Sidney Sheldon - Nothing lasts forever

“What the hell can you do for me that you haven't already done?” Sean said bitterly. “I'm a dead man.”

When Honey heard the news, she was devastated. She remembered Frances Gordon's words. The poor man.

Sean Reilly was asleep when Honey walked into his room. She sat at his bedside for a long time, watching him.

He opened his eyes and saw Honey. “I dreamed that I was dreaming, and that I wasn't going to die.” “Sean …”

“Did you come to visit the corpse?” “Please don't talk that way.” “How could this happen?” he cried. “Someone made a mistake, Sean.” “God, I don't want to die of AIDS!”

“Some people who get HIV may never get AIDS. The Irish are lucky.”

“I wish I could believe you.”

She took his hand in hers. “You've got to.”

“I'm not a praying man,” Sean said, “but I sure as hell am going to start now.”

“I'll pray with you,” Honey said.

He smiled wryly. “I guess we can forget about that dinner, huh?”

“Oh, no. You don't get out of it that easily. I'm looking forward to it.”

He studied her a moment. “You really mean that, don't you?”

“You bet I do! No matter what happens. Remember, you promised to take me to Ireland.”

“Are you all right, Ken?” Lauren asked. “You seem tense, darling.” They were alone in the huge Harrison library. A maid and a butler had served a six-course dinner, and during dinner he and Alex Harrison—Call me Alex— had chatted about Mallory's brilliant future. “Why are you tense?”

Because this pregnant black bitch expects me to marry her. Because any minute word is going to leak out about our engagement and she'll hear about it and blow the whistle. Because my whole future could be destroyed.

He took Lauren's hand in his. “I guess I'm working too hard. My patients aren't just patients to me, Lauren. They're people in trouble, and I can't help worrying about them.”

She stroked his face. “That's one of the things I love about you, Ken. You're so caring.”

“I guess I was brought up that way.”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. The society editor of the Chronicle and a photographer are coming here Monday to do an interview.”

“It was like a blow to the pit of his stomach.”

“Is there any chance you could be here with me, darling? They want a picture of you.”

“I… I wish I could, but I have a busy day scheduled at the hospital.” His mind was racing. “Lauren, do you think it's a good idea to do an interview now? I mean, shouldn't we wait until … ?”

Lauren laughed. “You don't know the press, darling. They're like bloodhounds. No, it's much better to get it over with now.”

Monday!

The following morning, Mallory tracked down Kat in a utility room. She looked tired and haggard. She had no makeup on and her hair was uncurled. Lauren would never let herself go like that, Mallory thought.

“Hi, honey!”

Kat did not answer.

Mallory took her in his arms. “I've been thinking a lot about us, Kat. I didn't sleep at all last night. There's no one else for me. You were right, and I was wrong. I guess the news came as kind of a shock to me. I want you to have our baby.” He watched the sudden glow on Kat's face.

“Do you really mean that, Ken?”

“You bet I do.”

She put her arms around him. “Thank God! Oh, darling. I was so worried. I don't know what I would do without you.”

“You don't have to worry about that. From now on, everything is going to be wonderful.” You'll never knew how wonderful. “Look, I have Sunday night off. Are you free?”

She grasped his hand. “I'll make myself free.”

“Great! We'll have a nice quiet dinner and then we'll go back to your place for a nightcap. Do you think you can get rid of Paige and Honey? I want us to be alone.”

Kat smiled. “No problem. You don't know how happy you've made me. Did I ever tell you how much I love you?”

“I love you, too. I'll show you how much Sunday night.”

Thinking it over, Mallory decided it was a foolproof plan. He had worked it out to the smallest detail. There was no way Kat's death could ever be blamed on him.

It was too risky to get what he needed from the hospital pharmacy because security had been tightened there after the Bowman affair. Instead, early Sunday morning, Mallory went looking for a pharmacy far away from the neighborhood where he lived. Most of them were closed on Sunday, and he went to half a dozen before he found one that was open.

The pharmacist behind the counter said, “Morning. Can I help you?”

“Yes. I'm going to see a patient in this area, and I want to take a prescription to him.” He pulled out his prescription pad and wrote on it.

The pharmacist smiled. “Not many doctors make house calls these days.”

“I know. It's a pity, isn't it? People just don't care anymore.” He handed the slip of paper to the pharmacist.

The pharmacist looked at it and nodded. “This will only take a few minutes.”

“Thank you.”

Step one.

That afternoon, Mallory made a stop at the hospital. He was there no more than ten minutes, and when he left, he was carrying a small package.

Step two.

Mallory had arranged to meet Kat at Trader Vic's for dinner, and he was waiting for her when she arrived. He watched her walking toward the table and thought,

It's the Last Supper, bitch.

He rose and gave her a warm smile. “Hello, doll. You look beautiful.” And he had to admit that she did. She looked sensational. She could have been a model. And she's great in bed. All she lacks, Ken thought, is about twenty million dollars, give or take a few million.

Kat was aware again of how the other women in the restaurant were eyeing Ken, envying her. But he only had eyes for her. He was the old Ken, warm and attentive.

“How was your day?” Ken asked.

She sighed. “Busy. Three operations in the morning and two this afternoon.” She leaned forward. “I know it's too early, but I swear I could feel the baby kicking when I was getting dressed.”

Mallory smiled. “Maybe it wants to get out.”

“We should do an ultrasound test and find out if it's a boy or a girl. Then I can start buying clothes for it.”

“Great idea.”

“Ken, can we set a wedding date? I'd like to have our wedding as soon as possible.”

“No problem,” Mallory said easily. “We can apply for a license next week.”

“That's wonderful!” She had a sudden thought. “Maybe we could get a few days off and go somewhere on our honeymoon. Somewhere not too far away—up to Oregon or Washington.”

Wrong, baby. I'll be honeymooning in June, on my yacht on the French Riviera.

“That sounds great. I'll talk to Wallace.”

Kat squeezed his hand. “Thank you,” she said huskily. “I'm going to make you the best wife in the whole world.”

“I'm sure of it.” Mallory smiled. “Now eat your vegetables. We want the baby to be healthy, don't we?”

They left the restaurant at 9:00 P.M. AS they approached Kat's apartment building, Mallory said, “Are you sure Paige and Honey won't be home?”

“I made sure,” Kat said. “Paige is at the hospital, on call, and I told Honey you and I wanted to be alone here.”

She saw the expression on his face. “Is anything wrong?”

“No, baby. I told you, I just like our private times to be private.” I'll have to be careful, he thought. Very careful. “Let's hurry.”

His impatience warmed Kat.

Inside the apartment, Mallory said, “Let's go into the bedroom.”

Kat grinned. “That sounds like a great idea.”

Mallory watched Kat undress, and he thought, She still has a great figure. A baby would ruin it.