X (Kinsey Millhone 24)

It was on the tip of my tongue to bring her up short on that score, but I kept my mouth shut. Apparently, she didn’t know the bills were marked. At the very least, she didn’t realize law enforcement was creeping up on her. In either case, playing my cards close to my chest put me at a slight advantage. “How did you know to mention Vera Hess? That really sunk the hook in deep.”

“Kim knows her. Your name came up in the course of conversation a few months ago when she showed up at an open house.”

“Was any of it true, what you told me that night?”

She shrugged. “Not Geoffrey, obviously. I invented him. Much of the rest of it I invented as well. No home in Malibu. No travels around the world. Even as I was spinning the yarn, I felt . . . I don’t know . . . I guess ‘wistful’ is the word.”

“So the Clipper estate wasn’t your childhood home.”

“Far from it. I grew up in Chicago. Not the nice part. Ours was one of those houses you can see from the freeway when you’re coming into the city from the airport.”

“Ari told me you both came up from nothing.”

“That’s true, and we earned every dime of the money we made along the way. Have you met Stella?”

“I passed her in the hall on my way down to the gym. She said two words and I knew she was a bitch.”

Teddy laughed.

I said, “He and Stella seem ill-suited, don’t you think?”

“That’s because she isn’t Greek.”

“So Greeks should only marry Greeks?”

“If you knew any, you wouldn’t have to ask.”

I steered us back to the sleight of hand at the Clipper estate. “How did you do it?”

“I have a friend who’s a stager.”

“She must have owed you big-time.”

“Oh, she did.”

I picked up a brochure from the top of the stack. “Is this the condominium where Stella’s husband died?”

“It is.”

“The brochure was your idea, right?”

“I thought we should expand our exposure. I had no idea how effective it would be.”

“Mind if I keep this?”

“If you like. It sold in two days, much to my astonishment.”

“That’s good news,” I said. “I understand the real estate market’s been depressed.”

“We were fortunate to find a buyer.”

“Too bad you couldn’t hang on to it.”

“Easy come, easy go. It’s an attitude I share with Kim. It’s not that either one of us enjoys being strapped for cash, but when you start at the bottom, it’s not unfamiliar turf. I pulled myself up once and I can do it again. You have to have an exit strategy.”

“What’s yours?”

She declined to respond, so I moved on, saying, “I take it you made Christian Satterfield’s acquaintance through Kim’s husband?”

“Exactly, but by the time I realized I was in need of his services, he’d already been released. Bret had no idea how to get in touch with him, and I’m a complete innocent when it comes to the prison system.”

“Which is where I came in.”

“I must say I was surprised by the speed with which you produced his contact information.”

“Workin’ like a little beaver for my pay,” I said. I tucked the brochure in my shoulder bag. As is sometimes the case in conversation, I was picking up a line she hadn’t spoken aloud. “You haven’t mentioned the story about the baby you gave up for adoption.”

“I thought it had a certain ring of truth to it.”

“Isn’t that because it’s true?”

That was another avenue she didn’t care to explore.

I said, “When I met Christian, he didn’t look like any parolee I’ve ever seen. His hair was styled and his wardrobe was elegant. Did you do that for him?” I knew full well she had, but I was curious to see if she’d own up to it.

“Being handsome counts a lot in this world. He’d never get a job looking as he did.”

“Maybe Ari will hire him if he doesn’t get sent back to Lompoc.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“Well, whatever happens, that was nice of you.”

“He tells me you went into Lou’s looking for him, so you must have realized how bright he is. Why did you want to talk to him?”

“I hoped to warn him off. I got him into this and I’d like to get him out. I don’t know what you have in mind, but it can’t be good for anyone.”