The Prodigy Part 10

Anton's balding pate appeared. "Hey Barrett, glad I caught you. You got the Anderson report done?"

"Excuse me," she said, glancing at her stack of cases still to be completed.

"Please tell me it's done." His tone nasal and anxious.

"Not likely, the hearing's not for another week."

"It got moved up. I just got a call from the D.A. They need the report like yesterday. Any chance you could fax it to them tonight?"

"I haven't started it," she said, realizing that not only wasn't it started, but it was an extremely complex evaluation involving a twenty-three-year-old man who'd gone into the copy shop that had just fired him, and point blank shot to death his ex-boss and two coworkers. It was high profile, and messy, not the kind of thing that could be dashed off in an hour or two.

"I don't know what to say, Barrett. I need you to do this, sorry."

She saw her plans for the night evaporate. "Okay. I'll do it." There was no way out. "But they're not going to get it till the morning."

"You're a life saver," he turned back toward the door.

"Anton?"

"What?"

She wanted to ask why he hadn't told her that Jimmy Martin had requested her, but as the question formed ... "nothing."

As he left, she wondered why she'd held back. Something about him seemed off, it had for a while, a certain jumpiness and tentative quality. And his springing this late-afternoon bombsh.e.l.l- something wasn't right.

___.

Four hours later, Barrett felt fried as she clicked the mouse on the print key for her fourth and final draft of the Anderson evaluation. It was nine-thirty. She hadn't eaten since her bagel with Hobbs, and as the pages spilled out, she hunted for the a.s.sistant D.A.'s fax number.

She grabbed the completed report, thought about proofing it once more, but couldn't stand to go through it again. She grabbed a pen and signed and dated the last page. Stepping out of her office, she headed toward the deserted receptionist's desk. As she fed pages through the fax, she glanced out the windows that faced 1st Avenue. This day had seemed endless, and the thought of returning to her empty condo made her frown. Ralph would be finis.h.i.+ng soon with the evening's performance. What would happen if she called him? "No," but maybe if he called her-but she sure as h.e.l.l wouldn't wait for it. She glanced at the clock, realized that she might still be able to get in a workout. Maybe Justine would be there.

With that promising thought, she grabbed her original from the paper tray-she'd FedEx it to the D.A. in the morning-and headed back to her office.

She pulled her gym bag out of the closet and stripped off her work clothes, hanging up the suit and folding the raw-silk blouse into the knapsack. She noted how many of her clothes had found their way here. Soon all she'd have to do was figure out a way to move a bed in and she'd never have to go home.

She strapped on a black sports bra and a clean pair of sweats. She laced up her Nikes and checked to make sure she'd remembered her kung-fu slippers.

Closing the door behind her, she rattled the k.n.o.b to make sure it was locked. Then, jogging down seven flights, she headed into the cool spring evening. Pressing against the brick siding of the forensic center, she did a couple deep hamstring stretches, and then sprinted south in the direction of Sifu Li's 17th Street Dojo.

As she ran against traffic, the lights of the swerving cabs and the signs for restaurants and Korean delis blurred into a whir of color as her feet pounded a steady rhythm on the sidewalk. As she jogged, she thought about Ralph, and last night's lovemaking. And that ever since she'd caught him with Carol, in a weird act of rebellion-or maybe fatalism-she'd stopped the pill. And last night he certainly hadn't been using condoms. She was midway through her cycle-just about time to ovulate. What if ... ?

She ran faster and forced herself to think about something else. She replayed her meeting with Jimmy and the coffee with Hobbs. It felt like flirting. Or was that just conversation? And what the h.e.l.l was she doing thinking about how his eyes twinkled when he laughed, or how strong his hands looked?

"Not good," she grunted as she pushed herself into a muscle-burning sprint for the remaining blocks, timing her pace to the changing streetlights and keeping a wary eye open to the threat of an unseen bicyclist or red light-running cab.

With sweat beading her forehead, she arrived at the bas.e.m.e.nt studio and walked down the cement stairs. As she'd often done, she paused to read the small plaque beneath the eyehole. It read: "Fear does not dwell in the present. It lives in the past and the future."

She pushed the door open. The first person she saw was Justine in a navy leotard and matching sweats. Her sister smiled and waved.

She waved back, and then her mood hit rock. "s.h.i.+t!" There, in the back of the room, was the person she least wanted to see-Carol Gartner, in a tie-dyed purple body stocking with her curly blond hair held back in a ponytail and her large b.r.e.a.s.t.s barely contained inside her skin-tight top.

Barrett stayed in the doorway and contemplated her options. She was about to leave when a man's eager voice called out, "Barrett!"

