Shallow Graves

confused again. “I’ve told you, John. At least twice. We launched Mau Tim. She was loyal to us.“
    “Like she was loyal to Puriefoy for scouting her.“
    “That’s different.“
    “Mau Tim was going to leave Boston and leave your agency, George. Five hundred thousand is a nice reverse severance package, don’t you think?“
    Yulin closed his eyes. Maybe counting to ten. It never helped me much.
    “John, there can’t possibly be any evidence involving me in Mau Tim’s death. To think that my going to bed with her a few times over six months ago could have anything—“
    “Mau Tim’s birth name was Amatina Danucci.“
    That last name caught him amidships.
    “Her grandfather is Tommy the Temper Danucci, George.“
    The mouth gaped open, and something rose in his chest. An image of Nancy after the vodka came into my mind.
    “George, if I were you, I’d hie me to a bathroom.“
    Yulin, a hand over his mouth, lunged out and toward the porcelain facility.

    “Who’s throwing up?“
    Erica Lindqvist spoke as I was leaving Yulin’s office. Just inside the yellow door, she was stylishly turned in a sweater dress and reptilian belt. An unlined trenchcoat was over one arm, a Gucci handbag trailing from the other hand.
    I said, “Your partner.“
    Lindqvist’s voice lost the playful tone. “George doesn’t usually do that on company time.“
    “Something I said didn’t agree with him.“
    She tried to get the light voice back. “Should I wait to hear it till the bathroom’s free?“
    “I’m not sure I can stay that long.“
    Lindqvist reached into her bag, coming out with a small leather case. “Let’s go up to my apartment, then. I know all the rooms are available there.“

- 25 -

    “Why don’t we sit out on the deck?“
    In her living room, Lindqvist laid the trenchcoat over the back of a barrel chair like the ones in her reception area downstairs. The handbag landed on the chair’s seat. I followed the cascade of brown hah through a sliding glass door. There was a view of the Charles River over and between buildings, but mostiy there was a view of the roofs of the buildings across the alley, buildings that would front on the south side of Commonwealth Avenue.
    I said, “Don’t you worry about your work getting too close to home?“
    “My work brings me pleasure, John. Today in the form of you.“
    The deck was about twelve-by-twenty, redwood made smudgy by the sooty Boston ah. I could set a chaise longue and two chairs, also redwood, with bright print pads and two side tables. The furniture and a gas grill pretty well filled the deck surface, which stopped only a foot or so before the edge of the roof. Around that edge, the gravelly tar and flashing looked well maintained.
    Lindqvist said, “I know it’s a little early, but can I get you something to drink?”
    “No, thanks.“
    She took the chaise longue, reclining to a reading position. “I take it, then, that you haven’t thought much about my offer.“
    “Sorry?“
    “You remember. A little... smorgasbord to go with your usual fare?“
    “Thanks, but I’m still taken.“
    Lindqvist watched me, measuring something. “Yes, you do have that look.“ She shook her head and sat up straighter in the lounge. “I think I’d better hear what you said to George.“
    “A couple of questions first. You own this building?“
    “In a manner of speaking.“
    “What manner would that be?“
    “It’s in a realty trust. You know what that is?“
    “Uh-huh. What do you do, rent out the space downstairs to the agency and other tenants and the space up here to yourself?“
    “That’s right.“
    “Mind telling me where the seed money came from?“
    Lindqvist gave me the measuring look again. “Quite a lot of it from that grandfather I told you about.“
    “Inheritance.“
    A nod. “Long time ago. The family always said, ‘Invest in the land. Erica. The land will always provide for you.’ Well, there wasn’t much land under this building, but like a filet mignon, what there was is choice.“
    “Speaking of family, was the lawyer who set up the trust one Vincent Dani by any chance?“
    “Vincent... He was Mau Tim’s uncle?“
    “That’s right.“
    Lindqvist appeared puzzled. “Why ask me a question like
    that?“
    “He did the trust work for the building over on Falmouth.“
    “Where Mau Tim was killed?“
    “Right.“
    “John, I don’t get any of this.“
    “You told me before that the only relative of Mau Urn that