Read Honeymoon for Free Online Page B

consign them?"
     
"That's what I was thinking."
     
"A house call, huh? How many rooms are we talking
     
about?"
     
"Twenty-six."
     
"Oy."
     
"I know. That's why I called you. No one could do a bet-
     
ter job on this than you."
     
"I bet you say that to all your suppliers."
     
"And wouldn't you know, they all believe me," said Nora.
     
Nora took a few minutes to discuss some of the furniture
     
and a date for when Harriet could come and look at it. By
     
the time she said good-bye her Town Car was pulling into
     
Connor's driveway.
     
As the driver grabbed her suitcase, she got out and
     
headed for the front door. That's when she saw the note
     
from Craig Reynolds.
     
Please call me ASAP.
     
     
----
Chapter 50
     
THE BUZZ FROM my office phone was followed by Molly's
     
voice. "It's her," she announced.
     
I smiled. There was only one
her
she could be talking
     
about. Nora was back in town. It was about time.
     
"Here's what I want you to do, Molly," I said. "Tell Ms.
     
Sinclair I'll be right with her. Then put her on hold and
     
stare at your watch for forty-five seconds. After that, put her
     
through."
     
"You got it."
     
I leaned back in my chair and gazed at the ceiling. It was
     
composed of those white acoustic tiles that begged to have
     
sharp pencils thrown up into them. I could've been taking
     
the time to gather my thoughts, only that's all I'd been doing
     
the past week. There wasn't a stray thought of mine within a
     
hundred-mile radius.
     
Ring.
Thank you, Molly.
     
     
I picked up the phone and did my best impression of
     
frenzied. "Nora, are you still there?"
     
"I'm still here," she said. I could tell immediately she
     
wasn't very happy about having to wait.
     
"Bear with me for one more second, okay?"
     
I put her on hold again before she could object. Then I
     
stared back up at the ceiling.
One one thousand, two one
… At fifteen one thousand, I got back on the line
     
thousand
     
and let out a deep breath.
     
"Gosh, I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Nora," I said, now
     
doing my best impression of apologetic. "I was finishing up
     
with another client on the other line. I take it you got my
     
note?"
     
"A few minutes ago, yes. I'm here at the house now."
     
Time to test her lying ability. "How was your trip? Mary-
     
land, right?"
     
"Actually, it was Florida," she said.
     
No.
Actually, it was Boston,
I wanted to say, but knew I
     
couldn't. Instead: "Oh, that's right. Wouldn't want to vote
     
there! Was it a good trip?"
     
"Very much so."
     
"You know I tried reaching you on that cell phone num-
     
ber you gave me -- except it turned out to be somebody
     
else's."
     
"That's odd. What number were you dialing?"
     
"Let me check, I've got it right here."
     
I read it back to Nora.
     
"That explains it," she said. "The last two digits are
     
eight-four, not four-eight. God, I hope it wasn't me who
     
mixed them up. I'm sorry if I did."
     
Oh, she's smooth.
"That's okay. It was probably my mistake," I said. "It
     
     
wouldn't be the first time I've suffered from digit dyslexia."
     
"In any event, we're talking now."
     
"Yeah, we are. Anyway, the reason I wanted to speak to
     
you was the insurance inquiry."
     
"Is there news?"
     
"You could call it that." I hesitated before going on.
     
"Please don't read too much into this, but I think we sh