Fools Rush In (The Sam McCain Mysteries Book 7)
Page 19
“Don’t patronize me. That’s the worst thing of all.”
“I want to get you a lawyer.”
A cold smile. “You don’t want to represent me yourself?”
“I want to get you a better lawyer than I am. I haven’t had any experience in murder trials.”
“You let me worry about my lawyer. I don’t need anything from you. Or from anybody.”
“Is there anybody you want me to call?”
Her eyes shone again with tears. “I never thought of it before. I’m going to spend the rest of my life in Iowa. In prison. In Iowa.” She touched a slender ebony finger to her cheek. “I was the one everybody thought would be such a success. Just wait till this gets on the news.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Diane.”
She smiled. “If ‘sorrys’ were worth anything, McCain, I’d be a rich woman.”
THIRTY
SHE SAT AT THE COUNTER sipping coffee and smoking a cigarette, an air of isolation about her that old Edward Hopper would have appreciated. It had begun to drizzle, big hot drops dancing on the pavement, but the dampness felt good on my skin and so I stood across the street from the diner just watching her. She was a Sinatra song from just before the war, “Haunted Heart” or “Saturday Night Is the Loneliest Night of the Week” maybe, that sort of sad urban dignity right here in our little town of Black River Falls.
Except for the night man and Jane, the place was empty now. She raised her cup and he filled it for her. Then he went back to scraping the grill.
The rain started abruptly, as if some cosmic hand had flipped a switch. She turned at the sound of rumbling thunder. And saw me. She didn’t acknowledge me in any way, not even a tiny tip of the head.
Then she was grabbing her umbrella and her briefcase and dropping a dollar bill on the countertop and walking toward the door.
Standing beneath the overhang of the place, she opened her umbrella and then came walking toward me across the empty street.
She didn’t say anything even when she reached me, just tugged me close beneath the shelter of her umbrella. I was gallant enough to relieve her of her briefcase.
We were getting wet, of course, because now the rain was such that not even a dozen umbrellas could keep feet and legs dry. Sewers ran with water; rivers formed at intersections.
But I didn’t mind the rain at all. I was pretty sure I was going to get a real good kiss for all this trouble.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2007 by Ed Gorman
Cover design by Mauricio Diaz
978-1-4804-6272-4
This 2013 edition published by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.mysteriouspress.com
www.openroadmedia.com
THE SAM MCCAIN MYSTERIES
FROM MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
AND OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Available wherever ebooks are sold
Otto Penzler, owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan, founded the Mysterious Press in 1975. Penzler quickly became known for his outstanding selection of mystery, crime, and suspense books, both from his imprint and in his store. The imprint was devoted to printing the best books in these genres, using fine paper and top dust-jacket artists, as well as offering many limited, signed editions.
Now the Mysterious Press has gone digital, publishing ebooks through MysteriousPress.com.
MysteriousPress.com offers readers essential noir and suspense fiction, hard-boiled crime novels, and the latest thrillers from both debut authors and mystery masters. Discover classics and new voices, all from one legendary source.
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
FOLLOW US:
@emysteries and Facebook.com/MysteriousPressCom
MysteriousPress.com is one of a select group of publishing partners of Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
Open Road Integrated Media is a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media.
Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases
Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign up now at
www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM
FOLLOW US:
@openroadmedia and
Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia