Tainted Waters

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

It was time to make an appearance. George slipped his jacket back on, put away and locked up all that wasn't for prying eyes, and made his way outside. There were many people he had to wade through, several stopping him to thank him for the wonderful service. He nodded but kept moving. He had someone to find.

"Dori. How nice of you to come. I know Cora would have appreciated it." He grasped her hands in his, bent down and kissed her on both cheeks. He noticed that Sam had moved off and was talking to Anya, an old high school chum.

She smiled up at him. She was still a very attractive woman at fifty-eight. He'd tried once or twice to get her to go out with him but had finally given up. He wondered if it wasn't time to try again. It would sure make things easier. She might be much more apt to help him.

"It's good to see you. Very nice service today. Thank you for doing that for Mrs. MacNeil."

"How are you doing? I haven't seen you in a while. My fault, I know." Not really. He had tried to see her, but she'd refused. Not the time to remind her of that though. He continued to hold her right hand, clasped in both of his.

"I'm fine. It seems you're busy. Which is good and bad."

"Yes. Yes. It's one of those businesses you know there's a need for, but you really don't want to be busy because that means people are dying. It's a tough industry for sure. I have to tell you I'm still indebted to Sam for bringing me in with him."

She stiffened and pulled back. Good, she's still miffed at him. "I'm sorry, how insensitive of me to have brought up your deceased husband. I shouldn't have brought him up. I'm really sorry. Can I make it up to you? Can I buy you dinner one night? I promise we'll only talk about good things. Okay?"

"Hi. Mr. Assenby. I'm sorry to interrupt but we really need to go. I've got some things to do. So, bye for now."

"Hello, Samantha." He wiped his brow.

Her lips lifted into a half-hearted smile as her gaze immediately dropped to the scar on his pinky finger. The audacity of her attitude was enough to curl his hands into fists, but he fought the urge. He casually but purposefully clasped his hands in front of him, but effectively he hid the little gift she'd given him twenty years before. The fact that she'd never told her mother she'd bitten him made him wonder if she was still as scared of him now as she had been back then. He'd threatened her with telling quite a tale if she'd told anyone why she'd taken a chunk out of his hand with her teeth. The subject had never been broached with him, so he had to assume she'd never shared it.

"I was just telling your mother how nice it is to see her. And you, of course."

"Of course. Nice to see you too, George. I'm guessing you're busy. I saw the funeral for Nathanial Lane. Did you ever find out how he died? It sounded a bit lame, the reason that was given on the news. You must get a report from the medical examiner. Right?"

"It was as they said. He was trying to fix his machine, lost his balance, and was pulled in. Sometimes weird accidents happen." He cleared his throat. "The Post had wanted to do an interview on me. I've been putting it off, but I could put in a good word with Harry and have him assign you as the reporter to do it. What do you think?"

She stiffened but looked him in the eye. "I think that would be a lovely idea." She nodded, then grabbed her mom's elbow, steering her away.

"Goodbye, George. We'll see you another time," Dori said, over her shoulder as they walked off.

He nodded as the two women left, pondering the conversation with Sam. She hadn't wanted to stick around for long, but she was still very nosy and obnoxious. Some things hadn't changed. There was nothing he could do about it now, so he headed back toward his private entrance.

"George."

He turned to face Randy MacNeil. The smell of cheap whiskey hit him first. It was all he could do to control his look of revulsion.

"Randy. Sorry for your loss. Your mom was a beautiful woman. This community will miss her."

"I need your help."

"Don't get me involved. This was your mistake."

"Yeah, but you seem to have an in with him. Please."