desk and stood in front of him until he looked up at her. “You and I have that in common and it isn’t good. We’re too tough to be relaxing company. That doesn’t give us badges of honor—it’s sad. I’m trying to loosen up. Of course, I’d never give you advice on anything you might want t’do. Does Amy live in New Orleans?”
Dr. O’Brien distracted him. The light makeup she wore suited her, especially the pale, shiny lipstick. When she was a little kid, he used to take her swimming in the pool at Clouds End, and he remembered her laughing like a manic imp. Would she like him to tow her around in that blue water now—with the sun on her face, and body?
“Marc?” she said, and he realized they’d been studying one another equally closely. He smiled and felt warm in all the best places.
“Amy doesn’t seem to live anywhere anymore, but she did live in the Quarter last I knew.”
“When’s the last time you saw her?” She sat on the front of her desk and swung her legs. Her waist was slim and her stomach flat, but her breasts were more than handfuls, and her hips curved just the way he liked. She’d fit very nicely on his knees.
He cleared his throat. “I haven’t seen Amy in a couple of months. That’s not unusual, but she used to call every other week or so. She’s only called once since I saw her last, and that was right after we had lunch that last time.”
“Funny you don’t run into each other more often when you live in the same city.”
“We frequent different places, with different people and on different schedules.”
“Too bad.”
“Yeah.” But it was the way Amy had wanted it, and in the end he’d wanted it, too.
“Surely she’s more likely to move on somewhere other than Toussaint.” She took hold of a pendant that hung at the vee of her blouse collar, and he glanced up, realizing she’d caught him looking at her breasts.
Fortunately his blushing days were over. “That would be logical, but Amy isn’t logical about a lot of things. She shared a flat with a medium. Had for a year or more, but the woman would never have contacted me. I called, looking for Amy. The medium said she hadn’t seen her since the beginning of May. Almost two months.”
Reb frowned. “But this person hadn’t tried to find out where your sister was?”
“No.” This had to be couched so he didn’t sound crazy. “She said she didn’t because she knew where she was. She was
in touch
with Amy.”
“As in Amy was dead and communicating from the other side?”
“We didn’t get too specific on that. The gist of everything said was that Amy had been seeing a man all the time she was in New Orleans. Not at the flat, but at some place they rented for when they were together.”
“Are you talking about Chauncey Depew?”
“She never cared for anyone else. He was her first and only love, starting from before she turned fourteen. He was twenty-one.”
Reb wrinkled her nose with distaste. “But he can’t have kept that up since he married Precious. She’s not much more than half his age—and she’s too high-maintenance. I doubt he gets to make a move she doesn’t know about.”
“Amy told me it was all over after the marriage, but her friend told me Depew even managed to get into town from his honeymoon in Orange Beach.”
“But that was a long time ago, Marc.”
He shrugged and gripped the arms of the chair. “I’m telling you what I was told myself. Evidently they kept seeing each other until Depew finally got scared his wife would find out—she must hold the purse strings—and called everything off. By my figuring that’s when Amy went missing.”
“That must have been a powerful relationship. To last so long under the circumstances.”
You
’
re thinking Amy
’
s probably a mess by now, and you
’
re right. Depew isn
’
t the type to hang around has-beens.
Marc hadn’t had the heart to ask Amy if she had something on Depew that kept him around.
With her hands
Dr. O’Brien distracted him. The light makeup she wore suited her, especially the pale, shiny lipstick. When she was a little kid, he used to take her swimming in the pool at Clouds End, and he remembered her laughing like a manic imp. Would she like him to tow her around in that blue water now—with the sun on her face, and body?
“Marc?” she said, and he realized they’d been studying one another equally closely. He smiled and felt warm in all the best places.
“Amy doesn’t seem to live anywhere anymore, but she did live in the Quarter last I knew.”
“When’s the last time you saw her?” She sat on the front of her desk and swung her legs. Her waist was slim and her stomach flat, but her breasts were more than handfuls, and her hips curved just the way he liked. She’d fit very nicely on his knees.
He cleared his throat. “I haven’t seen Amy in a couple of months. That’s not unusual, but she used to call every other week or so. She’s only called once since I saw her last, and that was right after we had lunch that last time.”
“Funny you don’t run into each other more often when you live in the same city.”
“We frequent different places, with different people and on different schedules.”
“Too bad.”
“Yeah.” But it was the way Amy had wanted it, and in the end he’d wanted it, too.
“Surely she’s more likely to move on somewhere other than Toussaint.” She took hold of a pendant that hung at the vee of her blouse collar, and he glanced up, realizing she’d caught him looking at her breasts.
Fortunately his blushing days were over. “That would be logical, but Amy isn’t logical about a lot of things. She shared a flat with a medium. Had for a year or more, but the woman would never have contacted me. I called, looking for Amy. The medium said she hadn’t seen her since the beginning of May. Almost two months.”
Reb frowned. “But this person hadn’t tried to find out where your sister was?”
“No.” This had to be couched so he didn’t sound crazy. “She said she didn’t because she knew where she was. She was
in touch
with Amy.”
“As in Amy was dead and communicating from the other side?”
“We didn’t get too specific on that. The gist of everything said was that Amy had been seeing a man all the time she was in New Orleans. Not at the flat, but at some place they rented for when they were together.”
“Are you talking about Chauncey Depew?”
“She never cared for anyone else. He was her first and only love, starting from before she turned fourteen. He was twenty-one.”
Reb wrinkled her nose with distaste. “But he can’t have kept that up since he married Precious. She’s not much more than half his age—and she’s too high-maintenance. I doubt he gets to make a move she doesn’t know about.”
“Amy told me it was all over after the marriage, but her friend told me Depew even managed to get into town from his honeymoon in Orange Beach.”
“But that was a long time ago, Marc.”
He shrugged and gripped the arms of the chair. “I’m telling you what I was told myself. Evidently they kept seeing each other until Depew finally got scared his wife would find out—she must hold the purse strings—and called everything off. By my figuring that’s when Amy went missing.”
“That must have been a powerful relationship. To last so long under the circumstances.”
You
’
re thinking Amy
’
s probably a mess by now, and you
’
re right. Depew isn
’
t the type to hang around has-beens.
Marc hadn’t had the heart to ask Amy if she had something on Depew that kept him around.
With her hands
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