Robert Tanenbaum: Fury

As Liz Tyler walked out the door, Marlene came in. The two women stopped, exchanged a few words and hugged. Then Liz was gone.

Those who hadn't attended her mother's funeral walked over to Marlene and expressed their condolences. Karp was glad to see her smile, even if she still looked a little weepy. It seemed she'd been crying since her mother's death.

There was something bothering her about her mother's death but when he asked about it, all she'd say was, "I'm not ready to talk about it." So he left it alone and didn't complain about the time she was spending across the street in her art studio. In fact, he enjoyed looking out the window and watching her as she painted. Sometimes she'd look over and wave. And just the day before, she'd flashed him her tits and laughed at his shocked expression.

Marlene broke away from the others and walked over to give him a kiss on the lips. "I saw you making out with that other woman," she said.

Her sense of humor is returning…a good sign, Karp thought. "You're mistaken; she kissed me in a moment of vulnerability. My lips are yours and yours alone."

"You'll keep it that way if you know what's good for you," Marlene said.

Just then his private line rang. They both looked at the telephone for a moment, neither wanting to answer it. Most everybody who had the number was already in the room, except for the kids and Clay Fulton, who was riding shotgun on the police escort transporting Andrew Kane to the upstate psychiatric hospital for his evaluations.

"I'll get it," Marlene said finally. "It's probably the boys wanting to spend the night with a friend or placing a dinner order."

She leaned over the desk and picked up the receiver. "Butch Karp's office," she said in her sexiest receptionist voice.

A moment later, her face turned ashen and her hand went to her stomach as if she was going to be sick. The other conversations in the room drifted to a stop as everyone turned to her. She looked up at Butch, and he knew that lightning was about to strike again.

"Marlene?" Oh, God, now what? he wondered. One of the kids? Her father? "That was Helen Fulton," she said as she started to cry.

"Andrew Kane's escaped. Some people are dead, and Clay's been shot. He's in the hospital, and it doesn't look good."