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.”2Kate nodded gravely, as if she understood.3“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Justin said.Slack-jawed, he stared at 4the photograph, the dark-haired woman on the wall.The phrase 5fugue state fluttered in Kate’s mind, the relic of a college psych 6course.Furtively, she checked Justin’s right hand.But his grip on 7the gun held fast.8“You left her picture for me, didn’t you? On my desk.You 9wanted me to see her.”10Still gazing at the picture, Justin nodded.“I didn’t want you to 11think that I’d forgotten.”12“No,” Kate said.“Of course not.” Her eyes shifted to the 13woman’s picture, then back to Justin again.14“It’s a wonderful photograph,” Kate said.“Why don’t you tell me 15about her?”16Justin shrugged.“What do you say about your mother? Where 17do you want me to start?”18“Your mother?” Kate tried to conceal her shock.“But that 19woman isn’t your mother.I’ve met your mother, remember? At our 20law school graduation.Her name is Sarah.She’s tall and blond, 21and she doesn’t look anything like that photograph.”22“Sarah isn’t my mother, Kate.” Justin seemed almost amused.23“She’s just the woman who adopted me.My real mother died.24Sarah was my counselor.In the group home where I lived.Sarah 25Llewellyn.That was her name when I first met her, before she got 26married I mean.I used to call her Screw-ellen.Then she became 27Sarah Daniels, old Screw-ellen did.But why am I telling you that?28You already know that, Kate.” Justin laughed, an odd gulping 29sound.“She thought I had potential.That’s why she adopted me.30And she was right, too.Just not the kind she was talking about.”31Kate opened her mouth to protest, then clamped it shut again.32The room seemed suddenly hotter, filled with a shimmering haze.33Of course, she’d known that Sarah Daniels was a child psycholo-34 shgist, that she was working on a book about adoption.This part of 35 re9858_02_153-356_r6jm.qxd 9/28/00 3:59 PM Page 3303 3 0A M Y G U T M A N1Justin’s story had the ring of truth.And if this part were 2true.But she wouldn’t think about that, not now.3“They made me go talk to Sarah ’cause I was a bad kid.” Justin 4seemed to relish the words.“I was heading nowhere fast, that’s 5what they said.At first, I didn’t want to talk to her.She was just 6another asshole social worker.Another do-gooder who didn’t 7know shit.”8Even the cadence of Justin’s voice had changed.Kate thought 9crazily of The Exorcist.Linda Blair.Split pea soup.Justin’s head 10turning round and round.11“I don’t know why I was even listening that day, the day that 12everything started,” Justin said.“Maybe I was just too hung over to 13do anything else besides listen.But she said this thing.She said 14that I had to have goals.I remember when she said that, something 15clicked.It was like my mother — my real mother — was there, 16helping me to get on with my life.The plan didn’t come all at 17once.But that’s when it started.That’s when everything started.”18“Your mother.The woman in the picture.” Kate tried to sound 19detached, but her voice was shaking.“What happened to her?”20If Justin heard what she said, he didn’t acknowledge it.“She was 21just nineteen when she moved to New York.Nineteen.Do you 22know how young that is?” His head snapped around to Kate.He 23glared at her, as if expecting an answer.24“It’s very young,” Kate faltered.25Again, Justin didn’t seem to hear her.“She worked as a waitress.26To pay the bills, I mean.Really, she was an actress.That’s why 27she’d moved to the city.And she was good, too.I’ve talked to the -28people who knew her then.She could have been a real success.29She could have done anything.You can tell that from looking at 30her picture.But then he had to ruin everything.He told her he 31loved her, and she believed him.That was her only mistake.She 32thought he was telling the truth.”33At that instant, she knew.“You’re talking about Carter Mills.”ort 34Justin smiled at Kate, the old lopsided grin.“Of course I am, reg 35Kate,” he said.“I’m talking about my father.”9858_02_153-356_r6jm.qxd 9/28/00 3:59 PM Page 331E Q U I V O C A L D E A T H3 3 1My father.1The words thundered in her mind.Kate tried to turn away, but 2she couldn’t stop staring at Justin’s face.Slowly, like some sort of 3trick drawing, the similarities began to emerge.The strong eye-4brows, the perfect teeth, the square-cut jaw.She couldn’t believe 5it.Wouldn’t believe it.At the same time, she knew it was true.6Justin was Carter Mills’s son.7A fire was burning in her brain.Still, she pressed ahead.She 8needed to know everything.She needed to know the truth.9“Your mother,” she said.The words came out in a whisper.“Her 10name was Maria, wasn’t it? Maria Bernini.The M on that red wax 11seal.The letter stood for her name.”12“Very good, Kate.I was sure you’d figure it out.”13Fragments of what she’d read at the library flooded back through 14Kate’s mind.The single mother.The antique gun.The child found 15bound and gagged.16“And you.you saw Carter kill her?” Her mouth was so dry 17she could barely speak.18“I don’t remember, ” Justin said.His voice had taken on a slightly 19petulant tone.“I was only four years old.You know that.You read 20about it in the papers.I don’t remember.I only know what they 21told me.”22Kate pressed on.“What?” she said.“What did they tell you?”23Justin sighed, an elaborate, manufactured sound, a child putting 24on a show.“My mother’s friend told me what happened.Her 25name’s Elizabeth.She took me in after Mama died.But then I got 26to be too much for her” — here he gave a strange, cold smile —27“and she had to give me away.The thing is, it’s not like he exactly 28killed her.I mean, if he had, I could just have turned him in, right?29That would have done the trick.He should have killed her himself.30That would have been more honest.Instead, he let someone else 31do it for him.That’s how he operates.”32“You mean he hired someone to kill Maria? To kill your mother, 33I mean.”34 shJustin was starting to pout.“No, Kate [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]