E Is for Evidence - Sue Grafton [30]
"Why should I mince words? I don't work for you."
"I made a simple inquiry. I can see you've decided to take offense." She stubbed out her cigarette at the halfway mark.
She was right. I was hot and I wasn't sure why. I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Not for her sake, but for mine. I tried again. "You're right. I'm out of line. I didn't think I was pissed off, but clearly I am. Somehow I've gotten caught up in family politics and that doesn't sit well with me."
"What makes you so sure it's family politics? Suppose it's someone outside the company?"
"Like who?"
"We have competitors like anybody else." She took a sip of her martini and I could see her savor the icy liquid as it flooded through her mouth. Her face was narrow, her features fine. Her skin was flawless and unlined, giving her the bland expression of a Madame Alexander doll. Either she'd already had plastic surgery or she'd somehow learned not to have the kinds of feelings that leave telltale marks. It was hard to imagine that she and Ash were sis-ters. Ash was earthy and open with a sunny disposition, generous, good-natured, easygoing, relaxed. Ebony was as lean as a whip, all edged-brittle, aloof, controlled, arrogant. It was possible, I thought, that the differences between them were related, in part, to their relative posi-tions in the family constellation. Ebony was the oldest daughter, Ash the youngest. Woody and Helen had proba-bly expected perfection of their first child. By the time they got down to Ash, and beyond her to Bass, they must have given up expecting anything.
Ebony touched the olive in her drink, turning it. She eased the fingernail into the hole and plucked it out, laying the green globe on her tongue. Her lips closed around her finger and she made a faint sucking noise. The gesture had obscene overtones and I wondered suddenly if she was coming on to me.
She said, "I don't suppose you'll tell me what Mother wanted."
I could feel my temper climb again. "Don't you peo-ple talk to each other? She invited me for tea. We had a few laughs about old times. I'm not going to run straight up here and spill it all to you. If you want to know what we talked about, ask her. When I find out what's going on, I'll be delighted to dump the whole thing in your lap. In the meantime, I don't think it's smart to run around telling everything I know."
Ebony was amused. I could see the corners of her mouth turning up.
I stopped what I was saying. "Have you got some kind of problem with that?"
She laughed. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to condescend, but you were always like this. All that energy. So fiery and defensive."
I stared at her, stumped for a response.
"You're a professional," she went on pleasantly. "I un-derstand that. I'm not asking you to divulge any confi-dences. This is my family and I'm concerned about what goes on. That's my only point. If I can be of any help, just tell me how. If something you discover has a bearing on me, I'd like to hear about it. Is that so unreasonable?"
"Of course not. Sorry," I said. I circled back through our conversation, returning to something she'd said ear-lier. "You mentioned that the trouble might originate from someone outside the company. Were you talking in gen-eral or specific terms?"
She shrugged languidly. "General, really, though I do know of someone who hates us bitterly." She paused, as though trying to decide how to frame her explanation. "There was an engineer who worked for us for many years. A fellow named Hugh Case. Two years ago, a couple of months before my father died, as a matter of fact, he-um, killed himself."
"Was there a connection?"
She seemed faintly startled. "With Daddy's death? Oh, no, I'm sure not, but from what I'm told, Hugh's wife was convinced Lance was responsible."
"How so?"
"You'd have to ask someone else for the details. I was in Europe at the time, so I don't know much except that Hugh shut himself up in his garage and ran his car until he died of carbon monoxide poisoning." She paused to light another cigarette and then sat for a moment,