Maggie’s antenna went up. “You skunk, that’s where you were going all along on your honeymoon, and you just want me to pay for it.”

“Hey, you called me, I didn’t call you. So, what’s it going to be, Miz Spritzer? I’ll even bring you back a souvenir.”

“Okay, okay! Three full weeks, and that’s my last offer. Agree to that, and we have a deal. And you better get me what I need.”

“If it’s there, I’ll get it. See you at nine o’clock. Don’t make me wait.”

“Screw you, Abner. What’s her name?”

Maggie could hear Abner’s laughter as he hung up. She looked around to see if anyone had magically appeared with food while she was talking to Abner. She was as alone as before she made the call. She thought about taking a nap but knew she would never be able to sleep if she was hungry. With nothing else to occupy her time, she meandered out of the office, down the hall to the kitchen, where she made the first pot of coffee of the day. While she waited for the coffee to drip into the pot she daydreamed about Eggs Benedict, waffles with cream and blueberries, eggs and bacon, cinnamon applesauce on the side, buttery toast, fresh melon, a stack of pancakes with warm butter and syrup. “Oh, God, I’m going to die if I don’t get some food.” She was so pitiful she couldn’t stand herself.

Chapter 6

Lizzie drove her car into the garage and locked it with the remote on her visor. She entered the house through a door that led to the kitchen, where she stopped in the middle of the floor. This was the part that she hated, entering an empty house where there was no sound, no pet running to greet her. It was at times like this that she realized how alone she felt in the world. Oh, yes, her days and the early part of her evenings were filled with people and things to do, but at the bitter end she was still alone.

Lizzie looked around at her neat, tidy kitchen. Cosmo Cricket would not fit into this little house, he just wouldn’t. Until they finalized their living arrangements, she would be commuting to Las Vegas on weekends. Not that Cosmo was averse to coming here to Washington; he wasn’t. They both recognized that the house either needed to be renovated or they needed to buy a new East Coast home.

Sound was what she needed, so she turned on the under-the-cabinet Bose radio she had ordered last year. Then she turned on the television sitting on top of the counter. A jumble of noise, to be sure, a far cry from the bells and whistles of Las Vegas, but it did make her feel better.

Lizzie’s thoughts ran in all directions as she made her way through the house to the stairway that led to the two bedrooms on the second floor. The minute she stepped into the hallway, she started to shed her clothes.