“Like Eliza, who never got hers.”
“That’s right.” Dot leaned back and closed her eyes while Wes cast Nadine a look to encourage her to keep going. He knew better than to interrupt. Nadine was finally getting them somewhere, and at the moment, it was more important to hear Dot than to give in to the urge to outdo Nadine.
The opportunity to do that would come up soon enough anyway.
Twelve
Please don’t let me screw this up.She could feel Wes’s exhilaration but knew he would respect her taking the lead. Wes could be good like that, not letting his ego interfere with something he wanted. If the way to get Dot talking was to let Nadine do it, he would.
He probably thought he could do it better though.
Dot was dressed more sedately than usual, in a deep copper pantsuit with a cape that wrapped around her shoulders. She wore no necklaces, but a series of ebony bangles climbed up her wrists until they wedged into the flesh of her arm. Her weathered face was serious, and Nadine hoped this was a sign she was ready to stop messing with them.
“Was that something you saw in your own life as well?” Nadine asked to move the conversation in the direction she needed.
Dot adjusted her rings. “What do you think?”
“It would be impossible to avoid,” said Nadine. “I once did a school project with a guy who took my name off and handed it in as his own. He said the ideas were his so it was his project. Forget that he did none of the work.”
Wes twitched beside her, but both of them knew she wasn’t referring to him.
Dot’s expression didn’t change. “What happened?”
“I complained to the professor, and he said idea guy deserved the benefit of the doubt. The prof gave me the same mark and considered it fixed.”
“It often happened when I was a teacher.” Dot sat forward and nudged the plate of squares toward Nadine. “Boys were encouraged to ignore boundaries to get what they wanted. Not only those of the girls, although they got the brunt of it. It was easy to see the men some of them would become. Selfish people who became vicious when they met resistance. They lacked empathy because they never had to see from another person’s point of view. The world catered to them from when they were children. The more money and respect the family had, the worse it was.”
“Is that what made you start writing?”
“I started writing out of boredom.” Dot smiled, her big teeth unnaturally white and shiny. “However, I continued writing out of spite.”
Nadine sat up, as did Wes. “Spite?”
“Some might call it revenge.” Dot yawned. “Enough for today.”
Although Nadine wanted to scream into the smooth leather of the couch arm, she didn’t bother to argue, knowing when she was beat. Seeing that Dot was waiting for her to beg for more, she also wanted to give her back a little of her own medicine.
So instead of protesting, she nodded solicitously. “We’ve stayed past our hour. Get some rest, and we’ll see you next week.”
Dot frowned as Octavia jumped on her lap, displacing Erma. This wasn’t how Nadine was supposed to react, but she’d boxed herself in.
Nadine hid her smile. It was rare to get the edge on Dot. If they played this right, they might get the full story out of her today. Chills went over her body at how close they were. At this point, she didn’t care if it was an exclusive. She wanted the mystery solved for her own peace of mind. What was Dot hiding? She had to know but had a feeling that to flat out ask would mean losing her chance completely.
“You didn’t finish the squares Maria made,” Dot griped. “She’ll be disappointed.”
Nadine cast Wes a glance, hoping he would get the hint that it was his turn to step up. He looked back as if understanding the situation called for the good cop. Dot had given them the hint that she wanted to be convinced into telling them what happened, the same way she’d let them know they should keep coming to the gate while telling them to take a hike. She was ready.
He opened his mouth. This was their big moment. All Wes had to do was say something like,I know you’re tired, but could we finish these delicious squares?Some suck-up phrase—he’d excel at that—so Dot could feel good about letting them stay, and Nadine could continue this conversation. She could follow up on that most tantalizing of comments.
“Some might call it revenge.”
Revenge on who?Who? All she needed was a name. A date. Any fact she could trace like a hound with a scent.
Then Wes said, “See you soon!” and stood up.
Nadine looked at him in disbelief. She almost wanted to see if Dot had the same moment of,You jackass, do you not know how to play this game?The back-and-forth, like two people fighting over the bill?
But Wes was smiling at them as he adjusted his sweater. Who wore sweaters in the summer? What was wrong with the man?