Chương 9
“They sent an inspector,” he said. “Not city. Private. He made a list. Roof, porch rail, drainage. Said if I didn’t repair them, I’d be in breach.”
“Can they do that?”
“My lawyer says probably not the way they’re doing it. My lawyer also says fighting will cost more than the option payment.”
“Did Marcus come to your house?”
Roger’s eyes shifted toward the window. “Once.”
“What happened?”
“He said contractors at the new complex would make noise for years if I fought the sale. Said I’d be better off taking the money and moving near my daughter.”
“That’s a threat.”
“It’s a prediction.”
“Did anyone hear?”
“No.”
“Would you give my attorney a statement?”
Roger closed the folder.
Nora recognized the movement from Denise.
“I don’t want trouble,” he said.
“You already have trouble.”
“I don’t want yours.”
He stood, then left the folder on the table.
“What’s this?”
“Copies. Don’t say where you got them.”
“Your name is on every page.”
Roger looked irritated, as if she had designed the forms. “Then say you found them.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. Be creative.”
“I’m not lying about the evidence.”
He stared at her. “You think because you threw one man around, everybody has to become brave?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He walked to the door, then turned.
“I saw Warren give your sister an envelope after the April meeting. She sat in her car for twenty minutes before she drove away.”
Nora said nothing.
Roger opened the door. “People don’t take five thousand dollars because things are going well.”
The next morning, Rachel arrived wearing sunglasses despite the clouds.
Nora let her inside but did not offer coffee.
Rachel placed her handbag on the counter and looked around the kitchen as if evaluating what half of it might be worth. Her blonde hair was pulled into a low knot. Without the summer dress and public smile, she looked older than forty-three.
“I’m not here to fight,” she said.
“Why are you here?”
“To explain.”
Nora waited.
Rachel removed her sunglasses. The skin beneath her eyes was swollen. “Evan left.”
Nora had spoken to Rachel’s husband three weeks earlier about replacing a garbage disposal. Nothing in his voice suggested he had left.
“When?”
“February.”
“Where have you been telling people he is?”
“Consulting in Denver.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t want everyone knowing.”
“Knowing what?”
Rachel’s mouth twisted. “That he left me for a woman who sells medical software and runs marathons.”
The specificity was so painfully Rachel that Nora looked away.
“Does Mom’s estate money—”
“It’s gone.”
Nora turned back.
“Evan moved money from our joint account,” Rachel said. “Not all at once. He’d been paying credit cards I didn’t know about. Then the market dropped on some investments. The house has two loans. My business is barely covering rent.”
Rachel operated a small interior design studio that looked successful online. Nora had assumed the expensive dresses and renovated kitchen proved it was.
“How much debt?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“You do know.”
“About one hundred and eighty thousand, not counting the mortgage.”
Nora sat.
Rachel laughed once and covered her mouth. “There. I finally shocked you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you would’ve looked at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m a casualty you need to organize.”
Nora’s response died before reaching her mouth.
Rachel paced to the refrigerator and back. “Warren knew Evan. He heard we were having trouble. He offered the option money, then introduced me to someone who could refinance the studio debt.”
“Another company he controls?”
“I found that out later.”
“How much did you borrow?”
“Twenty-five.”
“At what rate?”
Rachel stared at the floor.
“Rachel.”
“Eighteen percent.”
Nora stood so quickly the chair scraped.
“Don’t,” Rachel said. “I know.”
“That’s not help.”
“I know.”
“Did the loan require your interest in this house as collateral?”
“No. I wouldn’t do that.”
“You sold him an option.”
“That was separate.”
“Nothing with Warren is separate.”
Rachel’s shoulders dropped. “He said if the development moved forward, I could design the interiors. Offices, locker rooms, the lounge. It would’ve saved the studio.”
“And if it didn’t?”
“I would still owe him.”
“So you needed me to sell.”
“Yes.”
The honesty was uglier and easier to bear than another defense.
Nora looked through the window at the maple tree their mother had planted after buying the house. One branch had grown too close to the roof. She had been meaning to trim it for two months.
“Did you ask Marcus to challenge me?”
“No.”
“Did you know Warren would?”
“I knew he wanted to pressure you. He said public embarrassment worked on people who built their identity around being strong.”
“You gave him that language.”
Rachel said nothing.
“What did you tell him about me?”
“That you hate people seeing you lose control. That you’d rather leave than be pitied. That you never explain your past.”
“And the videos?”
“I said Lily found them. I didn’t show him anything.”
“Did Warren tell Marcus?”
“I assume so.”
Nora moved to the sink and turned on the water, then shut it off without using it.
Rachel’s voice softened. “When Marcus threw those gloves, I thought you’d walk away. I wanted you to walk away.”
“Because then I’d sell?”
“Because then you’d be human.”
Nora faced her.
Rachel flinched but continued. “Do you know what it was like when Mom was dying? You did everything. Medications, appointments, oxygen, insurance calls. You corrected how I lifted her. You corrected what she ate. You corrected the way I spoke to the hospice nurse.”
“I was trying to keep her comfortable.”
“You made me feel dangerous.”
“You gave her the wrong dose once.”
“I gave her one pill two hours early.”
“It could have affected her breathing.”
“She was dying, Nora.”
The words hung between them.
May you like
Rachel’s face crumpled, not dramatically but with the exhausted failure of muscles held too long. “She was dying, and you made every hour a test I could fail.”
Nora gripped the counter.
