Smoke in Mirrors

hung around that apartment down in L.A. for a while waiting for Leonora Hutton to show up. Different matter entirely. That was business.”
    He and Wrench continued along the footpath at their own easy pace, ignoring the thundering herd. A shortwhile later they turned off the path to follow a lane up the wooded hillside to the house in the trees.
    Thomas paused on the porch to dig out his key and open the door. Inside the small foyer he unleashed Wrench. He removed his jacket and hung it in the closet. Wrench went into the kitchen to find his water bowl.
    There was a chill in the house. Thomas paused in the front room to light the fire. When the blaze was crackling properly he rose and walked between the two large recliners positioned in front of the hearth to the counter that divided the kitchen and living areas.
    Virtually every surface gleamed in these rooms. Ditto the bathroom and front hall. It had taken him several months to complete the tile project. Sometimes he wondered if he’d gone a little overboard.
    He checked the phone for messages. There were none. Leonora Hutton had not called.
    He opened a cupboard, took a doggie treat out of a large bag and tossed it to Wrench. Wrench crunched happily away on the fake bone.
    “Supposed to be good for your teeth,” Thomas said.
    Wrench did not appear to be concerned about his teeth.
    It was hard to explain good oral hygiene to a dog that had been blessed with excellent teeth. Thomas abandoned the attempt, opened the door beside the refrigerator and went into his favorite room in the house, his workshop.
    He switched on the light. Ranks of gleaming tools were neatly arranged on the walls. Pliers, screwdrivers, wrenches, all were organized according to size and type. Storage chests with clear plastic windows on the drawers held precisely sorted nails and screws. A sack of grout left over from the recent marathon tile project stood in the corner.
    He walked to the large wooden table in the center of the room and lounged against it next to the drill press. Hedid his best thinking in this room and right now he wanted to think about Leonora Hutton.
    Night and day. Reverse images in a mirror.
    He’d been so damn sure what to expect from the woman he assumed had been Meredith’s partner. But Leonora baffled him. She hadn’t even tried to seduce him. He told himself he shouldn’t take it personally. Still, he had a feeling it would have been an interesting experience. A lot more interesting than it had been with Meredith.
    Sex had been a precision tool for Meredith. She had wielded it with professional competence. As far as he had been able to tell, she hadn’t taken any real pleasure in the work itself, though. All she had cared about was the end result which, as he had learned the hard way, had nothing to do with an orgasm. But like any good craftsman, she had taken care of her equipment and kept it clean.
    That had been enough for him for a short time. For her part, Meredith had not asked him to pretend a depth of feeling that they both knew did not exist. Looking back, he knew now that she had been content to terminate the relationship as soon as she had realized that he wasn’t going to give her anything she could use to further her embezzlement scam.
    Meredith had been a con artist, a professional liar and a thief. But when you got right down to it, she was not a mystery. He was pretty sure he understood what had made her tick.
    Leonora, on the other hand, was a mystery.
    He thought about the mysterious Leonora and wondered if he’d used the right tools to get the job done.

    “He actually threatened you?” Gloria Webster demanded.
    Leonora looked at her grandmother who sat across from her on the other side of the restaurant table.

    Her grandparents had raised her from the age of three following the death of her parents in an airline disaster. Her grandfather Calvin had died six years ago.
    Gloria was eighty-something. She kept her helmet of permanently waved curls tinted a bright, brassy blond and she never went out of her apartment without a fresh application of her favorite crimson red lipstick. She favored polyester pantsuits with tunic style tops designed with little stand-up collars to hide neck wrinkles. Tonight’s ensemble was in a shade of green that matched her eyes. There were a number of gold bracelets on her wrists and several rings glittered on her hands. None were very valuable but Gloria liked a lot of sparkle.
    Leonora considered Gloria a