Jonathan Kellerman - Alex 04 - Silent Partner

by Silent Partner

"Trashy magazines. One square inch of black-and-white in the back along with pitches for military schools, stuff-envelopes-and-make-a-fortune schemes, and Oriental pen pals. Only reason I found out is, one of my patients sent away for it and brought the cassette in to show me. 'Use the Behavioral Approach to Quit Smoking,' the Ratman's name right there on the plastic, along with this tacky mimeographed brochure listing his academic credentials. He actually narrates the damned thing, D., in that pompous monotone. Trying to sound compassionate, as if he'd been working with people instead of rodents all these years."

  He gave a disgusted look. "Union cards."

  '"Is he making any money?"

  "If he is, he sure ain't spending it on clothes."

  Larry's beeper went off. He pulled it off his belt, held it to his ear for a moment. "The service. 'Scuse me, D."

  He stopped a waiter, asked for the nearest phone, and was directed to the big white house. 1 watched him duck-walk through the formal gardens, then got up, ordered another gin and tonic, and stood there at the bar drinking it. enjoying the anonymity. I was starting to feel comfortably fuzzy when 1 heard something that set off an internal alarm.

  Familiar tones, inflections.

  A voice from the past.

  1 told myself it was imagination. Then 1 heard the voire again and searched the crowd.

  I saw her, over several sets of shoulders.

  A time-machine jolt. I tried to look away, couldn't.

  Sharon, exquisite as ever.

  I knew her age without calculating. Thirty-four. A birthday in May. May 15—how strange to still

  remember.

  I stepped closer, got a better look: maturity but no diminution of beauty.

  A face out of a cameo.

  Oval, fine-boned, clean-jawed. The hair thick, wavy, black and glossy as caviar, brushed back from a high, flawless forehead, spilling over square shoulders. Milk-white complexion, unfashionably sun-shy. High cheekbones gently defined, rouged naturally with coins of dusty rose. Small, close-set ears, a single pearl in each. Black eyebrows arching above wide-set, deep-blue eyes. A thin, straight nose, gently flaring nostrils.

  I remembered the feel of her skin... pale as porcelain but warm, always warm. I craned to get a better view.

  She had on a knee-length navy-blue linen dress, short-sleeved and loose-fitting. Unsuccessful camouflage: the contours of her body fought the confines of the dress and won. Full, soft breasts, wasp waist, rich flare of hip tapering to long legs and sculpted ankles. Her arms were smooth white stalks. She wore no rings or bracelets, only the pearl studs and a matching string of opera-length pearls that rode the swell of her bosom. Blue pumps with medium heels added an inch to her five and a half feet. In one hand was a matching blue purse. The other hand caressed it.

  No wedding ring.

  So what?

  With Robin at my side, I would have taken brief notice.

  Or so I tried to convince myself.

  I couldn't keep my eyes off her.

  She had her eyes on a man—one of the swans, old enough to be her father. Big square bronze face corrugated with deep seams. Narrow, pale eyes, brush-cut hair the color of iron filings. Well-built, despite his age, and perfectly turned out in double-breasted blue blazer and gray flannel slacks.

  Oddly boyish—one of those youthful older men who populate the better clubs and resorts and are able to bed younger women without incurring snickers.

  Her lover?

  What business was that of mine?

  I kept staring. Romance didn't seem to be what was fueling her attention. The two of them were off in one corner and she was arguing with him, trying to convince him of something. Barely moving her lips and straining to look casual. He just stood there, listening.

  Sharon at a party: it didn't fit. She'd hated them as much as I had.

  But that had been a long time ago. People change. Lord knew that applied to her.

  I raised my glass to my lips, watched her tug on one earlobe—some things stayed the same.

  I edged closer, bumped into a matron's padded haunch and received a glare. Mumbling apologies, I pressed forward. The crush of drinkers was unyielding. I wedged my way through, seeking a voyeur's vantage— deliciously close but safely out of view. Telling myself it was just curiosity.

  Suddenly she turned her head and saw me. She pink-ened with recognition and her lips parted. We locked in on each other. As if dancing.

  Dancing on a terrace. A nest of lights in the distance. Weightless, formless...

  I felt dizzy, bumped into someone else. More apologies.

  Sharon kept looking straight at me. The brush-cut man was facing the other way, looking contemplative.

  I retreated further, was swallowed by the crowd, and returned to the table short of breath, clutching my glass so tightly my fingers hurt. I counted blades of grass until Larry returned.

  "The call was about the baby," he said. "She and her little playmate got into a fight. She's tantrumming and insisting on being taken home. The other girl's mother says they're both hysterical—overtired. I've got to go pick her up, D. Sorry."

  "No problem. I'm ready to leave myself." "Yeah, turned out to be pretty turgid, didn't it? But at least I got a look at La Grande Maison's entry hall—big

  enough to skate in. We're in the wrong business, D."

