Smoke in Mirrors

was sort of hoping you’d be on your way out of town by now, Delling.”
    “Don’t worry, I’ll be leaving soon. But I wanted to talk to you first.” Kyle came to a halt in the middle of the aisle. “It’s about Leo.”
    Thomas did not move. “I don’t really want to discuss her. Especially with you.”
    “She’s a nice person,” Kyle said, looking serious and profound. “A genuinely nice person.”
    “Translated, that means that you came here knowingthat you could talk her into making that phone call to her friend for you.”
    “Well, sure.” Kyle raised one shoulder in an easy, unconcerned shrug. “She was bound to do it eventually. I know her, you see. She wouldn’t sabotage someone else’s career by refusing to make a simple phone call.”
    “You got what you wanted. You can leave now.”
    Kyle looked amused. “You’re in a hurry to get rid of me, aren’t you?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Take it easy, I’m on my way. But before I go I thought I’d give you a little advice about Leo. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”
    “Don’t worry, I won’t.”
    “She’s a little old-fashioned in some ways. Probably because she was raised by her grandparents. Some things she just can’t handle.”
    “Like finding her fiancé in bed with her sister? Gosh, Delling. Think she overreacted?”
    “It was a one-time thing.” Kyle grimaced. “You sound as uptight as Leonora. Trust me, if you’d ever met Meredith, you’d know why I ended up in bed with her that day. She came on to me, not the other way around.”
    “I knew Meredith. We dated for a while.”
    Kyle looked momentarily confused. Then understanding dawned. “You screwed Meredith? No shit.”
    Thomas did not respond.
    “This is not good,” Kyle said. “Not good at all. Does Leo know?”
    “She knows.”
    Kyle went back to looking bewildered. “I don’t get it. Why the hell is she still seeing you if she knows that you and Meredith had a fling?”
    “I dated Meredith before I met Leonora. You screwed around with Meredith while you were engaged toLeonora. Can you grasp the basic distinction here, Delling?”
    Kyle’s gaze dropped briefly to the hammer. “No offense, but I don’t need a lecture on semantics from a guy who knows how to use large and dangerous tools.”
    “I’m not delivering a lecture,” Thomas said patiently. “I’m insulting your honor and integrity.”
    “I get the point. If you’re looking for a fight, forget it. My doctorate is in English Lit. In my field, we prefer to settle our arguments in print.”
    “There you go, spoiling my whole afternoon.”
    Kyle sighed. “If you knew Meredith, you know why I screwed around and ended up shooting myself in the foot.”
    “No,” Thomas said. “I don’t understand why you risked losing Leonora for a fling with a woman who was cold as ice.”
    “Meredith? Cold?” Kyle looked startled. Then he chuckled. “Don’t know how she was with you but with me she was one hot little firecracker.”
    “You bought into her act, huh? And here I thought you Ph.D. types were supposed to be smarter than the average single-celled animal.”
    “What act?” Kyle demanded.
    “Meredith didn’t like men.”
    “Didn’t like men? You’re out of your mind.”
    Thomas shrugged. “Ask Leonora. Meredith was sexually assaulted when she was a kid. Turned her off sex for life. She didn’t like or trust men. Used her body to get what she wanted, but once she had obtained her objective, she ended the relationship.”
    “I don’t believe that. Why the hell did she seduce me if she wasn’t interested?”
    “You really don’t have a clue about what that one afternoon in Leonora’s bed was all about, do you?” Thomassaid. “It was designed to destroy your relationship with Leonora. Meredith didn’t want her sister to marry you, so she seduced you to prove that you couldn’t be trusted.”
    “That’s bullshit.”
    “Hey, it worked, didn’t it? Meredith knew Leonora well enough to know that cheating was the one thing her sister wouldn’t forgive.”
    “That’s pure bullshit.”
    “Use your head, Delling. Why do you think Meredith made sure it happened in Leonora’s bed? Who do you think called Leonora a half hour before the big seduction scene to make sure she would walk in the door at the right moment?”
    Kyle looked shocked. “Meredith called Leonora? So, that’s why she came home early.”
    “You never figured that part out, huh?”
    “Now just a damned minute