V is for Vengeance (Kinsey Millhone 22)

Then there was the end of his relationship with Lola, and that depressed him as much as anything. That morning, when he’d finished showering and getting dressed, he’d come into the bedroom to find her already up and in her travel clothes. She had a suitcase open on the bed and a garment bag hooked over the open closet door, with the inner flap unzipped. She’d already moved a number of dresses, skirts, and suits still on hangers into its interior.

“What’s this about?”

“What’s it look like? I’m packing my things.”

“You don’t have to leave so soon.”

“Of course I do. The whole world doesn’t revolve around you. I have needs and desires of my own.”

“Where are you going?”

“Haven’t decided yet. I’m having a car take me down to Los Angeles. I’ll stay at the Bel-Air until I make up my mind. London for sure and after that, who knows?”

“You need cash?”

“No, Dante. I have a fortune in gold coins stashed under the mattress. I thought you knew.”

He smiled in spite of himself. “How much?”

“Fifty grand should do for now.”

He took out his money clip and counted off a number of bills that he handed to her. “That’s ten. I’ll have Lou Elle get the other forty to you at the hotel. After that, she’ll set up an account for you.”

“Thanks. I’m charging everything to you anyway, but there’s always tips and incidentals. You might alert American Express so there’s no hassle. I hate when the assholes refuse a card. They’re always so smug about it.”

“No problem.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, which was still unmade. The covers were thrown back and the sheets were warm with her scents: cologne, bath salts, shampoo. He felt a sharp pang of anxiety. What would he do with himself when she was gone? After eight years, he couldn’t even picture the empty place she’d leave in his life.

She secured the elastic bands across the hanging clothes to hold them flat and then closed and zipped the inner flap. She added a few items to the big suitcase and closed that as well. “Could you haul that down for me? I don’t want to give myself a hernia.”

He crossed to the closet door and lifted the garment bag off by its hook. He placed it on the bed and watched while she zipped it up. “This is all you’re taking? Doesn’t look like much.”

“I gotta be prepared to tote everything myself. The bags have wheels, but there’s a limit to how many I can manage at one time.”

“That’s what redcaps and bellboys are for.”

“Only when I get where I’m going. In between, I got cabs and airports and who knows what. Better to travel light so I don’t end up loaded down like a pack mule,” she said. “What about you? I figured you’d be taking off with your new lady love. What’s her name?”

“Nora. How’d you find out about her?”

“I know how you operate and I can get information from the same sources.”

“She hasn’t agreed to go with me and now something else has come up.”

“Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s not. Two years ago I loaned a kid some money on a gambling debt. He owed a casino in Vegas and he came to me for cash to cover him. We made a deal and shook hands. I ponied up and then he tried to weasel out of paying. He offered me his Porsche in lieu of payment and I told Cappi to take care of it. I meant take a look and see if the car was okay. Cappi tossed him off the parking garage.”

“I take it Cappi didn’t get caught or he’d still be locked up,” she said.

“That’s not the problem. Turns out the kid was Nora’s only son. I knew her husband years ago, Tripp Lanahan. Guy drops dead of a heart attack at thirty-six. She mentions his name and I put it together in a flash. I thought I’d have a heart attack myself.”

Lola sat down beside him. “What are you going to do?”

“What are my choices? I have to tell her.”

“No, you don’t. Are you nuts? Keep your big mouth shut. Otherwise all you’re going to do is fuck it up.”

“What if she hears about it from someone else? Then I’m really fucked.”

Lola’s expression was pained. “Oh, please. You know what this is like? Having an affair and then making a full confession. Leaves the guilty party feeling just fine, thanks. You get it off your chest and your conscience is clear. Meanwhile, you put the whole load of shit on your significant other who hasn’t done a thing.”