  "What's the right business?"

  "Marry it young, spend the rest of your life pissing it away."

  He looked back at the mansion, cast his eyes over the grounds. "Listen Alex, it was good seeing you—little male pair-bonding, hostility release. How about we get together in a couple of weeks, shoot some pool at the Faculty Club, ingest some cholesterol?"

  "Sounds great."

  "Terrific. I'll call you."

  "Look forward to it, Larry."

  Buttressed by our lies, we left the party.

  He was eager to get going but offered to drive me home. I said I'd rather walk, waited with him while the bearded valet fetched his keys. The Chevy station wagon had been repositioned for quick exit. And washed. The valet held the door open and expectorated a mouthful of "sirs" as he waited for Larry to get comfortable. When Larry put the key in the ignition, the valet shut the door gently and held his palm out smiling.

  Larry looked over at me. I winked. Larry grinned, rolled up the window and started the engine. I strolled past the cars, heard the wheeze of the Chevy's engine followed by curses muttered in some Mediterranean language. Then, a clatter and squeal as the wagon accelerated. Larry zipped past, stuck out his left hand and waved.

  I'd walked several yards when I heard someone calling. Thinking nothing of it, I didn't break step.

  Then the call took on volume and clarity.

  "Alex!"

  I looked over my shoulder. Navy-blue dress. Swirl of black hair. Long white legs running.

  She caught up with me, breasts heaving, upper lip pearled with sweat.

  "Alex! It really is you. I can't believe it!"

  "Hello, Sharon. How've you been?" Dr. Witty.

  "Just fine." She touched her ear, shook her head. "No,

  you're one person to whom I don't have to pretend. No, I haven't been fine, not at all."

  The ease with which she'd slipped into familiarity, the effortless erasure of all that had passed between us, raised my defenses.

  She stepped closer. I smelled her perfume—soap and water tinged with fresh grass and spring flowers.

  "I'm sorry to hear that," I said.

  "Oh, Alex." She placed two fingers upon my wrist. Let them rest there.

  I felt her heat, was jolted by a rush of energy below my waist. All at once I was rock-hard. And furious about it. But alive, for the first time in a long while.

  "It's so good to see you, Alex." That voice, sweet and creamy. The midnight eyes sparkled.

  "Good to see you too." It came out thick and intense, nothing like the indifference I'd aimed for. Her fingers were burning a hole in my wrist. I dislodged her, put my hands in my pock
ets.

  If she sensed rejection, she didn't show it, just let her arm fall to her side and kept smiling.

  "Alex, it's so funny we should run into each other like this—pure ESP. I've been wanting to call you."

  "About what?"

  A triangle of tongue tip moved between her lips and licked away the sweat I'd coveted. "Some issues that have... come up. Now's not a good time, but if you could find some time to talk, I'd appreciate it."

  "What issues would we talk about after all these years?"

  Her smile was a quarter-moon of white light. Too immediate. Too wide.

  "I was hoping you wouldn't be angry after all these years."

  "I'm not angry, Sharon. Just puzzled."

  She worried her earlobe. Her fingers flew forward and grazed my cheek before dropping. "You're a good guy, Delaware. You always were. Be well."

  She turned to leave. I took hold of her hand and she stopped.

  "Sharon, I'm sorry things aren't going well for you."

  She laughed, bit her lip. "No, they really aren't. But that's not your problem."

  Even as she said it, she came closer, kept coming. I realized 1 was pulling her toward me, but with only the faintest pressure; she was allowing herself to be reeled in.

  I knew at that moment that she'd do anything I wanted, and her passivity touched off a strange melange of feelings within me. Pity. Gratitude. The joy of being needed, at last.

  The weight between my legs grew oppressive. I

  dropped her hand.

  Our faces were inches apart. My tongue strained against my teeth like a snake in a jar.

  A stranger using my voice said, "If it means that much to you, we can get together and talk."

  "It means a lot to me," she said.

  We made a lunch date for Monday.

  THE MOMENT she disappeared behind the gates, I knew it had been a mistake. But I wasn't sure I regretted it.

  Back home, I checked with my service, hoping for a call from Robin, something to make me regret it.

  "Your board is clear, Dr. Delaware," said the operator. I thought I detected pity in her voice, told myself I was getting paranoid.

  That night I went to sleep with a head full of erotic images. Some time during the early morning hours I had a wet dream. I woke sticky and cranky, and knew, without having to reason it out, that I was going to break the date with Sharon. Not looking forward to it, I went through the motions of a normal morning—showering, shaving, swallowing coffee, dictating reports, killed another couple of hours filing and skimming journals. At noon Mal Worthy called and asked me to reserve Wednesday for a deposition on the Darren Burkhalter case.

  "Working on Sunday, Mal?"

  "Brunch," he said. "Waiting for a table. Evil never rests;

  neither can the good guys. Going to be seven attorneys on the other side, Alex. Have your bullshit detector finely tuned."

