The Believers by Zoë Heller Read Free Book Online

this religious business appeals to her. It's all about repressing your sexual drives, isn't it?"
    The last part of Audrey's remark was drowned out by a drill starting up in the kitchen.
    "Oh, dear," Jean said. "This noise is intolerable, isn't it? Perhaps you should come back next week when they've finished the demolition."
    Audrey shook her head. "No, I'm fine," she said firmly. "A bit of noise doesn't bother me."
    Jean's renovation was, as it happened, the principal reason for Audrey's visit this morning. Lenny had recently been let go from his painting job in Williamsburg, and Audrey was hoping that she could persuade Jean to give him some work on her kitchen.
    "I wonder," she said now, in a wondering tone of voice. "Lenny's free at the moment. He could probably spare you a bit of time if you want to have him come and help out with your paintwork."
    Jean nodded carefully. "That's awfully nice of you, Audrey," she said, "but I think Darius has it covered."
    "But you know these guys always try to save money by putting some teenager on the paintwork. You really need a professional painter if you want the job done properly."
    "Yes..."
    "Do you remember that beautiful work Lenny did on your country house? You loved that, Jean."
    "Oh, I know, yes." Jean blushed. The truth, as Audrey knew perfectly well, was that Lenny had never completed the job on her country house. Shortly after starting the work, he had had one of his relapses. The little he had accomplished before absconding had been so shoddily executed that Jean had had to pay to have it done over.
    "The thing is," Jean said, "I don't think Darius can take on someone else without going over his--you know--his estimate..."
    "Oh!" Audrey said. "Well! If it's a question of money ..." She stared moodily at Jean's coffee table.
    Audrey always referred to Jean in an aggrieved tone as "an heiress." She did not know exactly how much money Jean had inherited from her father's pharmaceutical fortune; she had never made any effort to find out. To have nailed down the precise sum would have meant acknowledging that there were limits to Jean's funds--that there were, in fact, some things that Jean could not afford. As it was, Audrey's cloudy notion of her friend's infinite, fairy-tale wealth allowed her to believe that everything that happened or did not happen in Jean's life was a pure expression of Jean's will, unimpeded by workaday considerations of expense. This, in turn, made possible the consoling conviction that Jean was miserly and "uncreative" with her money.
    There was a pause in the conversation now. Audrey, who was quite sure that any embarrassment arising from the silence was rightly Jean's, sat back in her chair and waited.
    "Well," Jean said at length. "Perhaps I could talk to Darius..."
    Audrey nodded wisely. "Oh, I think that's a good idea, Jean. You really would be better off..."
    Somewhere in the depths of Audrey's handbag, a cell phone began to ring. Jean took the opportunity to get up and take some of the tea things into the kitchen.
    When she returned, Audrey was barking into the phone. "What do you mean? How badly?"
    Jean looked at her in alarm.
    "All right," Audrey said. "Give me the address." She scribbled something down on the back of her checkbook. "I'm coming now." She put the phone back in her bag. "I have to go," she said. "Joel fainted in court. They've taken him to a hospital in Brooklyn."
    "Oh, Audrey!" Jean said, clutching her forehead. "Is there anything I can do? Would you like me to come with you?"
    "No, no, don't be silly." As if to prove how unflustered she was, Audrey picked up her cup and drank back the remains of her tea before making her way out to the hall.
    "Will you call me when you find out how he is?" Jean asked, following her.
    "Yes, of course." Audrey said.
    "Really, call me if you need anything. I'm here all day," Jean handed Audrey her coat and opened the door.
    Halfway to the elevator, Audrey stopped and turned around. "And you won't