V Is for Vengeance

Channing and you know what you’re in for. He’ll have a string of affairs that everyone will know about before you do. The best you can hope for is an affair of your own.”
    “Which is where you come in.”
    “Why not? I’m not trying to talk you into anything, except maybe taking off with me when the time comes.”
    “I should go.”
    “It’s not even two o’clock. You don’t have to be home until four.”
    She laughed. “You’re bad. If I’m not careful, I’ll end up calling my therapist about you.”
    “You’re in therapy?”
    “I was. Twice a week for a year.”
    “Why?”
    “I lost a child.”
    “You want to talk about it?”
    “No.”
    “Did therapy help?”
    “No. That’s why I quit. I got tired of the sound of my own voice. Grieving is like being ill. You think the entire world revolves around you and it doesn’t.”
    He reached out and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “Poor little sparrow.”
    “Yes. Poor me,” she said, but she didn’t pull away.

    Monday morning, Saul came into Dante’s office with a thick packet of papers in hand. “We’ve got a problem.”
    Dante was sitting at his desk, toying with a letter opener that he then tossed to one side. He folded his hands in front of him. He was not a happy man and the last thing he needed was another problem. “What.”
    “Georgia called. She needs to meet with you.”
    “Why is that a problem? Tell her I’ll pick her up at the usual place.”
    “That’s not the problem I was referring to.”
    “Forget the bad news. You look grimmer than usual and I don’t want to hear about it.”
    Saul was silent.
    Aggravated, Dante said, “Fuck you. What?”
    “Maybe I can come back later.”
    Dante made an “out with it” gesture with his hand.
    “The payroll was intercepted. That’s why Georgia wants to talk to you. Some schmo in Miami didn’t get word Audrey was out of the loop so he shipped the cash as usual. Her landlady intercepted the package. The money’s gone.”
    “What do you mean, gone? When was this?”
    “Friday.”
    “And Georgia’s just now reporting in? Tell her to get it the fuck back.”
    “She tried, only now there’s a local private eye in the mix. I guess she and the landlady are in it together. Georgia sent guys to both places, here and up there, and there’s no trace. Rumor has it they turned it over to the sheriff’s department in San Luis Obispo.”
    “Well, that’s terrific,” Dante said. “What else?”
    “Georgia thinks the PI has been tailing her.”
    “Georgia’s PMSie. Every thirty days, she turns paranoid and thinks someone’s after her. Fuckin’ drama queen.”
    “Sounds convincing to me. Maybe you ought to hear it from her.”
    Dante waved a dismissive hand. “Fine. You got more? Because so far you’ve only darkened my mood by half. You can do better than that.”
    “I wondered if you’d given any further thought to Cappi. He’s asking too many questions and I don’t like his drift.”
    “I gave him a nugget of information and we’ll see what he does with it. I told him we purge business records every Thursday at noon. I made it up on the spot, but what does he know? He’s double-dealing, he’ll hightail it back to whoever’s running him and tattle on us. I figure the feds will show up with search warrants and tear the place apart. Destroy his credibility and then what’s he worth?”
    “Why would anyone believe a story like that?”
    “By the time he blabs, he’ll have the facts so fucked up no one will know what to think. They’ll come after us on the off chance the asshole’s telling the truth.”
    “Nice to know something’s under control.”
    Dante pointed at the papers Saul had brought in. “What’s that?”
    Saul put the sheaf on Dante’s desk. “The latest pound of pretrial paperwork. You want to go over it?”
    “What for? I’m screwed either way. I lie, they got me for perjury. I tell the truth, I’m down the toilet. What am I supposed to do?”
    “What’s to debate? You lie through your teeth. It’s up to them to prove otherwise.”
    “I don’t like the idea of lying under oath. It might seem like splitting hairs, given things I’ve done in my life, but I’ve got standards like everyone else.”
    “Then go to Plan B: get out of the line of fire.”
    “How can I do that? I step to one side, that leaves you exposed.”
    “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. If you’re out of the picture, I can plead ignorance