LITMIR.BIZ

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afternoon at the mental home, since she appeared to grow more agitated whenever he was present. It was as if vaguely, somewhere in her demented and damaged brain, Sunny recalled that they had had something together once, and that this knowledge disturbed her. At least, so Elena had said to him that day.

      Finally, three months ago, he had stopped going to New Haven altogether. Her family seemed to be relieved that he had made this decision; he discovered that he was, too.

      But occasionally he wondered if he was being a moral coward, shirking his duty. When he had voiced this thought to Nell she had been vociferous in her insistence that he was not only doing the right thing, but the only thing he could do.

      ‘You can’t help her,’ Nell had said. ‘All you’re doing is rubbing salt into your wounds. Not only that, she’s an albatross around your neck, weighing you down. You’ve got to let Sunny go – for your own sake. You’ve got a life to live, for God’s sake.’ Her strong words had helped him, and lately he had come to realize that a burden had been lifted. Nell was right, Sunny was a part of his past, and he had to let go of certain parts of his past in order to move forward.

      Now his memories of Sunny were of the early years when they were kids. He supposed it was easier to remember her before she had become a junkie craving dope, willing to do anything to get it. And he had begun to admit to himself that he felt better than he had in years. Thanks again, in no small measure, to his friend Nell.

      Kevin buried his face in her hair. It was soft and silky, fragrant with the scent of lemon verbena, just as every part of her was sweet-smelling and fresh. Deeply, he breathed in the perfume of her; it helped to kill the stench of the city that forever filled his nostrils.

      Nell was such a part of his life now he couldn’t imagine what it would be like without her. But it was odd how they had become lovers so suddenly, a year ago, and after knowing each other for fourteen years.

      Gavin had come to New York last October to see Nell on business. He was en route to London for meetings about Kingmaker, which at last he had managed to get under way. His old friend had phoned him, had invited him to join the two of them for dinner, and since he was taking a few days of R&R he was able to accept. He had not seen either of them for well over a year, and it had been a marvellous evening, full of good humour and laughter, shared reminiscences and lots of genuine affection.

      They had eaten in Gavin’s suite at the Carlyle Hotel, and when he and Nell left, long after midnight, he had insisted on taking her home. Even though it had been a cold night, they had walked to her apartment, and when they reached the building on Park Avenue where she lived she had invited him in for a nightcap.

      While she had filled two brandy balloons with Remy Martin, he had set a match to the logs and paper in the grate, and then they had sat on the sofa together, savouring the aged cognac, chatting about their present lives as well as old times.

      As long as he lived, he would never know how it had happened. All of a sudden, she was in his arms and he was kissing her, and she was responding ardently. And they ended up making passionate love on the rug in front of the blazing fire.

      It had been a Friday night, and because he was off duty he had been able to spend the weekend with her. Cosseted in the warmth and comfort of her beautiful apartment, and smitten with each other, they had forgotten the everyday world they lived in, their pain and their worries for the next forty-eight hours.

      At one point, during the weekend, they had talked about Mikey, who had vanished the year before. Everyone was troubled by his mysterious disappearance, and most especially Nell. After their youthful romance had ended, they had remained good friends, drawing even closer over the ensuing years, sharing confidences as old pals so frequently do.

      That night when she and Kevin had first made love, Nell had told him that this was one of the reasons she was so concerned about Mikey; it was simply inconceivable to her that he had chosen to leave New York without telling her he was going away. Or where he was heading.

      What Kevin had thought but not said that night was that perhaps Mikey hadn’t had a chance to tell her. No one really knew what had happened to him, not even his room mate. He had simply vanished.

      Kevin had often thought that Mikey might easily have been the victim of foul play. Being a cop, he was only too well aware of the frightening statistics – every year hundreds of thousands of Americans disappeared without a trace. Few were ever found, or showed up again to pick up their lives. The Missing Persons List at his own precinct was dismaying, miles long.

      Nell stirred in his arms.

      Kevin glanced down at her.

      She opened her eyes and looked up at him, returning his steady gaze. ‘That’s a mighty serious face you’re wearing, Kevin mine. Is something troubling you?’

      Although there was no subterfuge between them, only honesty and straightforwardness, he chose not to mention Mikey at this moment. It was inappropriate. And so he said, ‘I was thinking about us, Nell, how we’ve been seeing each other for a year now. Yet nobody knows about us.’

      ‘Neil O’Connor certainly does,’ she said, and laughed.

      ‘I was talking about our nearest and dearest.’

      ‘You mean you haven’t mentioned it to Gavin?’

      ‘I’ve not seen him this year, except for those few days when I came to London during filming. Besides, you should know I’m not the sort of guy to kiss and tell. And I know you haven’t confided in Rosie, or she would have mentioned it.’

      ‘I don’t know why I’ve never told her, Kev, or why we’ve kept it a secret, and we have done that, you know.’ Nell moved closer to him, put her arms around him, held him tightly. After a moment, she added, ‘I suppose I should say something to her. We are best friends.’

      ‘It’ll please her…that we’re seeing each other, I mean.’

      ‘Oh, yes, she’ll be approving!’ Nell exclaimed, leaning her head back, looking up at him, eyeing him a bit coquettishly. ‘Of that I can assure you, my darling. Oh yes, she’ll give us her blessing all right.’

      ‘When is she coming back from LA?’

      ‘Good God, Kevin, she only left last night. But I expect she’ll return with me.’

      ‘What do you mean?’

      ‘I’m going to the West Coast myself –’

      ‘When?’ he cut in somewhat sharply, staring down at her in surprise.

      ‘On Tuesday or Wednesday.’

      ‘And I was just about to take a week off, before transferring over to the Crime Intelligence Division. I was hoping to spend a bit of time with you, honey.’

      Nell bit her lip, looking chagrined. ‘I wish I’d known, Kevin, it would have been great. But I’ve made all the arrangements now, and it’d be really difficult to change my plans. I have a meeting scheduled with Gavin, who’s flying in to LA from London on Monday for a week. And I also have meetings set with other clients.’

      ‘I see.’

      ‘I’m sorry, really sorry. Look, I’ve got a great idea! Why don’t you come out to the coast? That’d be fabulous, like old home week, me and you and Rosie and Gavin.’ Her face lit up at the thought of this, and she exclaimed excitedly, ‘Oh come on, say yes, Kev! Please say yes.’

      He hesitated. ‘I just don’t know…’ He let his sentence trail off, not sure what to do, wondering whether to commit himself or not.

      Nell sat up, kissed him playfully on the nose and slipped off the bed, heading in the direction of the bathroom. From the doorway she said, ‘Well, at least think about it.’

      ‘I have. It’s better I don’t come.’

      ‘But why?’

      ‘I’d be at a loose end, since you’d all be busy during the day. And I’ve got a lot of things

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