Deal to Die For by Les Standiford Read Free Book Online Page B

concern etched on her features.
    “She’s in the
home
,” he blurted. He shook his head.
Open up
, he thought. It was supposed to make you feel better. He felt like he was chewing broken glass. “She’s in a private clinic in the Gables.”
    “I don’t understand, Deal.”
    The waitress was back, and they both fell silent as she set down their plates. Deal stared down at the massive sandwich in front of him. Toasty bun, buttery lettuce, tomato, thick wedge of meat, the sort of hamburger you see in menu pictures all the time but never, ever get. He thought he might throw up.
    He glanced at Barbara as the waitress disappeared. “She’s…” He broke off, started again. “She’s been having some trouble. All the surgeries she’s had since the fire.” He threw up his hands. “I don’t know. The doctors say it’s some post-traumatic stress reaction. They
think
, anyway. She’s not communicating too well right now.” He broke off. All the opening up he could manage.
    Barbara stared back at him, stunned. She noticed the salad in front of her, pushed it aside, along with the soup. “You want to go someplace?” she said gently.
    Deal nodded.
    “Me too,” she said. And rose and took his hand, pulling him up after her.
    ***
    “So it’s just you, handling all the stuff with your mom?” Deal had to speak louder than normal. They had walked south along the beach, sharing their miseries, until he sensed that they’d both come down a bit from the jagged peaks of tension. They’d found an abandoned lifeguard kiosk atop a dune. They were sitting on its little porch now, staring out to sea, their legs dangling free above the sand. The wind had kicked up a bit, and the surf boomed in a way that seemed satisfying. It meant the world was still working, Deal thought. Part of it, anyway.
    “There’s not that much to do,” Barbara continued, “not really. My mom was a real control freak. Once she found out she had cancer, she spent most of her time getting ready for the end. She packed up most of her apartment, made her own funeral arrangements…” She broke off and gave Deal a wistful smile. “Sometimes I think that makes it worse. There’s none of the bullshit left to deal with. Nothing to do but wait.”
    Deal nodded. “Still, being all by yourself, that’s not good…”
    “I called
you
,” she said, striving for the old perkiness. Then, just as abruptly, her smile fell away and she turned back toward the ocean. She took a deep breath. “And I called my sister.”
    Deal stared, puzzled. “Your sister? I didn’t know you had a sister.”
    Barbara shrugged, staring out to sea. “Paige Nobleman,” she said after a moment.
    Deal shook his head, puzzled. “Paige Nobleman? What’s she have to do with it?”
    Barbara turned to him, her face a mask. “Her real name is Cooper. She’s my sister.”
    “The actress? Come on, you’re kidding.” He’d seen Paige Nobleman in a half-dozen films. She was usually cast as the obligatory love interest to some action-hero cretin and was unfailingly the most interesting aspect of the proceedings. Deal had even considered shifting his movie-star crush over from Debra Winger.
    “I’m surprised you know of her,” Barbara said, her voice suddenly arch.
    “Because I don’t hang out on South Beach? Jesus, Barbara, Paige Nobleman is your
sister
?”
    Barbara shrugged. “I didn’t think it was such a big deal. She’s not famous or anything.” She glanced at him as if she’d read his mind. “You want an introduction?”
    “Come off it, Barbara. I don’t even know you have a sister, then you tell me it’s Paige Nobleman, for God’s sake.” He broke off, staring at her. She glared back at him, her jaw set, her lips compressed.
    “So you called her?” he asked, changing tacks. “What did she say?”
    She took a deep breath, her gaze turning inward, as if she were making up her mind about something. She glanced out to sea, where a pair of freighters had