The Fury - Jason Pinter [87]
wanted it to be seen as one single murder. A lone death,
unconnected to anything else.
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Jason Pinter
I knew better. And someone else knew that.
When I stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped
loosely around my waist, Amanda was sitting up in bed,
her knees tucked up to her chin, her arms wrapped
around them. She smiled at me. Her eyes were blood
shot.
"Hungover?" I asked.
"Just a little."
"Hang on." I went to the minibar, did a little trolling
and found a packet of Advil. I ripped it open, poured
her a glass of water and watched her down the pills.
"Thanks, Henry," she said.
"How you feeling?"
"Like a raccoon run over by a truck. Don't ever let
me go drinking with Darcy again."
"I think I told you that the last time you went
drinking with her."
"Well, next time come with us, so you can monitor
my alcohol intake."
"If memory serves me right, the reason you didn't
invite me last night was because you didn't want me to
monitor your alcohol intake."
"And you listened to me?" she asked with a smile. I
sat back down next to her. She scooted over, rested her
head against my shoulder. I could smell her hair, hear
her breathing. Then she sat back up and looked at me.
"Now, tell me why we're here."
Sighing, I faced her and told her everything that had
happened. About my meeting with Scott Callahan.
Finding the man waiting for me at the apartment last
night. The fear that if they knew where I was, that if
somebody had been following me, they could have been
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doing the same for her. Enough young women had been
killed in New York coming home from bars over the last
few years, the confluence of paranoia made it impera
tive we get to safety.
"How long do you think we need to stay here?" she
said.
"I honestly don't know. Until I know who killed
Stephen, and know that person isn't a threat to us
anymore. With any luck I can do that before my credit
card starts getting declined."
"And what am I supposed to do? Just stay here? I
don't think so, Henry."
"Today's Friday," I said. "Call in sick. If Darcy
shows up, she'll surely vouch for you. Then we have the
weekend. And I need to get my father out before the
grand jury convenes. But right now I just need to keep
you safe. Once things calm down we can talk about
what to do next."
"You need to keep me safe?" Amanda said with a
laugh. "You realize that since I met you I've had my life
jeopardized approximately a hundred and ninety-six
times. I won't be surprised if we both get turned down
for a life-insurance policy. Safe to say if I never picked
you up on the side of the road, Henry, I wouldn't have
to worry about my safety quite as much."
I opened my mouth, ready to question why, if that
was the case, she was still with me, but smartly stopped
before a word came out. I learned a long time ago that
she was still here by choice. No other reason. She'd had
plenty of opportunities to leave and had not, and every
moment I wasted contemplating why only divided
myself from the reality of our relationship. She was here
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to stay. And knowing myself, knowing that I'd learned
from past mistakes, as long as it was in her hands, she
wasn't going anywhere.
So instead of bucking for a compliment and starting
an argument, I just leaned over and kissed her. Her lips
were soft, and I could tell she was smiling.
"I've been meaning to ask you," Amanda said.
"Where is your mother in all of this?"
I sat back, rubbed my forehead. "To be honest, I
don't know. Probably nowhere. I remember the last few
years before I left for college, she and my father barely
spoke. It wasn't like she was angry with him, it was as
though she'd just withdrawn. To her, he was more like
a piece of furniture than a husband. He was there
whether you liked it or not. It was your choice to put
him there. But like a table or desk, you could ignore it."
"Why didn't she leave him?"
"I don't know. I wish she had. She turned inward.
You saw those knitting needles at the police station--
they