Lonely Hearts by John Harvey

Author:John Harvey [Harvey, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Suspense
ISBN: 9780380710065
Publisher: Avon
Published: 1989-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Eighteen

Was it something about his generation, the fact of living alone? He chose two potatoes from the rack and washed off the surplus dirt before beginning to peel. Most people he knew, worked with, they operated in couples: that was the way it still was. For the rest, though, finding someone or making it work, which was the most difficult? He thought of Rachel, of the two of them in the enclosed space of his car, a tiredness he had not noticed before in her eyes. Dizzy was winding in and out between his feet and he picked the animal up and set her down again across the room. All the things he might have said; the warmth of her arm through her sleeve. It’ll sort itself out. Usually, he supposed, things did.

When he reached up on to the shelf to take down the grater, he noticed that Pepper had fitted the curve of her body inside the largest aluminum pan, only the last inches of her tail curling over the rim.

No matter what, his mother had made latkes on Monday evenings, grating the potato as finely as if she had been turning a precision tool. The smaller pile of onion would stand ready in its dish, the egg beaten, oven warming. In a saucepan, thickened with flour, gravy from the weekend’s meat bubbled slowly.

Happy or miserable—mostly, Resnick realized, thinking back, resigned—his mother, once married, would have known no other option. Like her potato pancakes, regularly she made her bed and once that was done there was nothing else but to lie down in it.

Resnick gave the mixture a final stir and began to grease the bottom of the heavy frying pan. There were still a few slices of smoked Polish ham in the fridge, a spoonful of sour cream.

“Dizzy! If you end up getting trodden on, don’t blame me.”

He was sliding the spatula under the nearest latke to turn it when the phone began to ring. The outside was crisp yet not too thick and didn’t crumble when he lifted it up, set it back down.

“Dizzy!”

The cat retreated beneath the table and regarded him balefully.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Surprised that Jack Skelton had not called already, Resnick was anticipating the superintendent’s voice until his hand touched the receiver and he knew it would be Rachel. Distressed, needing to talk.

“Hello?”

It was Patel. Resnick recognized that careful voice instantly. He listened for several moments and then, “How long ago?” he asked, and, “Is she still there?”, finally, “She was certain?”

Resnick kept the phone in hand and depressed a finger to break the connection. It was he who would have to call Skelton.

“Different game now, Charlie. Different rules.”

It was still shy of seven-thirty and they were on the steps outside the station. Skelton was wearing his dark executive blue and with good reason. There was an extra shine to his shoes and a messianic glint in his eyes that made Resnick wonder if he moonlighted as a lay preacher on his days off.

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