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"Right. It would have been one o'clock or so before I got home."
"And you shouldn't have been driving after drinking."
Amanda turned suddenly and looked at her husband. His eyes moved from her back to Ski, looking both uneasy and resentful. "Berry and I had some red wine with our steaks."
"And beer."
Lofland pulled his lower lip through his teeth. "I had a couple while the steaks were cooking."
"And Ms. Malone?"
"She joined me for one."
"Huh." Ski looked over at Amanda Lofland's rigid back before returning to her husband. "You ate dinner in the living room?"
"No, in the dining area."
Ski shared a long look with the man, letting him know that he'd seen wineglasses on the living room coffee table in front of a very comfortable-looking sofa. He decided to let Lofland explain the significance of that question to his wife.
He closed his notepad and slid it and the pen back into his pocket. "I think that's everything for now."
"Good," Lofland said. "I feel like crap and would like to sleep."
Ski left them with the promise not to disturb his rest unless it was absolutely necessary and to keep the two of them updated on the manhunt for Oren Starks. As he left the room, he met a nurse going in with a phlebotomy kit. Ski held the door for her, then stepped into the corridor, where Berry Malone was still standing sentinel outside the room.
"They'll probably need a minute to draw blood," he said.
She nodded. "How is he?"
"Better than dead, which he could be."
That sparked her anger. "You're doing it again."
"Pardon?"
"You toss out these little editorial comments, most of them snide, when a simple statement would do."
He slid his hands into the seat pockets of his jeans but then realized that the position revealed the handgun holster attached to his belt, so he lowered his arms back to his sides. "Your friend is no doubt uncomfortable, but the surgeon--I talked to him by phone on my way here--said the wound is clean and that he'll be fine. He'll have bragging rights in the locker room."
The nurse emerged. There were several new vials of blood in her tray, so her mission had been accomplished, but still Berry seemed hesitant to go into the room. "What's Ben's state of mind? He must hate me."
"Why would he hate you?"
"For dragging him up here only to get shot! And poor Amanda."
"He says he called her."
"He did."
"She gave him permission to spend the night."
"It was late."
"That she knew." Gauging Berry's reaction, Ski added, "She didn't know about the cocktail hour and wine."
Berry raised her hands at her sides. "Are you going to make something of us having a couple of drinks?"
"No. I was just wondering--"
