Mary Bliss had all the trays of poached chicken lined up on Katharine’s kitchen counter. The house was so quiet, all she could hear was the ticking of the kitchen clock.
She was mixing the dressing with the sour cream and honey, letting the wire whisk clang satisfyingly against the glass bowl, when the overhead lights switched on.
“Well?” Katharine hopped up on one of the bar stools at the island. “How was your fact-finding mission?”
“Awful,” Mary Bliss said. “He’s a private investigator. Parker ripped off his client for about four hundred thousand dollars, and now he won’t stop until he catches Parker and makes him give back the money.”
“Maybe he can make him give back your money while he’s at it,” Katharine said, dipping her pinkie in the mixing bowl. “Hmm. Good. Just like Mamie used to make. You’ve got this all written down?”
“It’s all in my head,” Mary Bliss said, tapping her forehead. “Listen. If Matt Hayslip finds Parker, I’m cooked. He can’t be alive—because I already had him declared dead. Remember?”
“Oh yeah,” Katharine said. “Details. Forgive me. It’s a little late in the evening for me to be figuring out all this strategy of yours.”
“I’m sorry,” Mary Bliss said. “Go on back to bed. I’ll be out of your hair just as soon as I get this chicken mixed together.”
“Bed,” Katharine said, making a face. “Bed’s no fun. And anyway, I can’t sleep.”
“Why not?” Mary Bliss asked.
“The usual. Charlie. I don’t know what to do with that man, I swear.”
“Is he having chest pains again?” Mary Bliss asked.
“No, it’s not that,” Katharine said. “It’s him. And the BW. And me. Us. Everything. God. Just when I think I have everything figured out, he has to go off and have a heart attack.”
“Is that what this is all about?” Mary Bliss asked. “You’re worried about losing him?”
“I don’t know,” Katharine said, twisting to and fro on the bar stool. “Everything would have been fine if I’d just let things alone. If I hadn’t dragged him back here and seduced him the other night.”
“He had a heart condition,” Mary Bliss reminded her. “It probably would have happened sooner or later anyway. Maybe with the BW. And he would have died.”
“But I was over him,” Katharine said. “Really and truly. And now everything’s all stirred up again. And I hate it. And now Chip’s involved. And it’s making me crazy.”
“What does Chip think?”
Katharine sighed. “He’s still a kid. He just wants Mommy and Daddy to get back together and take him to Disney World. He’s completely unrealistic.”
“And Charlie?”
“He’s scared. He won’t admit it, but he is. And I won’t take him back just because he’s scared. It’s not a good reason to stay married. I already promised myself, I’m not going through this shit again. I can’t.”
“Charlie’s a good guy,” Mary Bliss said. “Not perfect, but neither are you. And he loves you. I know he does.”
“He loved me so much he had an affair,” Katharine said dully.
“He screwed up,” Mary Bliss said. “What does he say about the BW anyway?”
“That it’s over. He turned fifty and he was looking for a thrill. Only it turned out not to be all that thrilling. So it was all a horrible mistake.”
“That should count for something,” Mary Bliss urged.
“Yeah,” Katharine said, twisting a strand of her hair. “The question is, how much does it count?”
“It’s everything,” Mary Bliss said. “A good guy, with decent intentions? Look at all the creeps and liars running around. Look at Parker. The bastard. And Matt Hayslip.” She shuddered thinking about it.
“What about Matt Hayslip?” Katharine said. “He’s got a thing for you, doesn’t he?”
“He was just trying to get to Parker. Through me. Using me.”
“He can use me anytime he wants,” Katharine said. “The man is totally hot. And you know it too.”
“He’s repulsive,” Mary Bliss said. She was pouring the dressing over the chicken, mixing in the water chestnuts and the chopped pecans.
“So. Nothing physical tonight?”
“Nothing at all,” Mary Bliss said firmly. “We had dinner, I told him what I thought about him and left.”
“I see,” Katharine said. “I guess you were in a hurry when you left.”
“I was steamed,” Mary Bliss agreed.
“So steamed you didn’t notice you’d put your top on inside out,” Katharine said.
Mary Bliss looked down and blushed.
The doorbell rang and they both jumped, startled.
“It’s one in the morning,” Katharine said, wrapping the belt of her robe tighter. “Who in the hell could that be?”
“Chip?”
“He’s got a key, and anyway, he’s down at St. Simon’s for the weekend. I better see who it is before Charlie wakes up.”
The bell rang again, and Katharine started down the hall with Mary Bliss right behind her. “I’m coming,” she called softly.
Katharine peered through the peephole, then jumped back. “Jesus!” she said. “I don’t believe it.”
The doorbell rang again. “Hey, Katharine,” a man’s voice called. “Lemme in. Okay?”
“Shhh!” Katharine hissed, her lips to the door. “Go away or I’ll call the cops.”
“Who is it?” Mary Bliss asked.
“See for yourself,” Katharine said, gesturing toward the peephole.
Mary Bliss pressed her eye to the door and took a look. “Jesus,” she said, her voice shaky. “You better let him in before he wakes up the whole neighborhood. Including Charlie.”
Katharine opened the door a scant four inches, leaving the security chain fastened.
“What do you want?”
Dinky Davis beamed back at her. “Heya, Katharine. I mean, buenas noches, Señora Weidman.”