"Thank you."
"What happened to your hand and your face?"
"Long story."
"The same story," she said.
"I suppose."
"That's the other thing. The other reason I came by. Our situation. It's not simple, is it?"
"I missed you," I said.
"I missed you, too. Still do. But…"
"There has to be a 'but.' "
"Don't be angry."
"I'm not. I'm sad."
"I am, too. If I didn't care about you, I'd have spared myself seeing you. Still, I'm not staying, Alex. A car is coming by to take me back to the airport and I'm rejoining the tour and remaining till the end. Which may stretch longer. We've been doing great, raising a bundle for the cause. There's been talk of a European extension."
" Paris?" I said.
She began to cry.
I would've liked to join in, but there was no juice left in me.
We held hands for the rest of the hour, not moving from the couch except for the time when I got her a wad of tissues to wipe her eyes.
When the taxi arrived, she said, "This isn't over. Let's see how it plays out."
"Sure."
I walked her to the door, stood on the terrace, and waved.
Three days later, I phoned Allison Gwynn's office and told her about Larner.
She said, "Oh, my- it's going to take me some time to integrate this… I'm glad you told me. It was good of you to tell me."
"I thought I should."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"If you ever need someone to talk to…"
"I'll bear that in mind."
"Do that," she said. "I mean it."
Jonathan Kellerman
Jonathan Kellerman is one of the world's most popular authors. He has brought his expertise as a child psychologist to numerous bestselling tales of suspense (which have been translated into two dozen languages), including thirteen previous Alex Delaware novels; The Butcher's Theater, a story of serial killing in Jerusalem; and Billy Straight, featuring Hollywood homicide detective Petra Connor. His new novel, Flesh and Blood, will be published in hardcover in fall 2001. He is also the author of numerous essays, short stories, and scientific articles, two children's books, and three volumes of psychology, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children. He and his wife, the novelist Faye Kellerman, have four children.
