The Undertaker's Widow (38 page)

“You asked me if I think you should go back to the bench. I think you should do what makes you happy, and that's being a judge. I wouldn't tell you to go back if I didn't think it was right. The people of this state need good judges. If you leave the bench, you'll be letting them down so you can punish yourself.”

Quinn and Laura walked in silence for a while. Finally, Quinn said, “I want to go back, I just …”

“You just acted like a human being.”

Quinn looked anguished. “You really think it's the right thing to do?”

“Yes, Dick.”

“Then the next time you see Stan tell him I'm anxious to get back to work.”

“Un autre, s'il vous plaît,”
James Allen said.

“Immédiatement, monsieur.
”

The waiter took Allen's empty cup and saucer and carried it inside the café. Allen smiled. He was especially pleased because the waiter was conversing in French. Allen had noticed that many of the waiters switched to English the moment an American tried to converse in French if the American's accent or grammar was not perfect.

While Allen waited for the waiter to return with his cappuccino, he looked across the waters of Lake Geneva to the French Alps. The mountaintops were dusted with snow even though the weather in Lausanne was balmy. Every year, James Allen took his vacation on the Continent. This was his second time in Switzerland and he
was enjoying it very much. It was especially nice because the $50,000 he had received from Benjamin Gage and the money in Lamar Hoyt's bequest permitted him to travel in luxury for the first time.

As per his agreement with Ryan Clark, Allen had told the police nothing about the arrangement with Senator Gage that Allen had initiated soon after the hearing on the motion to suppress. It was the blood spatter evidence that had convinced Allen that Ellen Crease had been behind the murder of his employer. Allen had never liked the woman. She was too insensitive to Mr. Hoyt's needs, too domineering. If she had won election to the United States Senate, Mr. Hoyt would have been left alone for most of the year. He knew how much that would have upset Mr. Hoyt because he had overheard several arguments in which this matter was the main subject.

Just when Allen decided that Crease was guilty, Judge Quinn had destroyed the case against her. It was then that Allen decided to give campaign intelligence to Benjamin Gage in the hopes that his information would lead to Crease's defeat. When Ryan Clark supplied him with the bugging equipment, Allen secretly hoped that Crease would confess the murder on tape, but that had never happened. Still, it was the phone conversation between Crease and Judge Quinn that Allen had overheard that eventually put the houseman in a position to avenge his employer's murder. Allen had rigged the sunroom with a listening device and had acted as soon as Crease threatened to kill Laura and the judge.

Life had been hectic following the shooting. There were the police interrogations and the interviews with the press. Appearing distraught through it all drained him, but Allen knew enough about the authorities to understand that they would not have reacted favorably if
he expressed the joy he felt when he ended the life of the woman who had taken Lamar Hoyt from him.

A ferry cruised by on the lake heading toward Montreaux. Tomorrow Allen was planning to travel by ferry a little farther to Château Chillon, the fortress where Lord Byron had set his famous poem. He was looking forward to the slow ride during which he planned to reread “The Prisoner of Chillon.”

“Monsieur,”
the waiter said with a warm smile as he placed the cappuccino in front of Allen. Allen thanked him in fluent French perfected during years of night school study and trips to France and Switzerland.

A cloud slipped in front of the sun. For a moment, the air cooled. Allen sipped his drink. The hot liquid cut the chill. He checked the time. In four hours he would be dining in one of Europe's finest restaurants. He picked up the book he was reading and took another sip of his cappuccino.

Research is one aspect of novel writing that is always fun. I want to thank Bryan Ostrum, Dick Solomon, Mike Prahl, Joseph Ceniceros, Patricia Green and Scott LaPine, who took the time to explain the technical information that I needed to write
The Undertaker's Widow
.

I also want to thank Vince Kohler, Steve Perry, Larry Matasar, Susan Svetkey, Norman Stamm, and Joseph, Eleonore, Jerry and Judy Margolin for reading early drafts and giving me the benefit of their wisdom.

Many thanks to Pat Mulcahy and Elisa Petrini for their unstinting editorial efforts, the crew at Jean V. Naggar's literary agency (the best agency in the known universe) for their terrific support and everyone at Doubleday and Bantam.

And, finally, just plain thanks to Daniel, Ami and Doreen.

After Dark
Gone, But Not Forgotten
The Last Innocent Man
Heartstone
The Burning Man

Phillip Margolin was a practicing criminal defense attorney for twenty-five years, has tried many high-profile cases and has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. His previous novels are
Heartstone, The Last Innocent Man, Gone, but Not Forgotten, After Dark
, and
The Burning Man
. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and two children.