Cedar Woman (136 page)

S
on
n
y
.

N
i
ckie
gave
a
s
tart,
ga
s
p
e
d
an
d
ran
f
rom
t
h
e r
o
o
m
.

S
o
nny
hea
r
d
Nickie’s
i
n
ta
k
e
of
brea
t
h,
an
d
l
o
ok
e
d
just
i
n
t
i
m
e
to see
her
r
un
i
n
t
o
t
h
e
hallway
of
t
h
e
fu
neral
ho
m
e.
T
u
rn
i
n
g
to
B
o
y
La
dd
,

he
a
s
ked
t
h
at
he
s
t
ay
ne
a
r
L
ena,
an
d
wa
l
k
ed
b
r
is
k
l
y
out
of
t
h
e
ro
om
i
n

search of
Nick
i
e.

N
i
ck
i
e r
a
n
t
o
t
h
e
p
a
rk
i
ng
l
o
t
.
Fu
m
b
li
ng
wit
h
her ke
y
s,
d
r
op
p
in
g t
h
e
m
,
and
a
w
k
wa
r
dly
retri
e
ving
t
h
e
m
,
she
f
inally
m
anag
e
d
to
ent
e
r her car.
Bend
i
n
g
ov
e
r
t
h
e
steer
i
ng wheel,
s
h
e beg
a
n
to
wail.
H
o
w
c
o
uld
sh
e
h
a
v
e
th
o
ug
h
t s
u
ch a t
h
i
n
g
?

O
h
,
my
Go
d
,
s
h
e
screa
m
ed
inw
a
rdly,
what
kind
of
m
o
n
ster
am
I
? My
best
f
r
i
e
n
d
h
a
s
s
u
ff
ered
a
devas
t
a
tin
g
l
o
ss,
a
nd
I
’
m
a
n
gry
be
c
a
u
se
no
w
s
h
e is free f
o
r
S
o
n
n
y?
W
ha
t is wrong
w
ith
me?

A
tap
o
n
h
e
r
win
d
ow
ca
u
sed
h
er
to
j
u
m
p
.
T
u
r
n
ing
a
tear-stai
n
e
d face
tow
a
rd
the
sound,
she beheld
Sonny,
m
o
tioning
for her
to
op
e
n
the
d
oor.

Le
n
a
sat
stiffly
in
t
h
e
leat
h
er c
u
s
h
ioned,
high-ba
c
k
chair.
The
m
an acro
s
s
from her
was
open
i
n
g
a
file.
She
ju
m
p
ed
as
a
young
wo
m
an o
f
fer
e
d her
a
glass
of
wa
t
er.
S
h
a
k
i
n
g her he
a
d
,
s
h
e
decli
n
e
d
t
h
e bev
e
r
a
ge,
an
d
r
et
u
r
n
ed h
e
r
g
a
ze
to
t
h
e
att
o
rn
ey w
h
o
s
at ac
r
oss
f
r
om
her.

Larry
Pri
n
ce s
p
ecialized
in
Estate
law.
N
o
t
a
tall
m
an
,
h
e was n
o
ne
t
h
e
l
ess
im
pos
i
ng,
a
n
d b
o
re
a
s
t
r
i
k
in
g
li
k
e
n
ess
t
o
t
h
e
act
o
r
Mik
e
My
ers.
His
l
a
rg
e
,
b
r
ow
n
e
ye
s
were
k
i
n
d
,
a
nd
n
o
t
wit
ho
u
t
sy
m
p
ath
y
,
as
h
e loo
k
ed up
t
o
a
d
dress Le
n
a
.