Page 115 of Ghostly
Don’t know what was worse, the rage or the jealousy. Harvey suspectedsomething was going on with his wife, but when he saw the pictures, saw it wasyou…
Gabriel shook his head. The last thing he needed—Anderson’s voice intruding upon his memories during a trial.
Saw it was you…
“Mr. Vane. Any more questions?” the judge asked, and Gabriel realized he’d been staring somewhere right of Mrs. Ashford-Abernathy for the past few seconds.
He cleared his throat. “Yes. Let’s proceed on to the accusation of you withholding your funds when it came to the combined purchase…”
The P.I.’s list.
Any proof of affair of Mrs. Sinclair with Gabriel Vane.
But if Harvey didn’t know Wynona’s secret lover was Gabriel, how could he have specified that? Anderson hadn’t known beforehand, either.
“It was solely for Leonard’s use. I don’t see why I should pay for it,” Mrs. Ashford-Abernathy said.
“Understood.” Gabriel moved on to the next question.
Believe it or not, I want to help you.
Natalie turned up with this case the day after the dinner party. What had changed then?
Luckily, Gabriel had thoroughly practiced this part of Mrs. Ashford-Abernathy’s defense; he only needed to give her an entry question, and he could rewind back in his head while she answered.
The party… horrible food, seeing Natalie, Wynona came over—
Ms. Ensfield—
Natalie had reacted strangely at that…
The hint about the P.I.’s case—the cue wasn’t Gabriel. It was Ensfield.
Natalie wanted him to see that name.
He shook his head back into reality just in time to catch the end of Mrs. Ashford-Abernathy’s statement. “Thank you. That would be all.” He retreated to his bench. “The defense rests.”
“I knew you could do it.” Mrs. Ashford-Abernathy pinched his cheek as they met outside, after their victory was declared. “You never let me down. Here’s to six!” She raised a hand in an invisible toast. “And maybe soon seven, eh?” She winked.
“I don’t think I’m your type.”
“Oh, no, of course you’re not. You’re too smart for me.” Her laugh was croaky, but friendly. She grabbed Gabriel by the arm and they headed to the exit. “Andtoo valuable. I need you to get rid of all the other husbands.”
A swarm of reporters waited outside; Gabriel made a few quick statements, then let his client take the limelight. Mrs. Ashford-Abernathy fixed her shawl and posed like a Hollywood diva of old as she praised her and Gabriel’s achievements.
After a while, the crowd cleared. Gabriel was sitting on the steps leading to the courthouse when Wynona caught up with him. “Here you are. Now that I have you all to myself—dinner?”
He didn’t move.
“Babe, what’s wrong?”
“I met Anderson earlier.”
“Ugh. Condolences. But you don’t have to think about him.” Wynona’s voice was light as she tugged on his sleeve. “Ignore him.”
He could. And he could ignore the little needles that wanted to burst the bubble he’d tried so hard to keep. The discoveries he’d made regarding the P.I.— he could let them rest, move on, force himself back into his life.
There was only one problem: he didn’t think this was his life anymore.
