Orchid Blues (Holly Barker 2)

Stone took her in his arms, and she sagged against him. They stood there for a minute or two, and she gradually got control of herself. He handed her his handkerchief.

"Thank you," she said, blowing her nose and dabbing at her eyes. "And thank God none of my people saw that."

"Don't they know you're human?" Stone asked.

"No, they don't, and they're not going to find out anytime soon, if I can help it."

"Let me drive you home."

"No, it's all right. I'm back in my detached mode again. Sorry about your handkerchief; I'll return it to you."

"No need. It's one of many." He gave her his card. "Here are all my numbers, though, should you need to get in touch with me. I'll be glad to testify, when you've arrested the robbers."

"That's exactly what I'm going to do," Holly said, getting into the car. "I'll see you later, Stone, and thanks."

As she drove away, she saw him standing in the parking lot, looking after her. "What a nice man," she said aloud.

* * *

She drove back to the house and put the car into the garage. She managed to get upstairs and undressed before she collapsed on the bed and began crying again.

Daisy hopped onto the bed and laid her head in Holly's lap, making small whimpering noises.

Finally, Holly was able to get up and feed Daisy and take her for her walk on the beach. She passed the evening staring blankly at the TV set, letting the answering machine pick up the phone calls. Finally, exhausted, she struggled upstairs and fell into bed.

In the middle of the night, she rolled over, stretching out a hand for Jackson. Then she sat straight up in bed. She spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling.

8

Very early. Holly got up, fed Daisy and let her out. She fixed herself some cereal and ate it slowly, watching the sun rise out of the Atlantic. She felt more in control now, but she knew she'd have to be careful with herself, otherwise little things would set her off.

She dressed in her uniform, then went and listened to the messages on the machine. They were all from friends or coworkers and uniformly kind and concerned. She wrote down their names, so that she could return the calls later, then she called the name at the top of the list, her father. "Hello."

"Morning, Ham."

"How you doing, kiddo?"

"I'm okay, weirdly enough."

"You sound a little dull, not yourself, but I guess that's to be expected."

"Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you last night, but I just had to sit by myself and let my brain catch up with what's happened."

"Smart move."

"Ham, will you do something for me?"

"Sure."

"Call a funeral home and get Jackson 's body collected from the hospital morgue. I want it cremated as quickly and cheaply as possible. Jackson hated funerals and the whole business of being disposed of. He told me he wanted to disappear without fanfare when his time came."

"Okay, I'll get that done. What do you want me to do with the ashes?"

"Just drop them off over here, and I'll take care of them."

"What else can I do?"

"Have dinner with me tonight?"