Silver Linings

into that old selfpity routine? I thought you'd outgrown that years ago.”
    Mattie winced as the masseuse crushed her shoulders. “Sorry. Old habits are hard to break.”
    “Well, it's not as if you don't have cause in this instance, I suppose. In this case I did consciously choose Ariel for Hugh. And I admit it was a big mistake. All I can say is that at first glance they somehow seemed very suited to each other. They're both very vibrant, colorful, dramatic people. I thought they would strike sparks off each other.”
    “They did. More than sparks. Explosions.”
    “But they didn't set any long-term fires, Mattie. You and Hugh did.”
    “It's another mismatch, Aunt Charlotte. Trust me.”
    “Well, one way or another, you'd better be prepared for real fireworks if you insist on tying Hugh to Seattle. Because he can't stay here indefinitely, and he won't leave without you.”
    “Is that right?” Mattie retorted, feeling pressured again. “What about me? Why should I pull up stakes and move to his godforsaken little island? What about my career? What about my sushi and white wine? I'm happy here, Aunt Charlotte. Finally. After all these years I'm actually happy.”
    “Are you, dear?” Charlotte asked softly.
    “I think I'm getting tense again,” Mattie declared.
    “Just relax, dear.”
    “Aunt Charlotte?”
    “Yes, dear?”
    “What do you know about Hugh's past?”
    “His past? Well, he's worked for Vailcourt on a free-lance consulting basis for nearly four years.”
    “I mean, before he went to work for you.”
    “I'm afraid I can't tell you much.”
    “Because it's confidential? Personnel policies don't permit telling me?”
    Charlotte smiled. “It's not so much a matter of personnel policy as it is the plain and simple fact that I don't know exactly what Hugh was doing before he came to work for me.”
    Mattie frowned. “I find it hard to believe you'd hire someone you knew absolutely nothing about, Aunt Charlotte.”
    “Something about his style rather appealed to me,” Charlotte said thoughtfully. “He just walked into my office one day without an appointment and told me I needed him. Said one of the South American field offices of Vailcourt Mining was in jeopardy because a group of rebels was about to destroy it in order to make a political statement. Hugh told me that for ten thousand dollars he would deal with the situation.”
    “And he did.”
    “Oh, yes, dear. He certainly did. The rest, as they say, is history.”

    Hugh sprawled in his executive chair, heels stacked on the desk, and eyed the magnificent view of Elliott Bay through the office windows. When he got back to St. Gabriel, he'd have to see about ordering up a chair like the one he was presently occupying. But he already knew he had a better view back in the islands. There was something about having to look at the expanse of the bay through solid glass windows that could not be opened that bothered him.
    But, then, there were a lot of things about city life that irritated him. The sooner he got Mattie out of here, the better.
    “Where the hell have you been, Silk?” Hugh said when Taggert eventually rumbled inquiringly into the phone. He could hear the sounds of the Hellfire evening crowd in the background. “I've been trying to reach you for two days.”
    “I was off island,” Silk said, sounding stone-cold sober. “Took a little trip to Hades to see if I could pick up any leads.”
    “Any luck?”
    “Word is that things have settled down on Purgatory. The revolution or whatever you want to call it is over, and it's business as usual over there, apparently.”
    “Who's in charge?”
    “Good question, boss. A lot of the old crowd, believe it or not, including Findley, the pool-shooting president. The official word is that the coup failed and things are back to normal. But the rumor is there's a new man in charge behind the scenes and that the important government officials now answer to him.”
    “In other words, the coup worked but the new strongman has enough sense to stay out of the spotlight.”
    “Sounds like it. And whoever it is, he's also smart enough to use money, not guns, to buy the loyalty of the local officials.”
    “Money always did talk over on Purgatory,” Hugh observed. “That's one of the things Cormier liked about it.”
    “As Cormier pointed out, money talks everywhere. It's just a bit more obvious on a small island like Purgatory. Don't forget, in the old days, that island was a