Wicked Business (Lizzy and Diesel 2)

Her smile was small and didn’t reach her eyes. “Interesting,” she said.

Diesel didn’t return the smile. “I’d like to talk to you about Gilbert Reedy.”

“Poor man,” she said. “Would you like to come in?”

We stepped into her foyer and stopped there. I could see her living room and dining room from where I was standing. Very formal. Oriental rugs. Fabrics were burgundy and gold. Dark woods. Crystal chandelier over the table.

“I believe you dated Reedy,” Diesel said.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Briefly. He’s dead, you know.”

“You have a lovely home,” I said to her.

She flicked her eyes to me. “Thank you. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Lizzy Tucker.”

She studied me for a moment and turned back to Diesel. “Your move,” she said to him.

“Were you looking for true love?” Diesel asked her.

“Of course. Isn’t that everyone’s goal? Do you want true love?”

“Not at the moment,” Diesel said.

She looked at him from under lowered lashes. “Pity.”

“And what about nineteenth-century poets?” Diesel asked Early. “Are you fond of them?”

“With a passion. And you?”

“Not so much.”

“Hmm. I thought we would’ve had more in common,” Early said. “If you’ll excuse me now, I have a dinner engagement.”

We left Back Bay, and we didn’t speak until we were on the 1A, heading home.

“That was weird,” I said to Diesel. “The house was pretty inside but oppressive. And I had the feeling you knew each other.”

“We’ve never met, but it’s possible she’s heard of me. And the negative energy you felt was from her. It was rolling off

her in waves. If I stayed there much longer, I would have started bleeding from my ears.”

“Omigod. Would you really bleed from your ears?”

Diesel grinned at me. “No. I was exaggerating.”

“Deirdre Early isn’t normal.”

“Not even a little,” Diesel said.

“I suppose we aren’t normal, either.”

“The only normal people are people you don’t know very well.”

“That’s a quote from a famous person,” I told him.

“Yeah. I think it was either Andy Griffith or Yoda.”