Read Online Ask a Shadow to Dance by Linda George - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Linda George
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some really odd things about this woman. I haven’t told you everything, but I want to. I can’t find any trace of her, her father, her father’s company—she said it dates from 1850—or the stepson who hit her. She said she’d meet me tomorrow at noon at the Peabody. I need to sort things out before I see her again.”
“Do you know where she lives?”
“On Adams Avenue, past the Neely House, in the Victorian Village. Must be on the other side of Fontaine House too. It isn’t the house in between. I checked. Ring any bells?”
“What’s the exact address?”
“Adams Avenue is all she gave me.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard to find. I assume you’ve looked in the phone book.”
“No listing.”
“Been to Adams Avenue?”
“No one by that name in any house for blocks.”
“I’ll be right over.”
“Thanks, Joe.”
“Uh, would you mind if I bring Candy with me? I have to take her home anyway. Her thesis was done on Memphis and the Peabody Hotel. I think she went back to the time when the first Peabody was built after the Civil War. If anyone will know this Morgan family, she will.”
David thought for a minute. Seeing Candy again so soon could give her the wrong impression, that maybe he was sorry and wanted to make up. He didn’t want to do that. “Uh … Joe, I don’t know—”
“Look, if you’re really stuck on this woman from the dance—what was her name again?”
“Lisette.”
“Candy will pick up on it. What did you tell her tonight?”
“That I wasn’t ready to get married. She wasn’t happy.”
“Did she cry?”
“Not a tear.”
“Then she can’t be that hooked on you. She’ll get over it.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“And, happy or not, Candy can help with the history stuff. We lawyers only know about the history involved in lawsuits. She’ll be a lot of help, David. If I know you, you’ll want to keep things friendly between the two of you. Whadya say?”
He was right. The last thing David wanted was bad feelings between himself and a woman he once thought he might be in love with. “All right. But take her with you when you leave. I don’t want any more ‘discussions’ tonight.”
“No problem. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
After hanging up, David mulled it over. Stuck on this woman from the dance. He hadn’t actually come to that conclusion, but now that it had been expressed, he deemed it accurate. Since he’d met Lisette, he’d been taken with her beauty, her grace, her innocence. Yet there was something tough about this lady, too. She wasn’t a Dresden doll, to be set on a shelf and admired. There was more to her than beauty or charm.
She’d insisted she would take care of the problem with Westmoreland herself. That took courage, even if it was naive. Surely, with all the publicity about battering in recent years, she knew she didn’t have to put up with anything like that.
An hour later Joe and Candy arrived. Candy was polite, but that was all. David had to assume she was still angry but she didn’t show it overtly. Maybe she was embarrassed for Joe to know that they’d split up. On the way over, he’d filled her in about Lisette.
“I hope you don’t mind my coming with Joe.” Candy seemed cool, reserved.
“Not at all,” he lied. “I’d forgotten your thesis was on Memphis and the Peabody.”
“I’ve been in love with the Peabody Hotel since I was a little girl. We went by my house on the way to get some of my research sources and information on the important families in Memphis history and the reconstruction of the city after the yellow fever epidemics in the 1870s.” She opened a small case and produced a laptop computer David had seen her use a hundred times. “I think I remember a plug on that wall. I hate to use my batteries if there’s electricity around.”
“End of the couch.” The last time she’d been in this house was barely a week ago. She knew where that outlet was. He swallowed his retort
“Do you know where she lives?”
“On Adams Avenue, past the Neely House, in the Victorian Village. Must be on the other side of Fontaine House too. It isn’t the house in between. I checked. Ring any bells?”
“What’s the exact address?”
“Adams Avenue is all she gave me.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard to find. I assume you’ve looked in the phone book.”
“No listing.”
“Been to Adams Avenue?”
“No one by that name in any house for blocks.”
“I’ll be right over.”
“Thanks, Joe.”
“Uh, would you mind if I bring Candy with me? I have to take her home anyway. Her thesis was done on Memphis and the Peabody Hotel. I think she went back to the time when the first Peabody was built after the Civil War. If anyone will know this Morgan family, she will.”
David thought for a minute. Seeing Candy again so soon could give her the wrong impression, that maybe he was sorry and wanted to make up. He didn’t want to do that. “Uh … Joe, I don’t know—”
“Look, if you’re really stuck on this woman from the dance—what was her name again?”
“Lisette.”
“Candy will pick up on it. What did you tell her tonight?”
“That I wasn’t ready to get married. She wasn’t happy.”
“Did she cry?”
“Not a tear.”
“Then she can’t be that hooked on you. She’ll get over it.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“And, happy or not, Candy can help with the history stuff. We lawyers only know about the history involved in lawsuits. She’ll be a lot of help, David. If I know you, you’ll want to keep things friendly between the two of you. Whadya say?”
He was right. The last thing David wanted was bad feelings between himself and a woman he once thought he might be in love with. “All right. But take her with you when you leave. I don’t want any more ‘discussions’ tonight.”
“No problem. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
After hanging up, David mulled it over. Stuck on this woman from the dance. He hadn’t actually come to that conclusion, but now that it had been expressed, he deemed it accurate. Since he’d met Lisette, he’d been taken with her beauty, her grace, her innocence. Yet there was something tough about this lady, too. She wasn’t a Dresden doll, to be set on a shelf and admired. There was more to her than beauty or charm.
She’d insisted she would take care of the problem with Westmoreland herself. That took courage, even if it was naive. Surely, with all the publicity about battering in recent years, she knew she didn’t have to put up with anything like that.
An hour later Joe and Candy arrived. Candy was polite, but that was all. David had to assume she was still angry but she didn’t show it overtly. Maybe she was embarrassed for Joe to know that they’d split up. On the way over, he’d filled her in about Lisette.
“I hope you don’t mind my coming with Joe.” Candy seemed cool, reserved.
“Not at all,” he lied. “I’d forgotten your thesis was on Memphis and the Peabody.”
“I’ve been in love with the Peabody Hotel since I was a little girl. We went by my house on the way to get some of my research sources and information on the important families in Memphis history and the reconstruction of the city after the yellow fever epidemics in the 1870s.” She opened a small case and produced a laptop computer David had seen her use a hundred times. “I think I remember a plug on that wall. I hate to use my batteries if there’s electricity around.”
“End of the couch.” The last time she’d been in this house was barely a week ago. She knew where that outlet was. He swallowed his retort
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