Silver Linings, стр. 82

She would wake him up and send him on his way with enough money for a cup of coffee.

She was fishing in her purse for a dollar when she realized it was no stranger who was crouched against the gallery window. The figure was wearing an outrageously fake fur coat and a pair of three-inch spike heels. She had a mass of unlikely blond curls boiling around her heavily made-up face.

“Evangeline!” Mattie shouted, breaking into a run. “What on earth are you doing here?”

“Hi, honey. Sorry about this. Got in this morning and came straight here. You said to look you up if I ever got to Seattle, and this was the address on that card you left me. When the cab let me off here, I thought there'd been a mistake.” She glanced quizzically at the paintings in the window. “This gallery really belong to you?”

“All mine.” Mattie thrust the key into the lock and opened the door. “Come on inside and warm up.”

“Jeez. This is really something. It's an art gallery, isn't it?” Evangeline eyed the contents of the shop with astonishment as Mattie turned on the lights. “You're not really in the business, at all, are you?”

“You mean, your particular business? No. But I am in business. How about a cup of tea?”

“Yeah, anything. I've had nothing but lousy airline food for the past twenty-four hours.” Evangeline followed her into the office and watched her plug in the little hot pot. “Got a bathroom?”

“Over there.” Mattie nodded toward the small door.

“Thanks. Be right out.”

When she returned, Evangeline had taken off the fake fur. She was wearing a skin-tight island-style sheath. She looked like an exotic flower that had been freshly plucked in the jungle and plunked down in Mattie's mundane little office.

“I suppose you wonder what the hell I'm doing here,” she said, sniffing suspiciously at the herbal tea.

“The question did cross my mind. You're more than welcome, though. It's good to see you again. You look great. I love that dress.”

“Just a little something I whipped up a couple of weeks ago. I had to leave a lot of really nice stuff behind, damn it.”

“I take it you left Hades in a hurry? Hugh tried to call you back after you phoned the other night, and the desk clerk said you'd already left with a suitcase. I was worried. What happened, Evangeline?”

“Remember I told you some trick was coming down the hall to my room and I had to get off the phone?”

“Yes?”

“Well, it wasn't a john. It was some guy named Gibbs. He wanted to talk to me about a friend of his. Someone named Rosey.”

“Rosey's dead. He was killed over on Purgatory.”

“That right? Well, his friend Gibbs was afraid of that. Wanted to know if I knew what the hell was going on. Mentioned this Rainbird guy again and said he sounded like trouble. He told me about the way your friend Abbott had stolen his boat to get off Purgatory and how Abbott had offered money for information on whoever might have shot a man named Cormier. When the name Rainbird came up again, I got real nervous. It occurred to me that I might already know a little too much. I've always trusted my instincts, you know?”

“So you decided to leave Brimstone?”

“Not just Brimstone. I decided to put a lot of distance between me and this Rainbird character until things cooled down. It occurred to me I needed a little vacation and it wouldn't hurt to come back to the States to check up on my investments. Brokers and accountants can get a little sloppy if you don't breathe down their necks once in a while, you know?”

“That's true,” Mattie agreed. “I make it a point to check in with mine in person a couple of times a year.”

“Right. So I figure I'll kill a couple of birds with one stone. Take care of business back here and wait for things to settle down out there.”

“That may have been a very smart move. I don't know for certain what's going on, but there's real trouble brewing. Hugh left yesterday morning.”

“Yeah? What's he going to do?”

“I wish I knew,” Mattie said sadly. “Look, if you don't mind sleeping on a big couch, you're welcome to stay with me for a while until you decide what you want to do.”

Evangeline looked startled at first and than strangely grateful. “That's real nice of you, honey. Sure you don't mind?”

“Not in the least. I think I'll rather enjoy having company.”

Evangeline grinned. “I'll take you out to dinner. My treat.”

“Sounds great. We can talk business investments.”

They made a decidedly odd-looking pair that evening as they walked into the lounge of one of Seattle's best restaurants and sat down for a drink. Every eye in the place turned at least briefly toward Mattie's companion. And then, having assessed Evangeline and come to certain conclusions, those same eyes turned with great curiosity to Mattie.

Evangeline looked extremely dashing in another of her own creations, a flower-splashed, low-necked dress with long sleeves and a hem that ended mid-thigh. Mattie felt quite staid in the demure, heather-toned, high-necked dress that Evangeline had decided was the only wearable garment in Mattie's closet aside from the red sarong. Mattie had declined to wear the sarong out in downtown Seattle on the grounds that it was too cold. This wasn't the islands, after all.

“This is great, you know?” Evangeline glanced around at the ferns, polished wood, and dapper customers. “Usually when I'm in a bar, I'm working. Nice to be able to come in and just sit down and relax.”

“I'm glad you're enjoying it. Evangeline, I'd like to ask a favor.”

“Sure, honey.”

“Would you go shopping with me tomorrow? I could use some advice.”

Evangeline laughed and heads turned again. “You bet. Can't think of anything I'd rather do than go shopping.” She leaned forward. “And confidentially, honey, you could use some help.”

“I know.”

“I didn't want to say too