justice. When they got done with her, she’d never practice law again. Oh, God, Jonathan, how could you put me in such a position?
To pass the time, Lucy made herself a grilled cheese sandwich with a small green salad. She barely tasted what she was eating because her brain was going ten miles a minute as she tried to figure out what was going to happen to her life. Her thoughts were so scattered she felt like a kaleidoscope was inside her brain. In brilliant color. She had to keep blinking her eyes to ward off the blurriness.
After she tidied up the kitchen, Lucy made her way to the living room to wait for Frick and Frack’s “superiors” to show up. Before she sat down, she threw some logs on the smoldering embers and watched the fire spring to life. She felt just like the fire, like her body was crackling with something… electricity. To prove her point, she ran the palm of her hand up and down her arm and heard the little snicks that told her she was right. Again, she wondered what it meant.
Precisely at one minute to three, both Coop and Sadie raced to the door. A second later the bell rang. Lucy calmed the dogs as she dragged her injured foot across the carpet. At one point, she thought she saw sparks on the carpet. I must need glasses, she thought as she opened the door. Coop reared back and howled. Sadie barked her disapproval. Neither dog moved, but both of them tucked their tails between their legs. A clear sign to anyone who knew dogs that meant don’t mess with me or anyone close to me.
The two men and one woman stopped in their tracks as they eyed the two golden dogs. “Stay,” Lucy said to Sadie. She knew Clueless Cooper would do whatever Sadie did. She motioned for the trio to follow her into the living room.
Lucy offered them nothing more than a place to sit. “Let’s skip the small talk and cut to the chase. I told your two agents I know nothing about my fiancé’s affairs. I don’t see how I can possibly help you. What is it you want from me? Just so you know, I am not one bit happy with what is going on. Until yesterday, I had a nice life, and you and your agents are turning it inside out.”
The agents stared at her, obviously paying little if any attention to what she was saying. “Allow me to introduce myself,” the tallest of the three said. “I’m Agent Harry Mason, this is Special Agent Sylvia Connors, and the man on my left is Agent Thomas Lawrence. Fine animals you have here. Very protective, I see. That’s a good thing when a woman lives alone.”
Lucy nodded. She wasn’t giving up anything, even if it was the mating habits of dogs. She stared across at the agents with unblinking intensity, wishing Mason would get on with it so she could take a nap. She blinked, then rubbed her eyes. For just a second the room was fuzzy, slightly distorted. Concussion. The thought made her heart race.
“Miss Baker, Agent Conover’s report indicates he’s explained our suspicions concerning Leo Banks. You, of course, know Leo Banks as Jonathan St. Clair. I’d like you to look at these photographs and tell me if the man you know as Jonathan St. Clair is the man in the photographs.”
Lucy reached for the eight-by-ten black-and-white glossy prints of her fiancé. How handsome he was. She nodded. “Yes, that’s my fiancé.”
“Now, I want you to look at these pictures. This is Leo Banks at his high school graduation, his college graduation, random pictures taken over the past three years by one of our agents. Do you agree they are pictures of one and the same man?”
Lucy sucked in her breath. There was no denying the likeness. She nodded again, biting down on her lip so she wouldn’t cry. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t help but stare across the room at the dining room table. The female agent followed her gaze and looked at her with pity in her eyes. Lucy felt faint with the realization that the agents hadn’t lied to her.
Anger at her circumstances rippled through her. “A
To pass the time, Lucy made herself a grilled cheese sandwich with a small green salad. She barely tasted what she was eating because her brain was going ten miles a minute as she tried to figure out what was going to happen to her life. Her thoughts were so scattered she felt like a kaleidoscope was inside her brain. In brilliant color. She had to keep blinking her eyes to ward off the blurriness.
After she tidied up the kitchen, Lucy made her way to the living room to wait for Frick and Frack’s “superiors” to show up. Before she sat down, she threw some logs on the smoldering embers and watched the fire spring to life. She felt just like the fire, like her body was crackling with something… electricity. To prove her point, she ran the palm of her hand up and down her arm and heard the little snicks that told her she was right. Again, she wondered what it meant.
Precisely at one minute to three, both Coop and Sadie raced to the door. A second later the bell rang. Lucy calmed the dogs as she dragged her injured foot across the carpet. At one point, she thought she saw sparks on the carpet. I must need glasses, she thought as she opened the door. Coop reared back and howled. Sadie barked her disapproval. Neither dog moved, but both of them tucked their tails between their legs. A clear sign to anyone who knew dogs that meant don’t mess with me or anyone close to me.
The two men and one woman stopped in their tracks as they eyed the two golden dogs. “Stay,” Lucy said to Sadie. She knew Clueless Cooper would do whatever Sadie did. She motioned for the trio to follow her into the living room.
Lucy offered them nothing more than a place to sit. “Let’s skip the small talk and cut to the chase. I told your two agents I know nothing about my fiancé’s affairs. I don’t see how I can possibly help you. What is it you want from me? Just so you know, I am not one bit happy with what is going on. Until yesterday, I had a nice life, and you and your agents are turning it inside out.”
The agents stared at her, obviously paying little if any attention to what she was saying. “Allow me to introduce myself,” the tallest of the three said. “I’m Agent Harry Mason, this is Special Agent Sylvia Connors, and the man on my left is Agent Thomas Lawrence. Fine animals you have here. Very protective, I see. That’s a good thing when a woman lives alone.”
Lucy nodded. She wasn’t giving up anything, even if it was the mating habits of dogs. She stared across at the agents with unblinking intensity, wishing Mason would get on with it so she could take a nap. She blinked, then rubbed her eyes. For just a second the room was fuzzy, slightly distorted. Concussion. The thought made her heart race.
“Miss Baker, Agent Conover’s report indicates he’s explained our suspicions concerning Leo Banks. You, of course, know Leo Banks as Jonathan St. Clair. I’d like you to look at these photographs and tell me if the man you know as Jonathan St. Clair is the man in the photographs.”
Lucy reached for the eight-by-ten black-and-white glossy prints of her fiancé. How handsome he was. She nodded. “Yes, that’s my fiancé.”
“Now, I want you to look at these pictures. This is Leo Banks at his high school graduation, his college graduation, random pictures taken over the past three years by one of our agents. Do you agree they are pictures of one and the same man?”
Lucy sucked in her breath. There was no denying the likeness. She nodded again, biting down on her lip so she wouldn’t cry. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t help but stare across the room at the dining room table. The female agent followed her gaze and looked at her with pity in her eyes. Lucy felt faint with the realization that the agents hadn’t lied to her.
Anger at her circumstances rippled through her. “A
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