darkly poetic.”—The New York Times
Pastime
A boy’s search for his mother forces Spenser to face his own past. . . .
“Emotionally tense . . . gripping . . . vintage hard-core Spenser!”—Kirkus Reviews
Stardust
Spenser tries to protect a TV star from a would-be assassin. . . .
“Classic Spenser . . . brilliant.” —The New York Times Book Review
Playmates
Spenser scores against corruption in the world of college basketball. . . .
“A whole lotta fun . . . Kick back and enjoy.” —New York Daily News
THE SPENSER NOVELS
Sixkill
Painted Ladies
The Professional
Rough Weather
Now & Then
Hundred-Dollar Baby
School Days
Cold Service
Bad Business
Back Story
Widow’s Walk
Potshot
Hugger Mugger
Hush Money
Sudden Mischief
Small Vices
Chance
Thin Air
Walking Shadow
Paper Doll
Double Deuce
Pastime
Stardust
Playmates
Crimson Joy
Pale Kings and Princes
Taming a Sea-Horse
A Catskill Eagle
Valediction
The Widening Gyre
Ceremony
A Savage Place
Early Autumn
Looking for Rachel Wallace
The Judas Goat
Promised Land
Mortal Stakes
God Save the Child
The Godwulf Manuscript
THE JESSE STONE NOVELS
Split Image
Night and Day
Stranger in Paradise
High Profile
Sea Change
Stone Cold
Death in Paradise
Trouble in Paradise
Night Passage
THE SUNNY RANDALL NOVELS
Spare Change
Blue Screen
Melancholy Baby
Shrink Rap
Perish Twice
Family Honor
THE VIRGIL COLE/EVERETT HITCH NOVELS
Blue-Eyed Devil
Brimstone
Resolution
Appaloosa
ALSO BY ROBERT B. PARKER
A Triple Shot of Spenser
Double Play
Gunman’s Rhapsody
All Our Yesterdays
A Year at the Races
(with Joan H. Parker)
Perchance to Dream
Poodle Springs
(with Raymond Chandler)
Love and Glory
Wilderness
Three Weeks in Spring
(with Joan H. Parker)
Training with Weights
(with John R. Marsh)
Walking Shadow
ROBERT B. PARKER
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WALKING SHADOW
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PRINTING HISTORY
G. P. Putnam’s Sons hardcover edition / May 1994
Berkley mass-market edition / June 1995
Berkley premium edition / May 2008
Copyright © 1994 by Robert B. Parker.
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Robert B. Parker: The Spencer Novels 1?6 Page 85
