Breach Of Promise

by Perri O’Shaughnessy

  “No, it’s interesting.” They walked across the room. Lindy stopped when she reached the area full of equipment. “The truth is, maybe because I had so little growing up, I really loved having money. It’s addictive as any drug that gets you high. Money blunts all the rough edges, soothes your soul, makes you feel special and powerful. There is nothing in the world as seductive.

  “Have a problem? Throw enough money at it and I promise it will go away. Worried about the environment? Fund a cleanup project. Feeling sad? Plan a fabulous vacation. You feel like you can do anything when you have enough money, and there are so many things I still want to do in my life.”

  “You mentioned power.”

  “A real high, and easy to buy. People, too.”

  They were in an area that held a stationary bike, a treadmill, a stand holding up a set of shiny silver free weights, and a number of odd things Nina had noticed while Lindy was talking. The biggest item was a transparent, cylindrical tank nearly as tall as Nina, full of water as clear and beautiful as a glass of turquoise Caribbean seawater.

  “So I want my money,” Lindy said, sticking her hand over the top to wet her fingers. She took them out, looking satisfied. “And most of the time, I believe I deserve it, too.”

  “You worked hard for it, Lindy.”

  “Mike won’t see that. Plenty of other people won’t either. But money is only one reason for suing Mike. The other reason is that this case will make him face me and make him keep his promises to me.”

  “No system can force someone who has wronged you to stay with you or love you again,” Nina said. “Money is the only compensation available, the objective standard. Your loss has to be quantified somehow. Emotions… they can’t be quantified.”

  “I refuse to give it all up on demand. I refuse.”

  “Lindy,” Nina said slowly, making ripples in the water with her fingernails. “What you said before… Are you by any chance thinking that you’ve bought me?”

  “Of course not, Nina.” Lindy looked hurt. “You know this is about an issue that’s important to women, not just to me. And you’re doing this because you want to help me personally. Those are all the right reasons. And now we’re a team. No, the people you can buy are a whole different type.”

  “What type?”

  “Money is God to those people.” Drying her hands on a towel, as if physically expressing that she was done with that unpalatable line of thought, she stepped away from the tank. “Forgot to tell you to bring a swimsuit.” She rummaged in a cabinet near the spa.

  “Oh, I wanted to mention I’ve hired one of the best palimony attorneys in the state to help me with your case.” Nina described some of Winston’s recent wins to Lindy. “Plus I’m interviewing a potential jury consultant this afternoon.”

  “That sounds great. We’re going to win, whatever it takes,” Lindy said. She handed Nina a swimsuit. “This is probably about your size. Hop in the tank.”

  When Nina shook her head Lindy said, “Nina, it means a lot to me that you see what I do. What I’m good at.”

  Oh, why not, Nina thought. She’d just jump in and out and everybody could go back to work satisfied. She donned the simple black suit Lindy handed her as quickly as she could, imagining what Sandy, back at the office fielding irate inquiries, might say if she could see her now.

  Against the wall a set of steps led to the top of the tank. Nina climbed up and stood looking into the water, the skin on her body rough with goose bumps.

  “In you go,” said Lindy. “Need a push?” Suddenly realizing what she had said, she began to giggle, a nervous laugh tiptoeing along the brink of tears.

  Nina slipped in feet first. Warm and supple as velvet, the water embraced her. The tank wasn’t wide or deep enough for diving. It hardly contained her up to the neck but she could extend both arms out to their full length. Air began to simmer up from the bottom.

  “It’s like… a vertical spa.” She wondered if she would float on the air. The bubbles blew up around her, popping like tiny balloons. She didn’t float, but she felt like she weighed about ten pounds.

  “That’s right.” Lindy turned the music down.

  The sensation of the air bubbles and water felt fantastic.

  “Now get ready,” Lindy said. “I’m turning on the surf.”

  What the hell? Jets of water began to shoot upward. Nina had to struggle to keep her feet down. “Hey!” she said. “Hey, wait a sec here!”

  The jets stopped. Lindy, smiled at her from the stairway beside the tank. “Don’t you just love it?”

