Getting Rid of Bradley Read online

  “Pick up your end. We’re going to have to turn it sideways.”

  Lucy sighed and obeyed. She was going to have to do the floor anyway sooner or later, and at least it kept him out of trouble.

  And with her.

  He might even kiss her again, and if he did, she was going to pounce this time. No more shrinking violet.

  As long as he made the first move.

  “Okay, tilt it to the right,” Zack said, and Lucy obediently tilted the table.

  Maybe if she wore her old tight jeans. He seemed impressed with them that day on the basement stairs.

  Would that be fair?

  Did she care?

  “Come on,” Zack said, and she followed him with the table through the door into the dining room.

  “Listen,” she said as they put the table down, “if we’re going to do messy stuff, I’m changing into my jeans.”

  ANTHONY CALLED, AND ZACK took it in the living room, sinking into one of the oversoft chairs and moving his arm so Maxwell could climb into his lap.

  “Glad you called. I want a phone tap,” Zack said. “Somebody is calling and hanging up every time I answer.”

  “Sounds like a jealous ex-husband. You may want to watch your back. Mrs. Dover reported another prowler. If it’s Bradley Porter, and he’s the one running around with the .38, he uses it.”

  “Just so he doesn’t use it on Lucy. She insists that he’s not violent, by the way.” Zack idly scratched Maxwell’s ears. “Anything new on the car bomb?”

  “I’ve got the final report here. Very neat. Plastic explosive, timer set on a five-minute delay, controlled damage. Professional job. And our Bradley —John Bradley— was in the Navy. Very tidy.”

  “If this case is so tidy, why are we still so lost?”

  “Speak for yourself,” Anthony said. “I’m pursuing the investigation with my usual cold, clean logic. What are you doing?”

  “Ripping up Lucy’s kitchen floor.”

  “With your teeth? Well, at least you’re calmer than you were last night. What happened, anyway?”

  Lucy came down the stairs and walked by wearing her jeans. She smiled at Zack before she went into the kitchen.

  He had a sudden vision of her naked.

  “Oh, hell.”

  “What?”

  “You know that fantasizing problem I was having?”

  “Is this the ‘Lucy naked’ part?”

  “Right. Well, I’m not having that problem anymore.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m having other problems.”

  “Try a cold shower.”

  “There’s not enough water in Riverbend.” Zack stood, dumping Maxwell off his lap, and craned his neck to try to see through the dining room into the kitchen. “I’m relying on self-control and maturity.”

  “I’d be worried,” Anthony said, “but I know Lucy can defend herself. How’s your lip?”

  “Great. I have to go now. You wouldn’t believe how tight this woman’s jeans are.”

  “Zack?” Anthony’s voice was suddenly serious. “You know, it’s not a great idea to seduce a woman you’re protecting. All kidding aside, do you want me to send Matthews over?”

  “Who?”

  “Junior.”

  “I will shoot him on sight,” Zack said and hung up so he could follow Lucy into the kitchen.

  BY EIGHT THAT NIGHT, the phone tap was on, the flow had come up with a minimum of effort and a maximum of mess, and Lucy had shown Zack how to make roast beef with dry onion-soup mix for dinner.

  “This is amazing,” he said, after the floor was in the backyard, and they were in the dining room eating. “All I did was pour some water and that powder stuff on the meat and throw it in the oven, and three hours later, we eat Do you have any idea what chefs get paid in this town?”

  Lucy tried not to grin. “I don’t think the Maisonette uses onion-soup mix. I mink they chop more than we do.”

  “Absolutely amazing,” Zack said, and Lucy laughed “What?” he said.

  “You just make everything so much fun. Even boring things like cooking and taking out the kitchen floor. You’re excited about everything.”

  “Not everything. Just about some things.” Zack watched her for a moment, her face warm and happy is the soft light. She was so calm, there was so much peace wherever Lucy was, that lately, whenever he looked at her, he felt like he was home. It was a dangerous feeling.

  If she could do that after only three days, where would he be in a week?

  “Zack?” she said, and he said, “Tell me about yourself.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “Me? There’s nothing to tell.”

  “Sure, there is. I already know you’re a great teacher.” He gestured at his plate with his fork. “And I know you’re a great cook. And I know you have the sister from hell.”

  “No, she’s not. She’s just had bad luck with men.”

  “Three times? No offense, but that temper of hers must have had something to do with three divorces.”

  Lucy shook her head. “It wasn’t like that. She used to be a lot nicer than me, although she was always really practical. The first time she got married, she thought she was getting married for money. Well, she didn’t just think so, she did. Morgan was very rich. And he was a lot older than she was, too.”

  “A lot?”

  “Forty years. She was nineteen.”

  “That’s a lot.”

  “Yes, but then she fell in love with him. Our parents weren’t...well... warm people. I mean, they took very good care of us, but there wasn’t a lot of hugging. When we were kids, like in grade school, Tina and I used to talk about what it would be like when we got married, and we both swore we were going to marry men who hugged a lot, like the men in the movies. But then when we got older...” Lucy sighed. “Well, I still believed in that, and I think Tina wanted to, but then Morgan proposed. He was crazy about Tina, and Tina was just tired of not having any money, and she wanted to go to art school. Morgan promised to put her through, so she said yes. I tried to talk her out of it, but she said it was stupid to wait for love, and that Morgan was very sweet, and she was going to do it. I cried all the way through the wedding because I thought she’d made a terrible mistake.”

  “So what happened?”

  Lucy’s face softened into a smile as she remembered. “He was wonderful to her. It wasn’t just the money. He thought all her paintings were beautiful, he thought she was beautiful, and he told her so. He hugged her all the time, praised her all the time...” Lucy’s smiled turned rueful. “Six months after they were married, I apologized to her for trying to stop her. By then, she was crazy about him. They were so happy together, people even stopped saying she’d married him for his money.”

  “So what happened?” Zack repeated.

  “Nothing for four years. They were waiting until Tina graduated, and then they were going to go around the world for a year seeing every art museum they could find for Tina, and...” Lucy stopped again. “Tina was so excited. She told me that she was going off the Pill for the trip because they were ready to start a family. She was thrilled.”

  Zack winced. “Why do I have a bad feeling about this next part?”

  “He died,” Lucy said. “The week after she graduated, he had a heart attack and died. And Tina was devastated. She was in mourning for almost two years. She wouldn’t do anything but paint and listen to music. Morgan had a huge record collection, and she used to listen to it because she said it was like he was there.”

  Zack shook his head. “That doesn’t sound like the Tina I saw in the diner.”

  “The Tina you saw in the diner has had two husbands since then.” Lucy picked up her fork again. “One slept with her best friend and one hit her. Don’t criticize Tina. She’s a survivor. I should be more like her.”

  “No, you shouldn’t,” Zack said, alarmed. “You’re fine the way you are.”

  Lucy looked thoughtful for a moment. “You know, that may be part of