  "Why the army?"

  "Multiple pockets. The other driver's insurance company has assigned two of their downtown hotshots; the estate's sending another. The drunk who rammed them was a fairly successful building contractor—there're some bucks involved. I told you about the brakes, which gives us the auto manufacturer's mouthpiece and the one representing the dealer who serviced the car. The restaurant that served him the drinks makes six. Add to that a county attorney because we're claiming inadequate lighting and insufficient cones around the ditch, and you've got seven in toto. Intimidated?"

  "Should I be?"

  "Nope. It's quality that counts, not quantity, right? We'll do it at my office, get a little home-base advantage. I'll start by reading off your qualifications, and as usual, one of them will cut it off before it gets too hoo-ha and stipulate to your expertise. You've done this before; you know the whole thing's supposed to be fact-finding, polite, but I'll be there to cover your ass if it starts to get nasty. The insurance guys will probably put up the biggest kick—their liability is clearest and they've got the most to lose. My hunch is that, rather than attack your information per se, they'll question the validity of early childhood trauma as a concept—is it scientific fact or just shrinky bullshit. And even if it is, how durable is the damage? Can you prove that a traumatic experience at eighteen months will warp poor little Darren for life."

  "Never said I could."

  "I know that and you know that, but please be more subtle on Wednesday. The important thing is they can't prove he'll be fine. And if it goes to trial, believe me, I'll make damn sure the burden of proof will be on them. A jury is going to feel mighty sorry for a cute little tyke who wakes up from a car nap only to see his father's head sailing over the back seat and landing right next to him.

  Videotaping your sessions was a beautiful touch, Alex. The kid comes across wonderfully vulnerable. In a trial situation, I'd get to show every second of footage—all that hyper stuff—along with the Polaroids from the accident. Nothing like a bloody head to get the old sympathy juices flowing, huh?"

  "Nothing like it."

  "A jury will fucking believe the concept, Alex. They'll see no way this kid could ever be normal again—and let's face it, can any of us guarantee something like that could ever heal? The other side knows that. They've already thrown out hints of settlement offers—penny-ante bullshit. So it's just a question of how much, how soon. Your job will be to tell it like it is, but don't get too academic. Just stick to the old 'to the best of my psychological knowledge' line and we'll be fine. I've got my actuary working overtime, want to hook these bastards so tight they'll be paying Darren's rent at the old-age home."

  He paused, added, "It's only fair, Alex. Denise's life is shattered. It's the only way for someone like her to beat the system."

  "You're a white knight, Mal."

  "Something eating at you?" He sounded genuinely hurt.

  "No, everything's fine. Just a little tired."

  "You're sure?"

  "I'm sure."

  He said nothing for a moment. "All right, just as long as we're communicating."

  "We're communicating perfectly, Mal. Quality, not quantity."

  He was silent for a moment, then said, "Rest up and take care of yourself, doc. I want you in peak shape when you're dealing with the seven dwarfs."

  I called Sharon just after noon. A machine answered—my year for them. ("Hello, this is Dr. Ransom. I'm not in right now, but I'm very interested in receiving your message

  Even on tape the sound of her voice brought back memories... the feel of her fingers on my cheek.

  All at once I had to be rid of her, decided to do it now. I waited for the emergency beeper number that therapists typically include at the end of their tapes. But she didn't mention one.

  Beep.

  I said, "Sharon, this is Alex. Can't make Monday. Good luck."

  Short and sweet.

  Dr. Heartbreaker.

  An hour later her face was still in my mind, a pale, lovely mask drifting in and out of my consciousness.

  I tried to chase the image away, succeeded only in making it more vivid. I surrendered to reminiscence, told myself I was being a horny jerk, allowing my little head to think for my big one. Nevertheless, I sank deeper into time-buffered memories and began wondering if I'd done the right thing by breaking the date.

  At one, hoping to exchange one lovely mask for another, I phoned San Luis Obispo. Robin's mother answered.

  "Yes?"

  "This is Alex, Rosalie."

  "Oh. Hello."

  "Is Robin there?"

  "No."

  "Do you know when she'll be back?"

  "She's out. With friends."

  "I see."

  Silence.

  "So, how's the baby, Rosalie?"

  "Fine."

  "Okay, then. Please tell her I called."

  "All right."

  '"Bye."

  Click.

  The privilege of owning a mother-in-law without having to do the paperwork.

  Monday, I struggled through the morning paper,
hoping the venality and low-mindedness of international politics would cast my problems in a trivial light. It proved effective, until I finished the paper. Then that old empty feeling returned.

  I fed the fish, did a wash, went down to the carport, started up the Seville, and drove into South Westwood to do some grocery shopping. Somewhere between frozen foods and canned goods I realized my basket was empty; I left the supermarket without buying a thing.