In spite of her turmoil, she smiled as a short Chinese man in a b.u.t.ton-down white s.h.i.+rt and crisply pressed black pants approached her. An unfiltered Camel dangled from the side of his smiling mouth. "I was hoping you would be here tonight," he said, and then added under his breath, "too boring when you're not around." He attempted eye contact.

Barrett avoided his gaze, but Henry Li would not be thwarted. He took her wrist in his hand and his fingers touched down lightly on her pulses. "You are troubled," he whispered. "Your energy is not smooth. You come to see me and I'll give you some needles that will help."

"I will," she said without conviction. And much as a part of her wanted to be far away from Carol Gartner, a stronger part wasn't about to run.

"Barrett does not lie well," the Sifu added. "See me."

She nodded. Normally, the thought of a visit to Sifu's Mott Street medical practice would enthuse her. On several occasions she'd gone down there for his electrically enhanced acupuncture needles and found them helpful for various strains, aches, and pulls, although she usually gave a pa.s.s to his tissue-paper-wrapped packages of herbs. Nothing against them, but Barrett would have had to be at death's door to take even an aspirin.

She kicked off her running shoes, unzipped her knapsack, and slipped on her rubber-soled kung-fu slippers. She took up a position in the back, and after a few stretches sank into the pigeon-toed Wing Chun slow form. She turned her focus inward, blocking out the large mirror that gave a clear view of the dozen or so students in the room, including the all-purple Carol Gartner and her buoyant, surgically enhanced b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

For the next forty-five minutes Barrett stayed rooted to her square of the wood floor. With her knees touching she sank into the challenging position. Her arms moved slowly through the series of blocks and punches, all performed at a speed that would make her appear immobile to a casual observer. Sweat dripped from her elbows and tracked down her back and between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. When she broke from the form, she felt energy coursing up from the soles of her feet.

Justine tapped her on the shoulder and the two women a.s.sumed combat stance for the footwork drill. Along with the rest of the Dojo, they shuffled on flat feet back and forth across the floor taking turns punching and blocking.

For Barrett, who'd been doing martial arts ever since she was in junior high, Sifu Li's studio and Wing Chun were an essential part of her existence. The form had been developed three hundred years ago by the Buddhist nun, Ng Mui. The movements were efficient and well-suited for Barrett, who preferred speed and finesse to brute force and physical strength.

As her feet slid across the floor her eye caught Carol's purple silhouette in her periphery. Her thoughts wandered and Justine's palm slipped past her block.

"Gotcha," Justine whispered as she advanced on her sister.

"Yeah," Barrett pulled herself back into the exercise. What did he see in her? Was it just s.e.x? Was it those b.r.e.a.s.t.s? Barrett inventoried her own body; she was lean and tall, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s a full "B", firm and symmetrical. But unlike Carol, Barrett rarely dressed to draw attention. Maybe that was a mistake ... at least with Ralph. But that wasn't it, and she knew it. Her problems with Ralph had nothing to do with how she looked. It went deeper.

"Gotcha again."

Sifu came over to the sisters, and positioning himself perpendicular, he shuffled alongside them.

"Barrett not focused, very bad."

She nodded and reapplied herself to the exercise.

"Better," Sifu nodded. "But Barrett still not in room. Where is Barrett?"

"She's in the room," Barrett hissed, taking her turn in the forward attack.

"I don't think so," Sifu commented, as he touched Justine lightly on the shoulder and took her place across from Barrett.

Sifu's birdlike arms began by deftly blocking Barrett's punches. When they reached the wall, they reversed positions and he fired blows, his hands shooting out with blinding speed, as he searched for weaknesses in her defense.

"I no see Ralph in morning cla.s.s," Sifu commented as they switched again.

"No," Barrett replied, her tightly clenched fists punching at her teacher.

"Ah," he answered. "I did not see. I am very sorry." At the edge of the room he stopped and bowed to Barrett. She returned the courtesy. The wiry Chinese doctor clapped his hands.

"Barrett in center," he instructed. "Peter," he pointed at a tall sweat-drenched soap opera actor, "you go first."

The handsome man grinned as he took up a position across from Barrett. "Watch the face."

She returned his remark with a predatory smile as she a.s.sumed a catlike offensive. Trying to use his greater reach to advantage, he attacked with a series of rabbit-fast punches. Unfortunately for him, by the time they would have landed on their target, she had dropped to the floor and swept his legs out from underneath him. In less than fifteen seconds he was flat on his back, with her fist planted squarely over his Adam's apple. Sifu clapped and Barrett released the actor.

"Next victim," Sifu chortled, pointing his finger at Carol.

Barrett shook her head no and stepped away from the center of the room.

"Interesting," Sifu commented, looking first at Barrett and then at the honey-blond restaurant manager, who also seemed reluctant to enter the ring. "No?" he asked, never having encountered this particular scenario.

