Mortal Faults by Michael Prescott Read Free Book Online Page B

don’t have access to their databases?”
    She did, of course, and Abby, of course, knew it. “I’m not going to help you,” Tess said. Somehow the living room of her apartment, which had always seemed big enough until now, was suddenly too small, the walls closing in like the jaws of the trap.
    “It’s not a big deal, Tess. Just a little tidbit of info that no one will ever miss.”
    She felt her resolve failing. “I can’t do it,” she said again.
    “You can if you believe you can. Some Zen wisdom there. How about it, Grasshopper?”
    Tess lowered her head. The phone was hot in her hand, or maybe it was her hand that was hot. She knew she should refuse. Should end the call. But Abby was right. There was a debt, and a connection.
    “If I try,” she heard herself say tonelessly, “will you promise to leave me alone after this?”
    “Sure. Until the next time I need a favor.”
    “Abby ...”
    “You know, for a lion who got relief from a painful foot injury, you sure are grouchy.”
    “That’s what happens when people call me at midnight.”
    “Did I wake you?”
    “Uh, no. Just ... reading.”
    “Reading in bed?”
    “Yes.”
    “What’s his name?”
    Tess blinked. “I didn’t say—”
    “You didn’t have to. I actually
heard
your face go red with a demure Catholic-schoolgirl blush. So is it serious? You two going steady?”
    “I ... it’s somebody I ... never mind.”
    “You’re not giving me the good dish, Tess. Is he married?”
    “Of course not.”
    “Just asking. Younger than you?”
    Tess had to smile. “Are you saying I’m old?”
    “Not at all. I’m only wondering if you’re robbing the cradle. You know, women reach their sexual peek at forty. Men, at eighteen. Something to think about.”
    “I’m not forty.”
    “The question is, is
he
eighteen?”
    Despite herself, Tess had to laugh. “No, he’s not. But he is a couple of years younger than I am.”
    “Good in the sack?”
    “Come on, you don’t expect me to answer that.”
    “There’s that blush again.”
    The ridiculous thing was, Tess really was blushing. She could feel the warmth in her face. “I just can’t talk about it now,” she said.
    “Sex between consenting adults is nothing to be embarrassed about, no matter what those prickly old nuns taught you. I mean—he
is
an adult, isn’t he? Of legal age?”
    “He’s thirty-six. How did we get on this subject, anyway?”
    “You know how it is with me. One thing leads to another. There doesn’t have to be any logical progression. It’s more like stream of consciousness.”
    “Like swimming upstream, I’d say.”
    “Hey, you made a funny. Good for you. This guy is loosening you up, Special Agent. Taking some of the starch out of your undies.”
    Tess sighed. She honestly did not know whether or not she liked Abby. She was quite sure she disapproved of her, but as for liking her ... that was another question.
    “What is it you want from me?” she asked, resigned now.
    “Got a pencil?”
    “Hold on.” Tess found a pad and pen, and turned on a lamp. “Go.”
    Abby gave the name, address, Social Security number, and other particulars of a woman whose personal history extended only eight years into the past.
    “Got it,” Tess said when she finished scribbling. She still felt a little stupid for getting talked into this. “I assume I can reach you at the number you’re calling from.”
    “It’s my cell. Handcuffed to my wrist at all times. And, Tess—”
    “You don’t have to thank me.”
    “Wasn’t gonna. I was just going to say I need the info ASAP.”
    “I’ll do my best. There are no guarantees.”
    “Never are, in our line of work.”
    “You and I are
not
in the same line of work,” Tess said, but Abby had already hung up.
    Tess refolded the phone and went into the bathroom. In the glow of a nightlight she ran some water from the tap and splashed her face. Her headache was stronger than before. Funny how even a brief dialogue with