“Maybe someone else torched his truck and set him up.”
“Candy Land.”
“I’m only giving you some possibilities,” said Lucas. “You asked me to find something, and I did.”
Petersen stood. He paced the room, his cowboy boots clomping on the wood floor. “I’m going to trial in a couple of days.”
“Then subpoena Dodson and put him on the stand,” said Lucas. “At least you’ll put a, you know, seed of doubt into the jury’s mind.”
“And cut to commercial break,” said Petersen, with amusement.
Lucas got out of his chair. He stretched and picked up his notebook off the desk.
“You’re leaving?” said Petersen.
“I’ve got plans tonight.”
“A woman, I take it.”
“I’m like that.”
“‘Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.’”
“I intend to,” said Lucas. “By the way, I’m going to be out of commission for a while.”
“Side job?”
Lucas didn’t answer. He walked toward the door.
“Spero,” said Petersen, and Lucas stopped and turned. “Nice work on this one. Real nice.”
Lucas said, “I know.”
On the way to Petersen’s office, Lucas had gotten a call from Charlotte Rivers. She’d be at the hotel on 16th Street that evening, and was wondering if he wanted to stop by.
“I’ve been calling you,” said Lucas.
“I don’t leave that phone on much,” said Charlotte. “Do you want to come or not?”
“I can meet you in the bar.”
“Come straight up to my room,” she said, and gave him the number on the door.
At his place, he heated up some thick spaghetti with meat sauce, cut a salad, got some food inside him, then showered, dressed, and drove over to the hotel, where he left his Jeep with the valet. The doorman recognized him and damn near winked as he ushered him through the entrance. Maybe Lucas imagined it. His mind was fuzzy. He was thinking of Charlotte up in that room.
She let him into a suite, identically furnished as the one before, and closed the door behind him. She had already lit candles and extinguished the lights. Music was playing from her phone, which was connected to a portable speaker she had brought with her. It was the Lee “Scratch” Perry compilation Arkology, which she had downloaded especially for him. Lucas liked that she had remembered.
Charlotte was dressed in a black tank top and black jeans, with brown T-strap boots, as she had been at Boundary Road, though tonight beneath the shirt she was free. He embraced her and ran his hands down her bare arms.
“We should talk,” said Lucas.
“We will,” she said.
She put her mouth to his and held the back of his neck as they kissed. Her hair smelled of rainwater and her lips were butter. They kissed in the entranceway and against the wall, and soon found themselves lying on the thickly carpeted floor. An hour passed quickly, just like that, the two of them making out, sweating as if they had completed the act, though they’d not yet removed their clothes. They stopped so Lucas could uncork the bottle of Barolo that stood on the dresser. He poured it into two short glasses and they drank some, then put the glasses down and began to kiss some more. They made it to the bed and faced each other. She unbuttoned his jeans, released him, and stroked him lavishly.
“God,” said Lucas.
“What do you like?” she said.
“This.”
“Let me take my boots off.”
“Let me,” said Lucas.
He led her to the black velvet settee and sat her there. He put one of her boots up on his thigh and removed it, then the other. He lifted her tank top over her head, and she pushed her hips forward as he took off her jeans and peeled away her thong. Heat came off her.
“Lay down,” he said, and he stretched her out on the settee and got on his knees. He kissed her mouth and shoulders, licked and bit at her nipples, and raised them. He moved his face to between her legs and pushed aside her hood and found her spot engorged with blood, and flicked his tongue there. Her breath grew short. He rubbed his forefinger down the strip, buried his thumb inside her, and kissed her pearl, then sucked on it. She said, “Spero,” and grabbed his hair and came with abandon.
Afterward, she moved to put him in her mouth. But he shook his head, picked her up, and carried her to the bed, where he laid her down on her back atop the drawn sheets.
“Like this tonight,” said Lucas. Her legs opened like a flower and he went to her in the flickering light.
“How’d you know I was married?” said Charlotte.
“A man knows,” said Lucas. “That movie with the twist at the end, where Clooney finds out his girlfriend is married and it’s supposed to be a shocker? That was bullshit. Good movie and all that. But bullshit.”
They were finishing the wine in bed. Charlotte had a sip and said, “How do you feel about it? That I’m married.”
“I came back,” said Lucas. He knew what she was asking, but he was evading the question.
“I’m glad you did.”
“Am I a first for you?” He nearly winced when he said it. He sounded like a boy.
“I came close once before. Made a date at the bar downstairs, in the same way that I asked to meet you the other night. Five minutes in, I knew he wasn’t for me. He bragged about money. I had one drink and went home.” She kissed him. “Let’s not talk about that. Point is, I’m here with you.”
“But why did you reach out to me? Why’d you reach out to that other guy?”
“That’s pretty simple. There’s something missing in my marriage.”
“What?”
“This.” She drew him close to her and kissed him softly.
“Thanks for bringing that reggae,” said Lucas.
“It’s good music to make love to.”
“Yes.” He looked into her eyes. “You’re fucking amazing.”
“Thank you, Spero.”
“So how do you feel about it?” said Lucas. “Us, together like this.”
“It’s been incredible.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Am I torn up about the fact that I’m having an affair? No.” Charlotte turned and put her empty glass on the nightstand. She lay back down on her side and faced him, ran her hand along his forearm. “I’ve been married for ten years. My husband is a good guy, very successful, a hard worker. Focused. We don’t fight, and he’s not abusive in any way. He’s not even temperamental, really. But the passion isn’t there. We make love a couple of times a month, and it’s fine, but it’s by the numbers, you know? I guess it’s natural for it to be like that for two people after so many years. But it’s not enough for me. I’m still young. If I was older, I suppose I could live with it, but I’m not willing to live with it yet. That’s why I’m here.”
“At your service,” said Lucas. He didn’t smile.
“Don’t do that. You have no reason to be insecure. I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since the first time I saw you. It’s not just the physical part of this that moves me.”
“I feel the same way,” said Lucas, and it was true.
“I brought another bottle of that Italian,” said Charlotte. “Why don’t you open it?”
Lucas left the bed naked, returned with the open bottle, poured some for her, poured more for himself. They had some more to drink, lying beside each other, kissed and whispered, and let the time pass that way.
“Spero?”
“Yeah.”
“When you were in Iraq...”
He knew what was coming. The question was always the same.
“Yes?”
“Did you kill anyone?”