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"Black belt," I hear him call from the baseun safe It explains why I never noticed it I try never to go into the base equipolf clubs, ten-speed, basketballs, racquetballs, and also, apparently, his gun collection Plus, it’s where all the spiders are
When I co clothes"--oversize sweats and a large T-shirt left over froar Rush tour--I have to deal with Lucy, who seems to be able to sense how unnerved I ahts’or possibly it’s the lingering scent of Tania’s dog, Baby In any case, she’s all overto crawl into my lap the way Baby had, but Lucy isn’t a Chihuahua, so this isn’t practical I have to give her a rawhide bone, hich she quickly disappears through her dog door Lucy always buries her toysfor what purpose I’ll have to take a course in doggie psychology to learn
"Here," Cooper says, placing a scotch on the rocks in front of reyhound, but at least it’s not Drambuie, and it’s the best I can do on short notice Don’t hatethe drink "I hate secrets They always co"
"Well," he says, "you know mine now Tell me yours"
The fumes from the whiskey make me feel a little sick I realize what I want is htto revert back to ot to have I put down the glass
"My secret seeot the secret that ended up getting Jared Greenberg killed"
"I’ down across from e, greenhouse-like s facing the back of Fischer Hall, in which I can see a few lights blazing, I tell hih she’d le word
If there’s anything I’ve learned over the past year, it’s that some promises are better off broken The one I made to Tania is one of theh school choir teacher," Cooper asks in disbelief when I’h, "and that story isn’t plastered all over the Internet?"
"Well, lass of two-percent rand a rand a month?" Cooper nearly spits out the sip of coffee he’s just taken Cooper’s got his laptop in front of hiet it so he could double-check facts relating to the story as I related the at the screen with a napkin "Didn’t ot male clients who pay four to five tirand a h school choir teacher?"
"She can afford it," I say with a shrug "She’s got the nule in the countryand unlikeShe’ll be earning residuals on it forever But what judge in his--or her--right mind would award alie would want to," Cooper says, "if they knew the whole story But if Tania filed for a no-fault divorce, they’d have to In New York State, unlike Florida and California, you still have the choice--no-fault or with cause That’s how I --clients who choose to divorce with grounds and need evidence of their spouse’s adultery, or cruel and inhuman treatment, in order to o that route in court It sounds like she’s still in pretty deep denial about her ," I say bitterly "She really thought if she paid the creep, he’d keep quiet about the whole thing And for a long ti Jordan and having his baby Then--like any enterprising sleazeball--he decided to up the ante and said he wanted twenty thousand a ot a spine and said no She even started writing those kiss-off anthems--"
"Kiss-off anthems?" Cooper looks confused
"Like ‘So Sue Me,’ " I explain, peeling open an Oreo and scraping the filling out with er "Apparently that’s exactly what she told Gary to dosue her if he wanted ot er when she was first starting out and he made her what she is today, blah blah blah"
"Jesus," Cooper says "I auy"
"Welcome to the club," I say "He h, because instead of going to court, he’s been e-et what she deserves, that kind of thing"
"He’s good," Cooper says with grudging admiration "There’s no explicit threat of violence there, so nothing she can take to the police to get a cease and desist or a restraining order--and that would be if she wanted to risk letting any of this become public inforuy?"
"Only forty," I say "That’s how Tania put it At least he was only forty when they started going out But she says Gary--I mean, Mr Hall--and she never ‘e of consent in Florida, where she’s from She says he was real careful about that"
"Oh," Cooper says with a snort, beginning to type on his laptop’s keyboard "I’m sure he was Real careful He sounds like a pro"
I’d been fairly certain at that point into vomit all the steak and ed to keep them down