Page 15 of Shattered Hearts

She doesn’t waste a second to tear into me on the sidewalk. I pity Zane her temper. I bet he sees it a lot.

“What did you do that for? I wanted to know what she was doing.”

“Youknowwhat she was doing, Stella. She let you go because she and Rourke were having an affair and she didn’t want anyone to find out.”

Her lips part but nothing comes out but a puff of breath that turns white in the cold. Tears fill her eyes. “My freedom, the reason I’m standing hereright now, the whole reason the past year was possible, is because she was having an affair? Her husband and son are inprisonbecause she was having an affair?”

I would think she’d be yelling, but her voice is thin, full of holes like a fishing net.

I grasp her upper arm and lead her into a wine bar next door. “Two reds,” I tell the waitress who steps in our direction. Because of the time of day, we have the place to ourselves, and I push Stella into a booth that has high backs. Call me paranoid, but I don’t want anyone to see us through the glass. Don’t need rumors to start.

In a daze, Stella shrugs out of her jacket and yanks off her beret. She wore them barely five minutes.

The waitress serves us large wineglasses, a couple inches of red in each one, and an enormous cheese platter.

“We didn’t order—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Stella says, staring at the table. “We own this place. Well, Zane does. Thanks, Bryn.”

“You’re welcome, Stella. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thanks.”

I swirl the wine in my glass. “How do you get used to it?”

She sighs and holds the giant wineglass between her palms. “It’s easier than you think. Rich people and their games. They think they aren’t hurting anybody, but they never look behind at the damage they leave in their wake.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“You’ll find out. Are you going to tell your mother?”

“According to Pop, she already knows. Trades it for, the ah, financial perks.”

Stella rests her lips against the rim. “Like Mayor Huxley’s wife.”

“Like that, yeah.”

She pops a chunk of cheese into her mouth and chews thoughtfully. “I guess it doesn’t mean anything. The conversation was a waste of time.”

“Not necessarily.” I hunch over and lower my voice. “Her apartment’s bugged and she couldn’t talk freely. She led us on a wild goose chase of non-answers, but she gave us something else besides she was fucking my stepfather.”

“I must be obtuse, then. I didn’t get anything out of her except a passion for a young Pierce Brosnan.”

“She said she didn’t know anything about Quiet Meadows.”

“How does that help us?”

“She implied someone did.”

“Who? Zarah’s doctor is in prison.”

“He couldn’t have been working alone.”

Stella shrugs. “A nurse or two maybe looked at her chart and questioned the medication she was prescribed, but Zarah’s mental state was shaky, even you and I can admit that.”

“Maybe that’s not all it was.” I tell her about the three dead girls and Pop’s suspicions.

“Do you think Zarah’s in trouble?” she asks, alarmed.

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