Just Take My Heart - Mary Higgins Clark [51]
He reached into the closet for a robe and, as he was putting it on, stuffed his feet into slippers, then walked down the carpeted hallway to the kitchen. As he approached it, the fragrance of the brewing cof?fee lifted his spirits.
The weekend with Mike in Vermont was a life preserver, he thought, as he took his favorite mug from the cabinet over the coffeemaker. Talking to Mike about the morning Natalie died, when I hadn't even been aware of the cold after jogging for two hours, had been reassuring. And then Mike had reminded him he had to do as well today on the witness stand as he had on Friday.
On the drive home from Vermont yesterday afternoon, Mike had talked about that again. “Gregg, show the same resolve that you showed on Friday. Your answers came across as completely credible. You heard Judge Reilly on my show say that if he was at a bar and had a conversation with some stranger, it would be his word against the other guy that he didn't make a deal with him to kill his wife. A nationwide audience heard Reilly say that, and I really believe that plenty of people out there thought the same thing.”
Mike had paused and than continued. “These were the kind of circumstances where anybody can accuse anybody else of anything. And don't forget, Jimmy Easton is getting a big reward for testify?ing against you. He doesn't have to sweat about growing old in prison.”
I pointed out to Mike the one little factor he was forgetting, Gregg thought. The judge's wife didn't end up shot to death.
Confidence, he thought bitterly. I don't have any. He poured cof?fee into the mug and carried it into the living room. Kathleen and he had bought the apartment when they were expecting Katie. I re?ally was taking a leap to sign up for the maintenance, Gregg thought. But in those days I was sure I was going to make it big as an agent. Well, I did, and where has it gotten me?
Kathleen had been like a little kid choosing paint colors and fur?niture and carpets. She had instinctive good taste and a genuine talent for hunting down bargains. She'd always joked that like him. she'd grown up with the silver spoon in someone else's mouth. He stood in the living room, remembering.
If she had lived, Gregg thought, I never would have become in?volved with Natalie. And I wouldn't be on my way to court to try to persuade a jury that I'm not a murderer. A tidal wave of nostalgia washed over him. In that instant he longed for her physically and emotionally. “Kathleen,” he whispered, “watch over me today. I'm frightened. And if I'm convicted, who will take care of our Katie?”
For a long moment, he swallowed against the lump in his throat, then bit his lip. Stop it, he told himself. Stop it! Go back in there and start fixing some breakfast for Katie. If she sees you feeling like this, she'll be a wreck.
On the way to the kitchen he passed the table with the drawer where Jimmy Easton had claimed he'd kept the five-thousand-dollar advance for killing Natalie. He stopped, reached for the handle of the drawer, and yanked it open. As he did so, the raucous squeak that Jimmy Easton had accurately described assailed his senses. With bit?ter anger, Gregg slammed the drawer shut.
Just Take My Heart
35
Loaded for bear, I hope."
Emily looked up. It was seven thirty a.m. on Monday morning and she was in her office. Detective Billy Tryon was standing in the doorway. One of my least favorite people in the world, she thought, irritated at what she perceived to be his condescending tone.
“Is there anything I can do for you this morning, Emily? I know it's a real big day for you in court.”
“I think I'm pretty well set, Billy. But thank you.”
“As Elvis would say, 'It's now or never.' Good luck with Aldrich today. I hope you destroy him on the stand.”
Emily wondered whether Tryon really wished her well, or hoped that she would fall on her face. At the moment she didn't care.