The two women glared at each other across the room. "Oh, why not?" Barrett stepped back into the center. She c.o.c.ked an eyebrow and lifted her hands into a starting pose.

Carol accepted the challenge. The two women bowed stiffly and began to spar. On a good day, Carol was no match for Barrett. But the psychiatrist usually took this into account, having a.s.sumed the roll of Sifu's second in command. But today Barrett was not interested in furthering Carol's development as a martial artist.

As the blond woman attempted to pierce Barrett's guard, Barrett whispered, "Why?"

"Nothing personal," Carol replied, trying to twist her hand free from Barrett's imprisoning cross block.

Barrett stepped back and looked at her opponent. She deftly broke through Carol's defense and placed two fingers on either side of her throat.

"Oh," Sifu Li remarked, clapping his hand, "she dead."

"Nothing personal?" Barrett whispered, staring into the woman's eyes.

Carol shook her head nervously, "It wasn't," she whispered. "It just happened. Maybe he had a reason. Men who stray usually do. This morning he was telling me ..."

Barrett dropped her attack and stared. "This morning?" It was as though Carol had slammed a fist into her gut. "This morning?"

Carol stepped back, "I should leave." She quickly bowed to Sifu, ran to the edge of the room, grabbed her bag, threw on her coat and fled the studio.

Barrett stood motionless, watching Carol's retreat in the mirror. This morning, he'd made love to her and then gone to see Carol. It wasn't a one-time thing. She felt the floor s.h.i.+ft, and her vision cloud. All of his words had been lies.

"Breathe, Barrett." Sifu's hand on her shoulder. "Okay," he said turning to the dozen or so students, "cla.s.s over."

___.

Afterward, Justine walked uptown with her.

"What just happened in there?" she asked.

"What?" Barrett replied, trying to keep her rage and sadness to herself.

"With Carol."

"That's who Ralph ..." She couldn't get the words out.

"You're kidding. I didn't know," she said, not needing Barrett to finish the thought. "I'm so sorry ... why would she show up?"

"Yeah, well apparently she doesn't think it's such a big deal."

"That's cold."

"I can't think ... It's like up is down and no one bothered to tell me. Maybe it's normal for married men to screw around. It is, isn't it? They say that over 50 percent of marriages involve infidelity."

"And over 50 percent of marriages end in divorce," Justine added. "Think there's a connection?"

"She said it's my fault."

"That's bull."

"Said he wasn't getting what he needed at home."

"What?"

"She's right. No matter how much Ralph says he supports me and my career, he doesn't. I think he thinks he should. But deep down ... no. There are all these little cracks about how much I work, how I'm never around, how there's never any food in the house. And ... I think he's still seeing her."

"Oh, Barrett."

"I wanted to believe him. s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+t. It's over. My marriage is over."

"Let me stay with you." Justine offered, as they came to the 23rd Street subway station.

"No," Barrett said, as Justine hugged her, neither woman caring that they were drenched in sweat.

"Let me stay. We could talk ... or not, watch some TV."

"I'll be okay," Barrett stepped back, noticing tears in her sister's eyes.

"I could kill him for doing this to you," Justine whispered.

"I'll be okay," she repeated, wanting to be alone. "Now get out of here, you've got to be at the hospital at the crack of dawn and I don't want you to be anything less than brilliant."

"I can be brilliant and spend the night at your place."

Barrett hesitated, hugged Justine again. "Please, go."

"You're sure? It's no problem."

"Go."

Justine kissed Barrett's cheek, "I love you, sis ... call me later."

"Okay," and Barrett watched as her sister vanished into the rumbling station. Alone on the street, she trudged west. She felt the simple band of gold on her finger, and found its touch repulsive. She twisted it off, sc.r.a.ping the knuckle. She fought back the impulse to hurl it down the street, and instead dropped it into a zipped compartment in her bag. And then there was the issue of money. It seemed unreal. At least she'd still get the money from Jimmy; she'd been wrong about him. The lab had called her a little before six with the news that while his lithium level was low, he was taking it. It had surprised her, and she wondered if maybe she'd scared him into swallowing some pills the minute she'd left; it was possible. And while she was thoroughly creeped out by him, she so needed this money.

She stopped by a well-lit ATM on the corner of 23rd and 6th, and retrieved Jimmy's envelope from the compartment where she'd just tossed her wedding ring. She slit it open. Inside, was a business check signed by Ellen Martin. "Great," she muttered, wondering just what they were playing at, because instead of the agreed upon $750, the check was for $3000.

She stared at it, letting her eyes rake over the amount-dismayed that it was wrong, but needing the cash. She stood still, then pulled out her wallet, put her card into the slot, and walked through the security door. She filled out a deposit slip. "This is not good," she muttered, as she punched in her pin, pressed the key for deposit and watched the envelope get sucked away.