Sara Paretsky - Burn Marks

Drink in hand, I jostled aimlessly through the crowd. Behind the refreshment tent people were gathered in a thick, noisy clump, loud enough to drown out the band. Beyond that group the throng thinned down rapidly- the land there was hilly and uncultivated, leading into a small wood.

The terrain and lack of chairs notwithstanding, most of the women were wearing nylons and heels. Two of them had come prepared, though-they were sitting on a blanket, stretching their long, tanned legs and taking innocent pleasure in their own beauty. As I passed they cried out to me in an enthusiastic chorus:

“Vic! Ernie told us you might be here. Come sit down. LeAnn’s pregnant and we didn’t want to spend the afternoon standing in the heat.”

I obligingly stopped for a moment. If LeAnn was pregnant it could only be a matter of months before Clara started a new baby as well. The two had been inseparable since childhood and now, adult and married, they lived in adjoining Oak Brook mansions, were in and out of each other’s houses all day long to borrow clothes, share a cup of coffee, or entertain their children together. And while Clara’s light curls contrasted with LeAnn’s straight dark hair, they looked almost indistinguishable in their Anne Klein shorts suits.

“You having a good time?” Clara asked.

“Great. When is the baby due?”

“Not until the end of March. We’re only telling friends right now.”

I smiled. That included about half the people at the picnic-anyone she knew by name.

I’d met them through Michael Furey. LeAnn was married to Ernie Wunsch and Clara to Ron Grasso. Michael’s continued tightness with the pals of his youth never ceased to astound me. Since leaving South Chicago for college I’ve scarcely seen any of the people I grew up with. But in addition to Ernie and Ron, Michael had seven or eight boyhood friends who got together once a month for poker, went to Eagle River each October to shoot deer, and spent every New Year’s Eve together with their wives. The pals were a major reason I’d never really clicked with Michael. Since I had gone out with him, though, LeAnn and Clara now treated me as if I were one of the girls.

I asked politely about the children, two each, and was gladdened to learn how much they loved school, how happy LeAnn was that they were in Oak Brook now and didn’t have to worry about the public schools, an interjection from Clara on what a good time they’d had themselves as little girls in Norwood Park, but everything was so different now.

“Ron and Ernie here?” I said idly.

“Oh, yes. They went off hours ago to get us something to drink. But they know so many people here I’m sure they got waylaid or sidetracked or something.”

I offered to bring them something, but they laughed and said they didn’t mind waiting. LeAnn put a well-manicured hand on my knee.

“You have such a good heart, Vic. We don’t want to interfere, but we know you’d be great for Michael. We were just talking about the two of you when you showed up.”

I grinned. “Thanks. I appreciate the testimonial.” I pushed myself to my feet, spilling my drink down my pants leg.

LeeAnn looked at me anxiously. “I haven’t offended you, have I? Ernie’s always on my case for saying whatever comes into my head without thinking first.” She reached into a large beach bag and pulled out a handful of Kleenex for me.

I dabbed at the khaki. “Nope. Trouble is, Michael’s a Sox fan-I just don’t think we could ever work things out.”

They gave little shrieks of protesting laughter. I left to their chorus of “You can’t be serious, Vic.”

I turned back through the crowd to replace my drink. Near the entrance to the tent I caught sight of Ron and Ernie. They were deep in conversation with Michael and a couple of other men. Their heads were drawn together so that they could talk over the noise. They were so intent that they didn’t notice my walking up. I tapped Michael on the arm.

He jumped and swore. When he saw it was me he put an arm around me, but he looked cautiously at the other men, as if to see how they took my entrance. “Hiya, Vic. Enjoying yourself?”

“I’m having a great time. You, too, by the looks of it.”

He again looked doubtfully from his companions to me. “We’re right in the middle of something now. Can I find you in about ten minutes?”

So much for gestures of reconciliation. I grinned savagely but tried to keep my tone light. “You can try.”

I turned on my heel, but Ron Grasso put out an arm. “Vic, honey. Good to see you. Don’t mind Furey here- he got out on the wrong side of bed today… No business is more important than a beautiful lady, Mickey. And nothing’s more dangerous than keeping one of them waiting.”

The other men laughed politely, but Michael looked at me seriously. Maybe he was still pissed. On the other hand, he knows that kind of joke rubs me the wrong way, so maybe he was trying in turn for conciliation. I was barely willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Ron introduced me to the two strangers-Luis Schmidt and Carl Martinez, also in construction. And supporters of Rosalyn’s campaign.

“Vic’s an old friend of Rosalyn’s, aren’t you?” Ron supplied.

I nodded. “We used to work together in Logan Square.”

“You were an organizer?” Schmidt asked.

“I was a lawyer. I used to help out on legal issues-immigration, housing, that kind of thing. I’m a detective now.”

“Detective, huh? Like Sergeant Furey here?” That was Schmidt, a short, stocky man with arms the size of sewer pipes straining his jacket sleeves.

They were just interested enough to require an answer. “I work for myself. Kind of the Magnum, P.I. of Chicago.”

“Vic looks into fraud cases,” Ron put in. “She has quite a track record. Keeps Ernie and me on the straight and narrow, let me tell you.”

Everyone laughed politely. His comment seemed so unanswerable that I didn’t try. “I ran into LeAnn and Clara behind the tent,” I said instead. “They thought you guys were bringing them something to drink.”

Ernie hit his forehead. “Mind like cement after pouring it all these years. I’ll take care of the girls, Ronnie-why don’t you guys wait for me here.”

He took my arm and hustled me away to the refreshment tent. “Buy you something, Vic?”

“No, thanks. I’m heading back to the city soon.”

He looked at me seriously, eyes dark in a thin, weather-beaten face. “Don’t take Mickey too seriously. He’s got a lot on his mind.”

I nodded solemnly. “I know that, Ernie. And I think this is a good time to leave him alone, let him get it sorted out.”

“Could you at least wait until after dinner-go talk to the girls for a while?”

He was hoping I’d take their drinks to them. I smiled gently. “Sorry, Ernie. I know LeAnn would love to see you for a few minutes before you plunge back into it with the boys. She’s sitting around back of here with Clara.”

“Okay, Vic, okay.” He shoved his way to the front of the line. Something in the set of his shoulders told me he was wondering what the hell Mickey saw in me.

Speaking in Tongues

On my way toward the parking pasture I saw Marissa standing near the back entrance to Boots’s house. She was laughing heartily at some remark of the middle-aged man talking to her. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place him. Maybe it was just the avid look he was giving Marissa I recognized-with her head thrown back the décolletage of her peach dress sprang into dramatic relief.