Silver Linings, стр. 44

Silk looked baffled. “You mean you're taking him back with you even though you know he won't be staying long?”

“I'm not taking him back with me. He's insisting on accompanying me on the return trip.”

“Yeah, but that's so's he can convince you that he likes you better than your nitwit sister. He told me all about it.”

The sound of the Jeep in the drive halted Mattie's reply. Relief poured through her. “He's back.”

“Sure. What did you think he was going to do? Spend the rest of the night drinking at the Hellfire or something? Hugh ain't the type.”

“No, I was afraid he was walking into trouble. That Rosey he went to see is not a very nice little man.” Mattie quickly dried her hands on the ragged towel and went toward the door.

It opened and Hugh strode into the small hall, shaking the rain from his hair.

“Hugh, I've been so worried. Thank heavens you're all right.” Mattie raced forward and threw herself into his arms.

“Well, well, well,” Silk said from the other side of the room. He surveyed the couple with a beatific smile. “Ain't that a picture. Maybe this little trip to Seattle is going to turn out all right after all. I left you a slice of pie, boss.”

“Thanks,” Hugh said over the top of Mattie's head. His eyes met Silk's.

“Trouble?” Silk asked.

“Yeah.”

“Mattie had a hunch there would be,” Silk said with a sigh.

“I still can't believe that Rosey's dead,” Mattie said two hours later as she paced the floor of Hugh's small beach house. “Whoever killed him could have killed you, too. I knew that meeting was going to be dangerous. I just had a feeling.”

“Well, it wasn't. Not for me, at any rate.” Hugh opened the refrigerator and reached inside for a beer. “Just for Rosey.”

“So now you and Silk are back to square one as far as finding Cormier's murderer goes.” Mattie rubbed her palms up and down her bare arms. Silk had left an hour ago after Hugh had gone through all the details of his late-night meeting at the warehouse. The big man had not seemed particularly shocked by Rosey's death. It was almost as if he was accustomed to that kind of news.

“We'll find him.”

“How are you going to do that in Seattle?” Mattie asked.

“Silk will be in touch if anything turns up. Seattle's not the end of the world.”

“Aren't there police or federal agencies who should be handling this kind of thing?”

“Not on Purgatory. They're in the middle of a coup over there, remember?” Hugh went across the room and opened a cupboard.

Mattie watched him pull out a well-worn khaki green duffel bag that looked as though it had been hauled around the world several times. She sank down onto a wicker chair and watched as Hugh carried numerous changes of underwear and shirts out of the bedroom and dumped them into the duffel bag.

“Why the rush? Why do we have to leave tomorrow?” she asked. The sense of urgency had been hovering in the air ever since Hugh had walked back in the door.

“No sense hanging around here. Silk's going to look after Abbott Charters for me. We might as well head to Seattle.”

“There's more to it than that, isn't there? You're more worried about this second murder than you want to admit. You're afraid there might be some danger here for me, aren't you? Hugh, if finding Cormier's killer is so important to you, why don't you stay here on St. Gabriel and I'll go home by myself?”

“Sure. And start ducking me again every time I try to call or see you? Not a chance, babe. I'm not letting you out of my sight this time. You want proof I'm serious about marrying you. You're going to get it.”

“Damn it, Hugh, I know you're serious about marrying me. That's not the point. It's the reason you want to marry me that I don't trust.”

He stopped packing the duffel bag and stood, feet braced, hands on hips, and regarded her with grim intent. “Now, you listen and listen good, babe. I want to marry you for all the normal reasons. I want a wife and a home, a real home. I want to have someone to talk to in the evenings, someone to warm my bed, someone to eat with, someone who gives a damn if I come home late. What's not to trust about that?”

She stared at him, her hands twisting together in her lap. “There are a lot of women who would be glad to do all that for you.”

“I don't want a lot of women. I want you.” He took two long strides over to where she was sitting and lifted her to her feet. “And I do not want to hear another word about my staying here on St. Gabe while you flit back to Seattle. Understood?”

Mattie looked up at him sadly. “I don't think it's going to work, Hugh.”

“Leave it to me, babe. I always get the job done.”