“None of this makes sense,” Diana said. “This isn’t Eric’s fault. Your insurance will cover it. This has to do with the building itself, not with Eric Parker.”
Mitchell’s words were measured. “While it’s true that our insurance covers our original systems, the problem is that it appears that the trouble started in Mr. Parker’s master bathroom, which he remodeled two years ago. If the report finds that to be the source of the problem, then we’re dealing with plumbing that was altered by a third party. And it releases us from responsibility.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Diana said. “The plumbing was up to code. It passed all inspections-yours and the city’s. You signed off on that.”
Sam held out his hands. “Look,” he said. “I know this is difficult. I know everyone is upset. But when you read the document we signed with Mr. Parker, you’ll note a clause that releases us from all responsibilities when any alterations are made to our original systems.”
“Then the plumbing company is responsible.”
“Maybe,” Mitchell said. “But we’re two years out from that remodel. If it were a month, you’d have a strong case. But two years?” He shook his head. “I doubt it.”
Eric shot Diana a look. What he saw in her face was defeat. Redman bankrupted me.
There was a silence while Mitchell moved across the room to an Art Deco table that was beside a shiny black bar. On it were four vases filled with red roses. “There is at least one bright note to all this, Mr. Parker,” he said. “These roses arrived this morning as a welcome home gift. They’re from Louis Ryan.”
“George is behind this. You know it as well as I do.”
Diana entered her living room with a pot of hot coffee in one hand, two coffee mugs in the other. She was fresh from the shower and now wore a white terry bathrobe. Her hair, curling around her face in slick dark waves, was wet.
“He’s responsible for those pipes bursting.”
“We have to talk, Eric,” she said, sitting in the chair opposite him and arranging the mugs on an end table. “Things aren’t adding up.”
“What things?”
She poured the coffee, handed him one of the steaming mugs and took a sip from her own. She seemed very tired when she said, “You’ve been lying to me.”
Eric was about to speak, but Diana held up a hand, silencing him. “Right now I’m going to do the talking. You’re going to shut up and listen. When I ask you a question, you’ll answer it and you’ll answer it honestly. If you lie to me, Eric, I’ll know. It’s what I do. It’s that special gift that I get paid so much for. And if you do lie to me, that will be a mistake you will regret, because as far as I see it, you need me now-and I’ve just about had it with you.”
She eased back in her chair.
In the window behind her, Manhattan was cloaked in a blanket of haze and smog. There was only the slightest hint of the sun behind the screen of clouds. She reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out a rectangular black velvet box. She handed it to Eric and waited for him to open it. With the parting of velvet came a brilliant flash of diamonds and sapphires and rubies.
He looked at her.
“You can have your jewelry back,” she said. “I saw Celina at the Fondaras party and she recognized the necklace I was wearing as one that used to belong to her. She said you bought it for her in Milan, I think, and that the stones were perfect. She said she sent it back to you along with the others that are in that box.” Her voice dropped a note. “She said the sapphires brought out the blue in my eyes. Wasn’t that nice of her?”
She sipped her coffee. “Actually, it wasn’t. In fact, it was embarrassing. I can’t tell you how many people overheard the conversation, but even if one person overheard it on that ship and at that party, all of Manhattan knows by now and I’m probably a laughingstock-something I never deserved.”
“Diana-”
“Shut up, Eric. Just shut up. Are you as tired of your voice as I am? After all I’ve done for you, you at least owe me the courtesy of sitting there and listening.”
He decided to stay quiet.
“You said you bought that jewelry for me because you loved me. How do you think it makes me feel knowing that your love is a farce?” She didn’t wait for an answer because she didn’t want another lie. She moved to the next subject. “You told me that you quit Redman International. You told me that because you were no longer seeing Celina, it was too difficult for you to continue working there and so you quit. Quit. I believed you because I always considered you an honest man. But you’re not. An hour ago, Sam Mitchell said that George terminated you. I want to know why.”
“That’s none of your business.”
She willed herself to remain calm. “If you lied to me, then it is my business. I’ve invested a lot of time and concern and love in you. I was beaten in your apartment by two men who wanted to hurt you for a reason you somehow can’t explain. If it wasn’t for me, you’d probably still be lying in your own blood. If I hadn’t called in a number of favors, your name still would be at the top of the tabloids. You owe me the truth and you’re going to spill it. If you don’t, you can get out of here and out of my life. It’s really that simple.”
Eric reached for his crutches, struggled to his feet and moved to the windows that were at the opposite end of the room. He looked out at the city while she looked at him.
She deserved the truth. But how could he tell her that what began as a terrible mistake during the night of Redman International’s opening had snowballed into a nightmare he couldn’t let go of until Leana Redman paid for what she did to him?
The doctors still were not sure if he would regain full use of his leg. The damage done to his muscles and nerves was more severe than they originally thought. It was only right that Leana pay and he planned on going forward with that. Still, he had to tell Diana something. She now was the only person he could count on. Without an apartment or an income, how would he survive? Lawsuits were coming. At the very least, he needed her guidance.
He moved in her direction. “It’s true,” he said. “I was fired from Redman International.”
“Why?”
“Because I was stupid.”
“What a surprise. How stupid?”
“I almost slept with Leana the night of Redman International’s opening. We would have gone through with it, but I was so drunk, I couldn’t get it up.” He reclaimed his seat. “Is that frank enough for you? She was putting me to bed and telling me to forget about my limp cock when Celina stepped into the room. We were in George and Elizabeth’s penthouse. How she found us there is obvious. Someone tipped her off.”
“Well, that’s a shame,” Diana said. The tone of her voice dropped the temperature in the room a good ten degrees.
“It meant nothing, Diana. We were both drunk and angry at life and Celina. It was a mistake.”
“A rather large one, I’d say.” And the room dropped another ten degrees.
“Celina must have told George,” Eric said. “And then he fired me. That’s all.”
“Who attacked us that night?”
“That I don’t know. It could have been anyone. It could have been a burglary.”
“Oh, please,” she said-and the room started to heat up. “It wasn’t a burglary and you know it. Nothing was missing from your apartment. I checked on that the day after you were admitted to the hospital. Those men somehow slipped past security and entered your apartment, which was locked. The police reports show that the door was not opened with force and that the lock wasn’t picked. Whoever did it had a key.”
A silence passed.
“Tell me the truth,” she said. “Who did it?”