It’s why you wanted
me.”
She
pursed her lips. “I might not have put it like that,” she said. “I barely
remembered who you were before the other night, when I saw you on television.
Then I remembered. You’re driven. You’re a hunter. Going after the Laughing Man
nearly drove you insane, but you’re still out there doing it. That’s what I
want.”
I
glanced around the room. “Bringing me in here to look at pictures of your dead
family was a nice touch. Tug at my heartstrings a bit?”
“That
wasn’t a lie,” she said. “I do spend most of my time in this room. Don’t ever
doubt my devotion to my family.” She nodded at a portrait on the far wall. The
three of them were pictured standing together on a grassy field near a lake,
with sailboats passing by in the background. “They were my entire life,
Nevada.”
“That
much is obvious. You’ve been sitting on this for twenty years, just…I was going
to say burning but that sounds really crass. Sorry.”
“The
word doesn’t bother me. It’s accurate.”
I shook
my head. “Jesus. People tell me I need therapy. I mean, they’re right. I
do, but…”
“Listen
to your child burn to death and then come talk to me about therapy.”
“Fair
enough.”
“So,”
she said, “I was going to bring you here and see if you’d be willing to help
this,” her voice suddenly rose an octave and she was grandma again, “ poor
old woman who lost her family find justice after all these years .” She
shook her head and grandma disappeared. “But you’ve seen through that. I can
offer you money, but I know exactly what Alan Davies paid you to find his
daughter. You don’t need it.”
“Wait, you know Alan Davies?”
“He’s a
major donor,” she nodded. “Through one of his front companies, of course. He
likes to pretend he’s part of polite society. I danced with him once at a ball
years ago. He was doing the dapper man bit. Everyone thought it was just so precious ,
the handsome young man charming the disfigured old lady.” For a moment she looked
like she was going to spit on the floor. “Jason told me you were involved in
the situation with his missing daughter, so I called him to find out what went
on.”
“I’ll
bet he was surprised when he heard your real voice.”
“I think he shit his pants is closer to the truth.”
I had to
suppress a laugh. I’d have had to admit I liked this version of Anita a great
deal more than the other. This was probably what I’d be like if I lived as long
as her, but I knew perfectly well I was going to die long before I ever got old.
“So,”
she continued. “I can’t appeal to you with money. I doubt I can make you feel
sorry enough for a poor old lady that you’ll help me that way, either.”
“I’m
wondering what you’re left with.”
“And I’m
wondering if a child’s death would do it, because that’s what I’m left with.”
I leaned
back on the couch. “That’s a dangerous card to play with me,” I said. “The fact
that you’re old enough to be my mother isn’t going to stop me from punching you
in the face if you cross the line.”
She
nodded. “That’s your weak point, then.” She smiled grimly. “I was fairly
certain, but you shouldn’t have confirmed it, dear.”
“Anyone
who knows about the last Laughing Man case knows that’s my weak spot,” I said.
“So that’s roughly…every adult in San Diego County with a television. It’s how
Alan Davies got me to take his case. Of course, I was so drunk back then, I’d
probably have done it for a case of cheap vodka.”
“Then
I’m a few months too late for that,” she said. “I would have offered you
expensive vodka, of course. Once you were done. I wouldn’t have wanted you
drinking yourself to death before you did the job.”
“I was
kind of kidding about working for vodka.”
“I know,
but if that’s what it would have taken.” She shrugged. “I could appeal to your
sense of justice. You were a
Jay Lake, edited by Nick Gevers