  Buoyed by the water and her own improving spirits, Nina had begun to bounce up and down. “It’s… stupendous. And now am I supposed to do water exercises?”

  “That’s a big part of it. We’ve produced a whole series of videos to go along with it. Actually, several series, all new every couple of years. Want to learn a few moves?”

  “Lindy,” said Nina, then stopped herself. Might as well take advantage of the moment. “Okay, maybe just one.”

  “This will just take a few seconds more, I promise.” Lindy ran her through a few exercises. For one, Nina used only her toes to propel her entire body up, then down, her arms tightly pushed to her sides so that she rocketed smoothly through the water.

  “Aqua-dynamics,” said Lindy. “You move faster and work those ankles. Now try bouncing on your knees. You’ll have to hold your breath and go under to get your knees down to the ground. Then push off as hard as you can. Don’t worry about splashing. The tank’s designed for that.”

  The exercises took some getting used to. Nina had to work to get her knees to touch, and to bend at the waist, positioning herself so that she had room to complete the maneuver, but after a few minutes she could see that this was wonderful, vigorous fun.

  “Then, of course, you can jog ninety miles or stretch like a prima ballerina. The Solo Spa is also great for getting people that weight-bearing exercise they need without destroying their feet. We have a lot of disabled clients, and people who are trying to thin down.”

  “You said the exercises are only part of what you can do with this spa.”

  “That’s right. In the past few years, we’ve been marketing the spa as more than an exercise aid. Water’s an ancient healer, and there’s nothing more primeval than submerging in this warm womb to mend a broken spirit or stoke the creative fires. People are seeking spiritual solace. What could be better comfort than this blending of the physical and the spiritual? You’ll like this.” She turned a knob in the tank and the bubbles increased.

  Nina felt weightless. She stopped moving and hung in space, supported by the bubbles. “Words like solace, healing, and spiritual usually send me running for the hills, but I can see exactly what you mean. This is a hot bubble bath for the gods.”

  Lindy looked happy. “I see we have a convert.”

  “Are they all see-through like this one?”

  “No. This is a demo, like the one we use in the videos. Most of the ones we sell are trimmed in wood like a regular outdoor spa.”

  “Most?”

  “Well, a couple of the casinos in Reno have special-ordered a pair with two layers of glass and acrylic, with twinkling lights between layers, for floor shows.”

  “Good God.”

  A distant phone rang and Lindy disappeared around a corner.

  Nina closed her eyes, basking in the comfort of the warm water. A moment later, she opened them and was so startled to see a sturdy man with round ears peering in at her that she let out a small scream.

  She stopped moving and hung there in her transparent bubble. When he didn’t say anything she said, “Hello.”

  “You’re Lindy’s new lawyer?” he asked. He took his hands out of the pockets of his dirty overalls and placed them on the spa.

  “Yes. And you are?”

  “A friend,” he said, examining her body through the plastic. “I’m glad I caught you here.”

  She wasn’t. Not at all. She debated getting out,
and decided climbing a ladder would make her feel even more vulnerable.

  “I want you to know something.” He spoke slowly, running a finger along the wet condensate on the outside of the tank, tracing a circle with a smaller one inside of it.

  Like a target, Nina thought.

  “I know you’re in it for the money,” he said, all motion suddenly halting. His face was so close to the tank, his breath made a fog on it every time he breathed.

  “Who did you say you were?” Nina asked, by now very frightened at his tone and the strange look in his dark eyes.

  “I know a few things about you lawyers. And I want you to know, if you dump her or hurt her or accept some kinda under-the-table payoff from that slob Mike to drop this case, I’m going to…”

  Lindy came back into the room. “Oh, George, here you are. That was Alice. She’ll be here any second to drop off a set of keys.”

  All sense of threat fading from him the minute Lindy entered the room, he ambled off toward the door. “I’ll get started, then.”

  “Who’s that?” Nina asked.

  “George Demetrios. He works at the plant.”

  “Scary guy,” Nina said, beginning to climb a clear acrylic ladder up the side of the tank that led to the steps down.

