Patricia Dusenbury - Claire Marshall 01 - A Perfect Victim Read Free Page B

1320, due in at twelve forty-seven." Claire wasn't going to waste any more energy
arguing with Jeanette, and it was fine with her if Frank came to the airport. The sooner she talked to
him, the better. "If he's not there, I'll call you." She hung up and went downstairs to find her mother,
who was not going to be happy about the change in plans.
    "But you just got here."
    "I don't want to go, but I have to." She gave her mother a one-armed hug. "It's been a
wonderful visit, and it's not over yet. We have your birthday party tonight."
    "Can't Jack handle a problem with a subcontractor?"
    "Jack is a wonderful person and an incredible craftsman, but he's a lousy businessman."
She'd explained it all before. Jack had started his construction company without enough capital and
compounded the problem by trying to please everyone, pricing projects too low and paying
subcontractors too much. He'd quickly found himself in financial hot water. She'd brought in
enough money to stave off bankruptcy and the business skills to get the company on track. "That's
why we're partners, and the business end is my job."
    "Can't you take care of it over the phone?"
    Claire shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mom. Some things have to be worked out face to face,
and I have to do it. That's a problem with a small company. No back-up." She hated lying to her
mother, and she'd done it twice today, but the truth was too weird--and too disturbing.
    She had to straighten things out with Frank before he went to his banquet tomorrow night
and told more people. Tom had been dead only fifteen months, and some days the loss felt as fresh
as yesterday. She wasn't interested in any other man--not yet and maybe never, but certainly never
Frank Palmer.
    How dare you, Frank?

CHAPTER 3
Friday, October 15, 1993
    Attorney-at-law Paul Gilbert pulled under the porte cochere of The Pontchartrain Hotel
and took a moment to admire the familiar facade. One of the big new downtown hotels had offered
free meeting space, but after he and several other long-time members objected to any move, the
offer was politely refused. The Crescent City Club had always held its awards ceremony at The
Pontchartrain and would continue to do so.
    Paul valued tradition. His family had been prominent in New Orleans since before the
Louisiana Purchase. Local historians said his ancestors had opposed it. Paul had no idea if that was
true or not, but the story amused him, and he enjoyed his position among the elite. He also prided
himself on good manners, which included promptness. He tipped the valet and hurried into the
hotel, at home in his formal attire and confident of his welcome.
    Andrew Walsh intercepted him in the lobby. "Have you seen Frank Palmer?"
    "Hello, Andrew. Good to see you. Will you be introducing Frank tonight?" Although not a
member of the Club, Andrew's position as director of The Children's Home made him the logical
choice.
    "Yes and he was supposed to meet me here at six thirty. I've been here since six." Andrew
wiped his brow, leaving a damp streak on the sleeve of his dinner jacket.
    "Perhaps Frank used a different entrance. Let's look in the ballroom."
    Paul had little use for Andrew, whose usual attitude toward those above him on the social
ladder was a smarmy combination of obsequious and self-righteous. Tonight, however, tension
made him abrupt, and his apparent stage fright was almost touching.
    They joined half a dozen men occupying a strategic spot between the main bar and a buffet
table laden with silver platters of oysters, shrimp, and crawfish. These were Frank's friends, but
questions about his whereabouts elicited only shrugs and surmises that he was in some corner,
working on his latest deal. Still sweating, Andrew charged off to look elsewhere.
    Paul wished him luck. Spotting one man among two hundred middle-aged men wearing
essentially the same suit wouldn't be easy. He accepted a glass of wine from a passing waiter and
joined a conversation that ranged from the