Intrusion Read Free Page B

pretty much the same except for that gaping chunk of soul you shared with a stranger. Oh, yeah, shrinks are big on sharing but it’s a one-way street. Candy, on the other hand, adores them. She’s always in one stage or another of self-discovery—Freudian, Jungian, whatever. When Kai died, she dragooned me into seeing a therapist for one session. Total disaster. Despite the urging of Dr. Gayhart Dale, an arctic bitch with a perpetual sneer, I refused to abandon my husband. As long as he was alive in me, Kai would never die. Metaphysics 101. It’s as simple as that.
      As soon as the police left, Candy started babbling about her therapy session. I zoned out until she mentioned Tommy’s name.
    “What’s this about Tommy and your shrink?” I leaned forward in my chair and swiveled toward Candy.
    She twirled a sun-streaked curl and glared at me. “I knew it. You weren’t listening. I swear, Elisabeth Mae Buckley …”
    “Cool it,” I said. “Just tell me.”
    Candy shrugged. “No biggie. Tommy was seeing Dr. Langdon, my shrink’s partner. I ran into him one day just as he was leaving.”
    “You never once mentioned it, either one of you.” Betrayal swamped my voice.
    “He made me promise. Tommy knew you’d make a scene. Besides, he only started going last month. He was troubled.” She dabbed her eyes with a dainty lace handkerchief. “I still can’t believe it. Why would anyone kill him?”
    I shrugged. “Andrews was right on top of things. How did he know about Tommy’s will and such? Kai drafted it for him last year.” I snapped my fingers. “I’ll bet he already searched Tommy’s place. You know how tidy he was. Tommy, I mean. Who knows about Andrews?”
    Candy snorted. “Tidy? Obsessive, I’d call it. Typical Virgo. Probably had a file tabbed LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT with an arrow pointing to it. Remember, Kai had your neighbors witness it.”
    “That’s right! No wonder. If we were his beneficiaries, we couldn’t do it.” I jumped up and headed for the office. “Hold on. I’ll bet there’s a copy in Kai’s desk.”
    I felt pity oozing from Candy’s pores. No, I’d never emptied Kai’s desk. It sat opposite my own bureau plat, just as he’d left it that last day. The library’s walnut paneling, shiny oak planks and subdued lighting made the room cozy. A thick Sarouk rug and a small chandelier made it elegant. I spend a lot of time in there; it comforts me.
    “For Christ’s sake,” Candy moaned. “This place is a mausoleum, not an office.” She slipped into Kai’s office chair. “I can still smell his cologne. What do you do, spray Creed in here every day?”
    “Move.” I unlocked the fruitwood console that served as his filing cabinet. “Obviously, it’s on a disk, but Kai always kept a paper backup. Several, in fact.”
    She rolled those cat eyes my way. “You mean you don’t know? Jesus, Betts, what’s wrong with you? You’re a lawyer, too, for heaven’s sake. What if something really important fell through the cracks?” Candy put her arm around me. “Let it go. He’s been gone for over a year.”
    She didn’t get it. No one did. I died too when Kai was killed. Kai and our child to be. I now drifted through life on autopilot, pretending, following my routine, not caring much for anything or anybody except Della.
    Tommy’s file was easy to find. I took a breath and read the document linking the two men I’d loved. Everything was in order. It was signed, witnessed and embossed. No surprises other than bequests to Candy and me. Kai had been the primary executor. As in life, I was his backup.
    Candy rifled through my desk while she waited. In anyone else, it would be inexcusable. For her, it was typical behavior. She’d done the same thing in college.
    “Wait a damn minute!” Her voice shook as she thrust an envelope under my nose. “ Here. Look.”
    How many times had I seen that writing? We’d kidded him mercilessly. All those perfectly formed letters