  “What, George?” Lindy laughed. “Yeah, I guess he does come off that way sometimes, but you don’t have to worry about him. He’s devoted to me. George is really just a lovable lunk. He’s helping me move a few boxes over to Alice’s house today.”

  At the bottom of the stairs, Lindy handed her a towel and a white robe. Nina dried off. “Lindy, thanks for the demonstration. This is a fantastic product.”

  “Only one of many. Our centerpiece. Now, let me show you how we market our spas. It’ll just take a minute and it’s warm in the showroom.” Located down a winding stairway, the showroom turned out not to be the display of pools Nina expected, but an intimate, plushly carpeted space with armchairs for ten, and a five-foot screen.

  “This is a quickie selection reel,” Lindy said. “The workout videos last longer.”

  They watched as a series of swimsuited bodies in all shapes and sizes and colors, old and young, took to the pool, running through exercises as light-footed as astronauts at zero gravity, moving rhythmically to jaunty music.

  “We used to use only young, pretty girls. It was my idea to get all kinds of people on tape. Real people always come off clunky and fake when you try to use them in advertising, so these are all actors. They look great don’t they? Just like real people only just enough better-looking to make you happy to identify with them.”

  Nina didn’t answer. The actors did look great, but businesspeople made Nina nervous when they talked so blithely about the subtle forces they wielded to coerce and manipulate her.

  After the tape ended, Nina put her clothes on and gathered up her briefcase.

  “Thanks for taking the time,” Lindy said. “Before I moved out I wanted to show you a little bit about our business, so you could see that I haven’t spent twenty years living off Mike and just twiddling my thumbs.”

  “You have worked hard,” Nina said, “and you obviously know your business.”

  A tall woman with streaked hair, wearing a short aquamarine sweater dress appeared in the doorway with a gun in her hand. Amused gray eyes peeked out between uneven bangs that swept the curves of her cheeks.

  “Oh, Alice,” Lindy said. “Have you met my attorney, Nina Reilly? Nina, my best friend, Alice Boyd.”

  Alice set the gun casually down on a chair and strode rapidly up to Nina, her high heels clicking on the oak floor. She shook her hand. “So Lindy has subjected you to the ritual baptism,” she said, gesturing toward Nina’s wet hair.

  Nina touched her head. “I guess that’s true,” she said.

  “Now you belong to us.”

  “Don’t listen to her,” Lindy said comfortably. “She’s never been the same since that time she spent in the loony bin.”

  “That’s such a lie. I’m the same, only much more devious about expressing my feelings,” Alice said.

  “Excuse me,” Nina said, “but didn’t you just set a gun down over there on that cushion?”

  “Almost forgot,” Alice said. She walked back and picked up the gun. “This is for you, doll,” she said, handing a silver snub-nosed gun to Lindy.

  “What for?” Lindy said.

  “Meet your new best friend.” She held it up for them to admire. “Isn’t it something? You can kill someone with this adorable, polished-nickel designer special from thirty feet away. No need to get blood all over yourself. You see someone coming to do you harm, and bam. You lay them low.” She walked around, taking aim at various items around the room. “Pow,” she said. “There goes the mirror from France you’re always bragging about. Not to Mike’s taste anyway, was it? Pow,” she said again, pointing toward a vase. “Down goes the Ming.” She stopped and stared at the gun. “What strikes me as strange is that most women have yet to recognize the power of this little equalizer. With guts and a little practice, we have finally been handed just the tool to win that war against our oppressors.”

  Lindy looked a little embarrassed. “Alice, I don’t know what Nina will think. Put the gun away.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Alice said. “No, really. Here you are in these gorgeous surroundings for what is probably the last time.” She nodded toward the room. “If I were you, I’d grab the moment. Why leave all these nice things for the king of shit and his sleazy little consort to play with? Know how to operate one of these?” She flicked the safety off.

  Lindy took the gun away, and pushed the safety back in place. “I don’t want it.”

  “For twenty years you’ve lived in your fortress. Now you’re going to be rubbing shoulders with the peasants. That would be us,” Alice said to Nina. “Lindy, you don’t know how bad us peasants can be. You ought to protect yourself.”

