Silver Linings

you've known Hugh for a long time?”
    “Sure. We been working together for years.”
    “Where did you meet him?”
    Silk scowled, looking thoughtful. “As best as I can remember, I think it was a bar somewhere along the coast of Mexico. I forget the name of the town. Neither of us stayed there long. Had a little trouble.”
    “You were working in the area?”
    “Abbot and I was flying charter for a guy who was running a little operation there. Pretty cushy job but it didn't last long.”
    Mattie propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her folded hands. “You said that job did not last long. What did the two of you do after that?”
    Silk grinned. “You plying me with sweet potato pie and tea in order to get me to talk?”
    “Just idle curiosity,” Mattie explained airily as she got up to clear the table.
    “Yeah, well better exercise your idle curiosity on the boss. He'll nail my hide to the wall if I get too chatty.”
    “Why?” Mattie inquired innocently.
    “He doesn't like to talk too much about the past.”
    “Any particular reason?”
    Silk leaned back in his chair, replete. “He pretty much likes to forget his past for the most part. Not the sort who looks back, you know? Abbott's got his eye on the future these days.”
    “Was Paul Cormier a big part of Hugh's past?”
    Silk's engaging grin belied the shrewd intelligence in his big blue eyes. “Cormier? You could say he was an old friend. Hugh's real loyal to old friends. Probably because he hasn't got too many of 'em.”
    “Anyone else besides you now?”
    “Well,” said Silk very smoothly, “I reckon there's you, too.”
    Mattie shot him a quick glance as she filled the cracked sink with hot water. “Hugh and I have not really known each other very long,” she murmured. “This is the first time I've seen him in nearly a year.”
    “I know. He told me you'd been ducking him. He didn't like that.” Silk shook his head. “Never seen a female who could make Abbott run around in circles the way he's been doing these past few months. And now you're dragging him all the way off to Seattle. He's gonna hate Seattle.”
    “Yes,” said Mattie. “I know. Don't worry, Silk. He won't be there long.”
    Silk's eyes narrowed abruptly. “What the hell's that supposed to mean?”
    “Just that I'm certain Hugh will soon get tired of Seattle and bored with me when he realizes I have no intention of moving here to St. Gabriel. He'll give up on his big plans to marry me, and he'll be back here before you know it.” She smiled bleakly. “After all, he's got a business to run.”
    Silk looked baffled. “You mean you're taking him back with you even though you know he won't be staying long?”
    “I'm not taking him back with me. He's insisting on accompanying me on the return trip.”
    “Yeah, but that's so's he can convince you that he likes you better than your nitwit sister. He told me all about it.”
    The sound of the Jeep in the drive halted Mattie's reply. Relief poured through her. “He's back.”
    “Sure. What did you think he was going to do? Spend the rest of the night drinking at the Hellfire or something? Hugh ain't the type.”
    “No, I was afraid he was walking into trouble. That Rosey he went to see is not a very nice little man.” Mattie quickly dried her hands on the ragged towel and went toward the door.
    It opened and Hugh strode into the small hall, shaking the rain from his hair.
    “Hugh, I've been so worried. Thank heavens you're all right.” Mattie raced forward and threw herself into his arms.
    “Well, well, well,” Silk said from the other side of the room. He surveyed the couple with a beatific smile. “Ain't that a picture. Maybe this little trip to Seattle is going to turn out all right after all. I left you a slice of pie, boss.”
    “Thanks,” Hugh said over the top of Mattie's head. His eyes met Silk's.
    “Trouble?” Silk asked.
    “Yeah.”
    “Mattie had a hunch there would be,” Silk said with a sigh.

    “I still can't believe that Rosey's dead,” Mattie said two hours later as she paced the floor of Hugh's small beach house. “Whoever killed him could have killed you, too. I knew that meeting was going to be dangerous. I just had a feeling.”
    “Well, it wasn't. Not for me, at any rate.” Hugh opened the refrigerator and reached inside for a beer. “Just for Rosey.”
    “So now you and Silk are back to square one as far as finding Cormier's murderer goes.” Mattie rubbed