Breakdown by Sara Paretsky

Author:Sara Paretsky [Paretsky, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 2012-01-03T06:00:00+00:00

28.

BOOK CARVINGS

HEAT ROSE IN SHIMMERING WAVES FROM THE CARS AND TRUCKS around me as we inched our way south. It was after one and traffic on the Ryan was at its miserable worst. The Interstate signs told me I’d be heading to Memphis in another quarter mile, which sounded like excitement, a road trip, but the reality, when I finally made the turn, was more of the same congestion.

I’d hoped to be under way earlier, but yesterday’s fight, or maybe the tablet Lotty ordered me to swallow at bedtime, had knocked me out for a solid ten hours. When I finally got up, it was after eight and Lotty was long gone. She’d left instructions for how to protect my wound while bathing. If the surgical strips come loose, see Jewel before you do anything strenuous, such as arm-wrestle a boa constrictor.

Out hunting for a boa with arms, I scrawled under the note. Lotty also left a Thermos of her rich Viennese coffee, along with a basket of the fresh rolls someone on her staff at the hospital bakes. I scratched out my snarky comment—it felt too wonderful to be pampered.

When I’d stretched the worst kinks out of my muscles, I returned to Lotty’s clinic for my car, but I couldn’t set out on my journey immediately. Aside from a pressing need for clean clothes, I needed to reassure Mr. Contreras, never a speedy activity. I’d called him last night, of course, but he had to see me for himself, cluck his tongue over my wound, remind me that there were better ways to solve problems than fighting.

“Darling, that comes strangely from the man who swings a pipe wrench first and asks questions second!” I kissed his cheek.

“Yeah, but you need your looks, doll. Jake Thibaut may be a good guy, but there are a lot of beautiful girls half your age playing the violin around him day and night out there in Vermont.”

That thought had also occurred to me, but I said, “That’ll help me stand out in a crowd—middle-aged, scarred, no violin. He won’t be able to miss me.”

Mr. Contreras shook his head in disapproval. “I seen you go through a lot of guys in the years I’ve known you, cookie. This Jake is better than most of them, but you can’t keep beating them up or beating them off. One of these days you’ll be as old as me, always assuming you don’t let some punk stab you to death first, and who’s going to look out for you then?”

That was unanswerable, so I deflected him by telling him my day’s travel plan. I further deflected his desire to accompany me by reminding him that if I got stabbed to death he’d have to be in Chicago to take care of Mitch and Peppy. He did drive over to the lake with me to give the dogs a long swim, since the heat was building too much to let them run. And he made lunch for me while I changed into my last clean pair of summer slacks.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.