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"Ankle?" I said. "Is that... it?"
"Other than cuts and bruises, and wounded pride, which, let me tell you, is stinging worst of all. Serves him right. The fucking stubborn Mick. I told him - "
"When did it happen?"
"A couple of weeks ago."
Only a couple of weeks? So much for "that explains everything."
"I'm sorry to hear it," I said. "I hope he's on the mend and I appreciate you telling me - "
"I'm not calling so you can send him a get-well card, Nadia."
I tensed at the use of my real name. With Evelyn, it was always a dig - reminding me how much she knew. But I suppose I wouldn't want her calling me "Dee" on my personal line, either.
"He's holed up in Buffalo," Evelyn continued.
"Holed up?"
"There was a problem. Nothing critical, but with his ankle, he's not in any condition to jaunt off to Europe until things cool down. He needs a place to stay, and someone to watch his back - such as a friend who lives in a backwoods cabin in the middle of nowhere."
"He wants to come here?"
Silence, so long I thought we'd lost the connection.
"You know Jack, Nadia. He never wants anything. Never admits to it, anyway. Goddamned - "
"So this is your idea."
"Only because he's too stubborn to ask. God forbid he should ask for help. Gotta be fair and square, all debts paid up. Thirty years I've known him, and you saw the shit he pulled last fall, when he wanted my help. Dangled the fucking case in front of my nose until I jumped, then hemmed and hawed about letting me join, when the whole goddamned reason he came to my house - "
"He doesn't even know you're asking me, does he?"
More silence as she tried to figure out another way to bluster and divert. After a moment, she sighed. "This is how you have to deal with Jack, Nadia. You go to him, make the offer, listen to him mutter about how he doesn't need help, doesn't want to inconvenience you, but the minute you turn to walk away, he'll be on your tail, following you home. Just so long as it's your idea."
"I don't think he's going to follow me anywhere."
She snorted. "How much you betting, girl? Name your wager, because surer odds I've never - "
"I haven't heard from him in four months."
"What?" The word came sharp with genuine surprise. "Did you two have another fight? I told you the last time, you have to go to him. You know what it's like getting him to talk, one fucking word at a time, dragged out like teeth, but - "
"There wasn't a fight. He called in January, we chatted, and that was the last I heard from him."
"So call him! The man has zero people skills, Nadia, in case that somehow escaped your notice. He once went six months without contacting me and when I lit into him for nearly giving me a heart attack, he acted like - "
"He didn't just forget to call. I could feel the cold front moving in for months. He doesn't want to see me, and I'm not driving to Buffalo so he can give me the brush-off in person."
"You owe him."
"I repaid him last fall. Now, apparently, we're square. He made sure of that before he - "
"For God's sake, stop sulking, Nadia. Jack's hurt your feelings - "
"I'm not hurt; I'm pissed off."
"Then tell him to his face. It's the Blue Sky motel, room 18, off the - "
