Act of God

other. However, I’m equally sure that Mother was aware of the... absence of love between Darbra and me, and therefore subconsciously Mother was insuring more than our lives. She was insuring, via Auntie Dar, that in the event one sibling dropped out of sight, the other would have a reason to look into it.”
    “Money as the motivation for concern.”
    “It works, Mr. Cuddy. My retaining you is proof of that.”
    “I also found out how Darbra got the job at Value Furniture.”
    “My suggestion to Pearl Rivkind, you mean?”
    “Yes.”
    “So?”
    “So that would have been another nice thing for my client to tell me.”
    “For one of your clients to tell you, certainly. But, if you’ll recall, you spoke with Pearl first, and when you didn’t ask me about how Darbra came to be at the store, I naturally assumed Mrs. Rivkind had already satisfied your curiosity on that point.”
    Nicely done. Even with some law school training, though,
    Proft had to have thought the thing through in advance of us getting to the bench. “Why’d you put in the good word?”
    “With Pearl , you mean?”
    “Yes.”
    A casual shrug. “I knew my sister was looking for work, and I thought Mr. Rivkind might have a job for her.”
    “How’d you know your sister was out of work?”
    The grin curled a little more. “Given that dear Darbra and I don’t get along that well?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “Ah, Mr. Cuddy, you seem to be better at your job than I could have hoped. I’m very glad I hired you.”
    “I’d be very glad if you answered my question.”
    Another sigh. “Darbra called me a few months ago, rather out of the blue.”
    “About what?”
    “Well, Auntie Dar’s birthday was coming up—oh, so it must have been more than a few months ago, mid-March to July One... yes, three and a half months ago. In any case, Darbra thought it would be a good idea for me to call Auntie Dar and find out if everything was still in order about the insurance policies.”
    “Meaning, was Darlene Nugent still paying the premiums on them.”
    “Precisely.”
    “And?”
    “And what?”
    “Did you call your aunt?”
    “No. No, I was grateful to be reminded to send some flowers for the occasion, but I thought that checking up on the policies seemed rather... tacky, so I told Darbra I’d leave it to her, if she wished.”
    “Tacky, but you still asked Mrs. Rivkind about a job for her.”
    “I thought the discipline of a well-managed store might be good for my sister.”
    My face must have shown what I thought of that one. “Oh, all right, then. I was just trying to have some fun.”
    “Fun.”
    “With Darbra’s ways, I thought she might... liven things up a bit at Value.”
    “Stir up trouble, you mean.”
    “I really didn’t know.”
    “But if Darbra caused trouble at the store, and you’d recommended her to Pearl Rivkind, you might have lost the Rivkinds’ business.”
    “Lost...? You mean, at the pharmacy?”
    “Yes.”
    “You overestimate my sense of... entrepreneurship? I’m just a lowly employee, Mr. Cuddy. The pharmacy losing a customer over a little prank on my part really wouldn’t trouble me a great deal.”
    The explanation made sense, so long as you believed William Proft was that kind of guy. “It was your idea that you and Mrs. Rivkind come to see me together.”
    “I recall I did tell you that.”
    “You wanted her in on it because you thought I wouldn’t take you on alone.”
    He returned to his coffee. “Because of my personality. Or perhaps lack of it, as some have commented in the past.”
    “And if I did take you on alone, you were afraid I’d drop the case once I found out the real reason you wanted Darbra found.”
    “And you would have, wouldn’t you?”
    I didn’t reply.
    Proft’s grin turned smug. “So, you see, I was right. Having Mrs. Rivkind as a joint client not only saved me half your fee, it also kept you on my case.”
    “Half right.”
    “Half?”
    “I’m still on the case, both for your sister and Mrs. Rivkind’s husband. But I’ve mostly eliminated possibilities rather than discovered new ones. I think I’m going to have to take a trip to New Jersey .”
    “I don’t envy you.”
    “But the trip will be for Darbra, not for Abraham
    Rivkind.”
    As Proft caught on, his grin evaporated. “But surely the money we’ve already given you is sufficient—”
    “It’s sufficient, all right. But the trip to Jersey is going to be funded by you. Entirely.”
    “Not