made my way down the steep ramp to the main part of the train station. People were rushing past me, trying to make trains, and I realized I was standing still in the middle of the great room. I took a seat on one of the steps on the grand staircase in the main part of the terminal, trying to figure out what to do, when my phone rang.
I pulled it out and flipped it open, the device nearly flying out of my shaking hands. I didn’t take the time to read the screen to see what number was displayed. “Hello?”
Max guffawed into the phone. “Hi!”
“Max…”
“I’m on my honeymoon!” she screamed. Technically, her honeymoon location was Bali and she was still in New York, but I wasn’t one to quibble. “Did you have fun at my wedding?”
“I had a wonderful time,” I said, scanning the crowd in Grand Central. She moaned slightly in response and let out a little breath of air, audible even over the din at the train station and with the crappy cell phone reception. “Max?” It occurred to me that while technically she wasn’t yet on her honeymoon, she was still in the midst of her wedding night. “Are you having sex while you’re talking to me?”
She giggled. “Sort of.”
“Sort of?” I asked. “How do you ‘sort of’ have sex?”
All I got was another moan in reply.
“I’m hanging up,” I said.
“Wait!” she screamed.
I stayed on the line.
“I’m going to be gone for two weeks.”
“I know.”
“I’ll miss you,” she said, and hung up. Max isn’t one for sentimentality; hearing what I had to say in response would have made the conversation go on much longer than she could stand. I wasn’t surprised to hear the phone go dead and mouthed “I’ll miss you, too” into the mouthpiece.
I sat for another moment, considering whether or not to call Crawford. I decided against it. There was nothing to tell. Once again, I had been picked up by Peter Miceli, but this time, I had been dropped off at my destination. Peter had seemed pretty adamant in his denial, but then again, he was a professional criminal; he probably had honed that skill long ago. Was it easier to say that you hadn’t done something when you had had someone do it for you? Or was he truly blameless in this? It was hard to tell. I had known Peter a long time ago, and even coupled with our recent close encounters, that wasn’t enough to allow me to adequately judge his motivations.
Thanks to Peter’s car service, I managed to make an earlier train than the one I originally planned on taking. Safely ensconced in a window seat on the river side, I leaned my head against the cool glass and dozed until I heard the conductor call my stop.
I got off the train and looked around; no limos. I breathed a sigh of relief. Without the bag that I had left in Peter’s car, I was not weighed down and trudged up the hill from the train station in record time. Although I was sort of hungry, I was more tired than anything else, and decided to go home and crawl into bed for the remainder of the day.
I reached my street without incident and made the turn that would take me straight to my house. My legs felt like lead, but I kept my pace quick so that I could dive into bed sooner rather than later. As I approached the house, I spied Terri on her front lawn playing with Trixie. Trixie spied me first and took off down the street, bounding with unbridled joy at seeing me.
I braced myself for the inevitable Trixie love fest. She jumped on me and started licking my face, which, while not as lovely as being licked on the face by Crawford, was pretty damned enjoyable. I tried to keep my mouth closed because I drew the line at doggie French kisses.
Terri approached tentatively and commanded Trixie to heel, which, amazingly, she did. She sat patiently at Terri’s side, watching me.
“Hi, Alison,” Terri said in her breathy voice.
“Terri,” I said, barely disguising my disgust at seeing her.
“Listen, can we talk?” she said, holding my eye.
“Do we have to?” I said, whining. I had almost made it home, I thought. And then this.
She looked disappointed and more than a little bit taken aback by my rudeness. “Well, okay, then. I guess I’ll just say what I have to say out here.”
I waited.
“I