I'm having more trouble learning how to be rich.
It's been two months since the end of the Willie Miller trial, and I still haven't touched the money. I make plans to touch it, I come up with strategies to touch it, but so far no actual contact has taken place.
Laurie thinks I need psychiatric help, an opinion that has become more strident since she happened to be at my house when the mail arrived. The thing is, I've taken to ordering catalogues of every conceivable product ever produced; my mailman has vowed to bill me for his hernia operation. A lot of the merchandise is appealing to me, and Tara has her eye on a cashmere dog bed featured in the “Yuppie Puppy” catalogue. But I haven't actually purchased anything from anywhere. There's time for that.
Philip has resigned from the Senate and is in prison awaiting trial. He's in an actual prison, as the justice system in its infinite wisdom decided that, based on the Victor Markham experience, the ankle bracelet idea just might have some flaws. Philip was arrested the moment poor Julie McGregor's remains were unearthed.
I speak to Wally McGregor at least once a week. He took the news about Philip in stride, and we got back to talking baseball. Wally thinks Willie Mays was better than Mickey Mantle, which pleases me, since it means we'll always have something to argue about.
I haven't heard from Nicole since that day at Philip's house, but I did see her on television at the arraignment. I've tried calling her a couple of times, but she hasn't taken my calls.
Cal Morris is still nowhere to be found. I have an image of him on a Caribbean beach, drinking piña coladas and selling Des Moines Register s to the tourists. I have no hard feelings toward him, and I've managed to create new superstitions to take his place.
I've been busy, working on a bunch of cases at once. I'm trying to lure Kevin out of the Laundromat, but he's resisting. If he doesn't relent soon, I'm going to have to hire someone else to help keep up with the workload.
Laurie and I have settled into a nice rhythm, going slow and enjoying ourselves. She's as much friend as lover, and I don't want to do anything that might rock that boat. I made mistakes with Nicole, mistakes I'm wary of repeating.
I've never been accused of being an intellectual, and I get my philosophy wherever I can find it. In the movie The Natural, Glenn Close tells Robert Redford, “I believe we have two lives. The life we learn with, and the life we live with after that.”
I want Laurie to be a leading player in my “life after that.”
Open and Shut Page 24