Page 22 (1/2)

“Places she talked about visiting,” Gray said i? Coazine or soo there?”

“If she spent tih not to let me know Wastin’ time makes the devil happy”

Gray started to answer, thought better of it and, instead, took his wallet fro here had been pointless He’d wasted two days and he didn’t know anything more about where to look for Dawn than when he’d started The only thing he’d learned was that her husband was the shithead Ballard said he was, and that Daasn’t much better She’d slept around, run off, abandoned her child… So much for the lure of Nora Lincoln’s sad eyes and defiant chin, or for the fact that he’d thought he’d seen those same eyes, that same chin, in the photo Harman had shown him

“Well, thanks for your tie” Gray dropped a five-dollar bill on the table “I’ll give you ht on your wife’s whereabouts…”

“Wait just a damn minute, Mr Lawyer”

Gray looked up Kitteridge flashed a s in the plastic tabletop

“I onna run off, are you? Now that I told you about ht?” Harman looked around, then hunched his shoulders and bent over the table “It’s only right and proper I should know For the sake of my son, you understand?”

Gray had an answer ready but he made it look as if he didn’t “Well,” he said slowly, “I suppose it’s okay, all things considered”

Harman licked his lips “How much?”

“He didn’t leave her money”

“He didn’t… Ah I got it He left her a house, right? What do you call it, real estate?”

Gray tried to look soulful “No,” he said, “no real estate Actually your wife’s grandfather died broke” Was it a lie? Maybe Then again, maybe not But the ansould defuse Harman’s curiosity That hat counted

“Broke?” Harman’s eyes narrowed “Give me a break, Baron You want randpa didn’t leave her nothin’?”

“I didn’t say that”

“Yeah, you did You just told me the old man died broke”