  “Take it back, Alice. I mean it.” Lindy handed the gun carefully to her friend.

  Alice shrugged and stuck the gun into her handbag. “Suit yourself.” Saying she needed to freshen up, she excused herself.

  “Now here we go again. You’re going to get the wrong impression of Alice, too,” said Lindy. “She’s the best person, but I’m afraid this stuff with Mike has reminded her of some bad things in her past. She’ll settle down.”

  Nina wondered if Lindy was one of those rare people who could read souls, or if she was simply a blind fool when it came to picking friends and family.

  As they approached the foyer, she became aware again of the rain eddying down gutters, drowning the view from the windows. At the sight of the boxes stacked high by the door, Lindy stopped short. Then she composed herself and said good-bye.

  Nina was so late leaving Lindy’s that she headed straight to court for the morning criminal calendar without stopping at the office, the Bronco leaking transmission fluid all the way. Her mechanic had already advised her to replace the carburetor. She would need a new truck soon. These thoughts occupied her as she negotiated the puddles at every corner.

  Back at the office by lunchtime, she saw that Genevieve Suchat was already waiting.

  “Hi,” Genevieve said brightly, springing up from a chair across from Sandy’s to shake Nina’s hand. A Southern lilt made it sound like “Hah.”

  Sandy’s son, Wish, sat in the chair next to Genevieve’s. A very tall, gangly nineteen-year-old, he thumbed through his latest fixation, a magazine full of surveillance tricks for spies. He had recently announced his plan to become a detective like Paul, and to that end was taking courses in criminology and photography over at the community college.

  Wish was their odd-job man. From the sparkling looks of the place, Sandy must have had him doing some cleanup. He glanced up and nodded hello to Nina, then returned to his apparently absorbing read.

  Nina shook Genevieve’s hand. Her light, breathy voice reminded Nina of one of the scantily dressed girls sending out suggestive invitations from
an on-line website she had recently forbidden her son access to, but her curly, sprayed wheat-colored hair and the tailored black jacket trimmed in burgundy over a long burgundy skirt were quite demure, if fashionably cut.

  In one ear, Nina glimpsed the silver hearing aid Winston had mentioned, catching the light behind a pair of small silver earrings. Genevieve looked more like a Genny than a Genevieve-a modern working girl who had just stepped out of a big-city highrise and into the mountains without changing her style a bit-but Winston had warned Nina that she preferred the more formal sound of Genevieve in her work relationships.

  Genevieve already knew Sandy, she told Nina, sounding as confident as if she felt she’d been eating at Sandy’s dinner table for years. “Sandy and Wish were telling me all about the Washoe Nation,” she said. “And they have quite the extended family.”

  Sandy rarely got personal with visitors. Genevieve must have a way about her.

  Because Genevieve requested it, they went to Planet Hollywood, the restaurant at Caesar’s, for lunch.

  “Casinos aren’t known for their fine dining,” Nina apologized. The babbling patrons and clamorous kitchen must be hard on someone with a hearing problem. “We do have some nice places.”

  “But I love it here,” said Genevieve, eyeing the movie relics that lined the walls surrounding the faux palm trees. Apparently the din would not be a problem for her. “Is that Darth Vader over there?” she said, getting up from her seat to study the cases.

  She returned a moment later. “His suit looks littler than in the movies.” The waiter appeared, asking for their orders. She studied her menu. “The blackened shrimp is probably great, but I’ll just have a salad. You a gambler?” she asked Nina.

  “Um. I confess to a taste for the slots,” Nina said, a little put out by the question. They were on what really amounted to an interview, after all.

  “Me, too,” Genevieve said, handing the waiter her menu. “Also poker, blackjack, roulette… I’m a real slut for a quick buck. Maybe we’ll have a little time to hit the tables before you have to go back to work.”

  The waiter turned to Nina. “Pomodoro,” Nina told him, glad for the distraction. She was amused by Genevieve’s inappropriate candor but not interested in spelling out her own proclivities on that front. Studying the menu, she realized she had worked up an appetite in the spa. “Can you bring extra Parmesan for the table?”