Catch As Cat Can

                "Tomorrow. This is going to be hard on Ida O'Bannon. She hasn't fully recovered from her husband's death. I don't know if Sean can handle all this. Men usually aren't too good at these things."

                "No." Harry squinted as a bumblebee flew up to her, decided she wasn't a flower, then zoomed off."Lottie Pearson's mad at BoomBoom." She didn't need to explain since Susan knew why "But she let Boom lead her off. She wants something but I can't figure out what it is."

                "Your mind is a grasshopper."

                "I know. Always was. I didn't mean to change the subject, and ] am sorry for Ida and Sean."

                "Do you think Thomas Steinmet is married?"

                "Now who's changing the subject?" Harry touched Susan's leg with her foot.

                Susan laughed."Well, anyway, do you think he's married?"

                Harry shrugged."I don't know. If he is, he's bold as brass coming down here and staying with Boom. Washington's not that far away. He strikes me as the bold type anyway."

                "Honey, with the telephone, e-mail, and television, nothing is that far away. It's both wonderful and dreadful."

                They sat in silence for a few moments as the killdeers called on the meadows, their high-pitched voices distinctive.

                "Did Roger have any enemies?"

                "Harry." Susan's voice rose, filled with humor and a touch of censure."You watch too much Mystery Theater."

                Sheepishly, the slim woman replied, "It's good."

                "Who would want to kill Roger O'Bannon? If he had any enemies it would be himself. He sat back there in his garage like a doodlebug in its hole. His socializing was at the stock-car races. I mean he was pleasant enough but you can't be covered in grease and expect someone like Lottie Pearson to fall for you."

                "Lottie's a snob."

                "So is half of Albemarle County."

                "I guess." Harry exhaled."Anyway, it crossed my mind, that's all. Oh, did you notice the flying blue heron sculpture in Aunt Tally's garden?"

                "Yes."

                "BoomBoom made it out of scraps. Kind of amazing."

                "H-m-m." Susan enjoyed another long sip."Diego Aybar." Given the length of her relationship with Harry, Susan didn't need a transition. She could hop around subjects as rapidly as Harry, although her concept of herself was as a logical, linear person.

                "Yes?"

                "You're smitten with him."

                "You're soft as a grape."

                "I suppose I'd have to be to be your best friend. Share a little, Harry, it's part of friendship, you know."

                "Oh-he's handsome-"

                "Gorgeous."

                "Okay, Susan, he's gorgeous."

                "And charming."

                "Yes, but you know he has a quality, a sweetness, really, I can't ink of another word but sweetness. I wish American men would :t over trying to be so, uh, manly and just be themselves, you low."

                "Well, that was a little outburst," Susan laughed, "for you, any-ay."

                "But Diego has"-she thought hard but couldn't find a substitute word-"sweetness." She inhaled."But I hardly know him."

                "True."

                "Do I detect something acidic in your voice?"

                "No, you don't actually. I'm only hoping that someday you'll r. You'll let yourself go. Anyway, I don't believe in mistakes any-ore." Susan set her glass down hard enough to make the ice cubes .Hide.

                "Huh?"

                "Mistakes. There are no mistakes. No matter what you do, no matter how awful it seems at the time, it's not a mistake because you needed to learn that lesson so-let go."

                "I don't believe that."

                "Harry, I knew you'd say that."

                "Well, I don't. Murder is a mistake. You can't murder someone .d then say you needed to learn that lesson. The lesson being, I suppose, that human life is valuable and no one has the right to take except in self-defense, naturally."

                "We aren't talking about murder."

                "I'm carrying forward your theory about mistakes to its extreme conclusion."

                "Thereby proving my point." Susan threw her head back, peals laughter filling the fragrant air."You need to let go."

                Harry sat quietly for a moment, considered Susan's thought, en smiled slowly. No need to reply.

                12

                Flaming torches lined the long, curving driveway to Dalmally, Mim Sanburne's estate. The pinpoints of red-

orange against the twilight created the eerie sensation of going back in time. Cool night air arrived with the sunset. The temperature plunged to fifty-two degrees Fahrenheit and would probably wind up close to freezing.

                BoomBoom arrived shimmering in a raspberry chiffon evening gown, with a silver fox stole wrapped around her shoulders. Thomas would have cut the motor and leapt out of his Mercedes sports car to open the door for her, but Mim, leaving nothing to chance, had hired a valet parking service from Charlottesville. She demanded that no car jockey take the expensive cars for a joyride. The valet company signed a contract to that effect. Mim always made a point of marshaling staff before a party and reading them the law, the law of Virginia and Mim's law. Her Aunt Tally and her mother had taught her this.