Mean Woman Blues

his mnemonic device with LeDoux, it hadn’t been that long since she’d seen him. She knew he was in school at UNO, which could mean any kind of schedule in the world. Well, hell. She shrugged and decided to call back later, maybe drive by his house.
    She called Steve, thinking it was odd that she hadn’t heard from him. “Hi. It’s me.”
    “Oh. Hi.” Very distant.
    “You don’t sound so good.”
    “I just feel so helpless.” No wonder, with the whole town thinking he was a thief. It was her fault, and she wasn’t even free to tell him it was going to come right.
    “Baby, you don’t know the meaning of helpless. But it’ll be okay, really. You’ve just got to have faith.”
    “Yeah. Yeah, I know. We just have to get through this. Somehow.” It broke her heart to hear him sound so dejected.
    “Listen,” she said. “I’ve got to get out of here; I’m going out of town for a couple of days.”
    “Oh? Where?” Even more distant. She hadn’t asked him to come with her; that had to hurt.
    “Just… uh… I think I’m going to drive to the Gulf Coast. Try to cool out a little.”
    “Oh. Well, I’ve got the bug men coming today.” The termite people.
    “Steve, listen. We’ll get through this. I just need a couple of days…”
    “Sure. No matter what, Skip—”
    “What?”
    “I love you. I’m just a little down right now.”
    God, that must have cost him! “Me too, Steve. Let’s just hold on to that.”
    She rang off, feeling disoriented and sad. She sat down to read the paper with her coffee, see if she could wake up a little before tackling her files. She didn’t really want to face the fact that the Angola trip had been profoundly disappointing. She hadn’t actually dared hope that any of Jacomine’s followers had had a change of heart, but come to find out the toughest hombre in the bunch had cracked. Or claimed he had. But still he couldn’t tell her a damn thing.
    Or claimed he couldn’t.
    When she really thought about it what Menard had actually told her was to back off and flee for her life. Maybe he was a rattlesnake in a bunny suit, like Bettina. He looked sincere, sounded sincere. The best con men always did.
    He had said unequivocally,
Daddy set you up
. Maybe he knew it for a fact.
    Damn! She couldn’t seem to catch a break. But maybe she had, and didn’t know it. There was still the call from Isaac. She hadn’t left a message the first time, thinking to try him every thirty minutes. But an hour had gone by. She phoned him again, and again got no answer. She said, “Isaac, it’s Skip Langdon. Got your message; I’m around if you want to try me again.” She left her home number and went over to see if there was anything new at the Big House.
    Only Layne and Angel were home, Layne working in his study, and Angel curled up beside his desk. Being a puzzle maker by trade (which went over great with the kids), Layne did all his work at home.
    “The news,” he said, “is large. Kenny actually succeeded in teaching Angel that trick. You know, jumping up to his shoulder.”
    “Hey, show me!”
    “Nope. Only Kenny can do it. Right, girl?” The little dog wagged her tail and stared up at him, totally devoted. “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”
    Time was when he was so allergic to her, it almost ended his relationship with Jimmy Dee. But Kenny saved the day in a thoroughly unexpected way. Now Layne and Angel were inseparable, he being the human who was home the most.
    “Enough about us and our domestic triumphs. How about you?” Layne asked. The uncles were understandably worried about her.
    “Well, I’m… uh… ‘working at home’ until they figure out what to do with me.” She hated lying to Layne.
    “Skip, I’m just so sorry about all this.” He’d said it before, the first night of Angelgate, but it was the kind of thing you couldn’t get off your mind.
    “Yeah. Me too. I know it’s tough on the kids.”
    “Listen, you tried eating anything?”
    “Maybe I should make myself some oatmeal.”
    “Ha! I can do better than that. I was about to whip up some
pain perdu
.” The New Orleans version of French toast. “Sheila doesn’t know it but I’m barely managing to keep a recipe ahead of her in this cooking project we’re doing. I practice when the kids are at school.”
    “Thanks, but I don’t think I’m up to company right now. I’m just—” She was about to say she was going over some old files but thought even that might be