Harlan Coben - One False Move

«A snorting pig,» Win agreed.

«But,» she continued, «if you two are going to sit here and play Holmes and Watson, I do see a way around your» – she made quote marks with her finger -»impasse.»

«Do tell,» Win said.

«When Elizabeth Bradford fell to her death, my mother may have seen something that appeared innocuous at first. I don’t know what. Something bothersome maybe but nothing to get excited about. She continues to work for these people, scrubbing their floors and. toilets. And maybe one day she opens a drawer. Or a closet. And maybe she sees something that coupled with what she saw the day Elizabeth Bradford died leads her to conclude that it wasn’t an accident after all.»

Win looked at Myron. Myron raised his eyebrows.

Brenda sighed. «Before you two continue your patronizing glances – the ones that say, "Golly gee, the woman is actually capable of cogitation" – let me add that I’m just giving you a way around the impasse. I don’t buy it for a second. It leaves too much unexplained.»

«Like what?» Myron asked.

She turned to him. «Like why my mother would run away the way she did. Like why she would leave that cruel note for my father about another man. Like why she left us penniless. Like why she would leave behind a daughter she theoretically loved.»

There was no quiver in the voice. Just the opposite, in fact. The tone was far too steady, straining too hard for normality.

«Maybe she wanted to protect her daughter from harm,» Myron said. «Maybe she wanted to discourage her husband from looking for her.»

She frowned. «So she took all his money and faked running away with another man?» Brenda looked at Win. «Does he really believe this crap?»

Win held his hands palms up and nodded apologetically.

Brenda turned back to Myron. «I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, but it just doesn’t add up. My mother ran away twenty years ago. Twenty years. In all that time couldn’t she have done more than write a couple of letters and call my aunt? Couldn’t she have figured out a way to see her own daughter? To set up a meet? At least once in twenty years? In all that time couldn’t she have gotten herself settled and come back for me?»

She stopped as though out of breath. She hugged her knees to her chest and turned away. Myron looked at Win. Win kept still. The silence pressed against the windows and doors.

Win was the one who finally spoke. «Enough speculating. Let me call Arthur Bradford. He’ll see us tomorrow.»

Win left the room. With some people, you might be skeptical or at least wonder how they could be so sure a gubernatorial candidate would see them on such short notice. Not so when it came to Win.

Myron looked over at Brenda. She did not look back. A few minutes later Win returned.

«Tomorrow morning,» Win said. «Ten o’clock.»

«Where?»

«The estate at Bradford Farms. In Livingston.»

Brenda stood. «If we’re finished with this topic, I’ll leave you two alone.» She looked at Myron. «To discuss a -business problem.»

«There is one more thing,» Win said.

«What?»

«The question of a safe house.»

She stopped and waited.

Win leaned back. «I am inviting both you and Myron to stay here if you’re comfortable. As you can see, I have plenty of room. You can use the bedroom at the end of the corridor. It has its own bathroom. Myron will be across the hallway. You’ll have the security of the Dakota and easy, close proximity to the two of us.»

Win glanced at Myron, who tried to hide his surprise. Myron frequently stayed overnight – he even kept clothes and a bunch of toiletries here – but Win had never made an offer like this before. He usually demanded total privacy.

Brenda nodded and said, «Thank you.»

«The only potential problem,» Win said, «is my private life.»

Uh-oh.

«I may bring in a dizzying array of ladies for a variety of purposes,» he went on. «Sometimes more than one. Sometimes I film them. Does that bother you?»

«No,» she said. «As long as I can do the same with men.»

Myron started coughing.

Win remained unfazed. «But of course. I keep the video camera in that cabinet.»

She turned to the cabinet and nodded. «Got a tripod?»

Win opened his mouth, closed it, shook his head. «Too easy,» he said.

«Smart man.» Brenda smiled. «Good night, guys.»

When she left, Win looked at Myron. «You can close your mouth now.»

Win poured himself a cognac. «So what business problem did you want to discuss?»

«It’s Esperanza,» Myron said. «She wants a partnership.»

«Yes, I know.»

«She told you?»

Win swirled the liquid in the snifter. «She consulted me. On the hows mostly. The legal setup for such a change.»

«And you never told me?»

Win did not reply. The answer was obvious. Win hated stating the obvious. «Care for a Yoo-Hoo?»

Myron shook his head. «The truth is, I don’t know what to do about it.»

«Yes, I know. You’ve been stalling.»

«Did she tell you that?»

Win looked at him. «You know her better than that.»

Myron nodded. He did know better. «Look, she’s my friend-»

«Correction,» Win interrupted. «She’s your best friend. More so, perhaps, than even I. But you must forget that for now. She is just an employee – a great one perhaps -but your friendship must be meaningless in this decision. For your sake as well as hers.»

Myron nodded. «Yeah, you’re right, forget I said that. And I do understand where she’s coming from. She’s been with me since the beginning. She’s worked hard. She’s finished law school.»

«But?»

«But a partnership? I’d love to promote her, give her her own office, give her more responsibility, even work out a profit-sharing program. But she won’t accept that. She wants to be a partner.»

«Has she told you why?»

«Yeah,» Myron said.

«And?»

«She doesn’t want to work for anyone. It’s as simple as that. Not even me. Her father worked menial jobs for scumbags his whole life. Her mother cleaned other people’s houses. She swore that one day she would work for herself.»

«I see,» Win said.

«And I sympathize. Who wouldn’t? But her parents probably worked for abusive ogres. Forget our friendship. Forget the fact that I love Esperanza like a sister. I’m a good boss. I’m fair. Even she’d have to admit that.»

Win took a deep sip. «But clearly that is not enough for her.»

«So what am I supposed to do? Give in? Business partnerships between friends or family never work. Never. It’s just that simple. Money screws up every relationship. You and I – we work hard to keep our businesses linked but separate. That’s why we get away with it. We have similar goals, but that’s it. There is no money connection. I know a lot of good relationships -and good businesses – that have been destroyed over something like this. My father and his brother still don’t talk because of a business partnership. I don’t want that to happen here.»

«Have you told Esperanza this?»

He shook his head. «But she’s given me a week to make a decision. Then she walks.»

«Tough spot,» Win said.

«Any suggestions?»

«Not a one.» Then Win tilted his head and smiled.

«What?»

«Your argument,» Win said. «I find it ironic»

«How so?»

«You believe in marriage and family and monogamy and all that nonsense, correct?»

«So?»

«You believe in raising children, the picket fences, the basketball pole in the driveway, peewee football, dance classes, the whole suburbia scene.»

«And again I say, so?»

Win spread his arms. «So I would argue that marriages and the like never work. They inevitably lead to divorce or disillusionment or the deadening of dreams or at the very least, bitterness and resentment. I might -similar to you – point to my own family as an example.»