Bloodlines by Jan Burke Page B

studying the dessert dish and said, "Booze gives Thelma a sweet tooth."
    "I don't like her," O'Connor blurted.
    "Thelma?"
    He nodded.
    "I don't like her much, either," Jack said. "But her father is in business with Lillian's father, so the two girls have been close friends for several years now. I think Thelma managed to introduce Lil to some bad company." He paused and said, "But that's no story for a kid's ears." He shook his head in disgust with himself. "Ungentlemanly of me to even bring it up."
    Big Sarah came over with a cup of hot, black coffee and set it in front of Jack. O'Connor stayed silent while she took the dirty dishes from the table. She gave him a wink and said, "Want anything?"
    "No, thank you, ma'am."
    She left them to wait on two men who were sitting at the counter.
    O'Connor figured he might as well tell Jack the bad news now and get it over with. "Something happened at the corner today."
    Jack paused in the act of lifting the cup of coffee.
    "Miss Swan came up to me. I'm pretty sure she knows I talk to you."
    The cup rattled against the saucer as Jack set it down and started laughing. "Swanie? Swanie figured it out already?" He laughed again. "Helen Swan is smarter than any man in that building--including Old Man Wrigley. My hat's off to her, by God!"
    O'Connor was puzzled. "You aren't upset?"
    "No, why should I be? This is great. She's got to be jealous as all get out." He paused. "She scare you?"
    O'Connor shrugged. "A little. At first."
    "And now?"
    "There's something about her--I don't know."
    "And you want to be a reporter?" Jack scoffed. "You'll have to do better than that. What's this 'something'?"
    The boy's brows drew together. "All right, then. She puts me in mind of a queen."
    Corrigan grinned. "Ah, yes. She does have that effect on gentlemen of all ages. And the next thing you know, they're giving her their utter loyalty and devotion, rushing off to do her bidding."
    "Not me," O'Connor declared. "I'm loyal to the Express, one hundred percent!"
    "I never doubted it, Mr. O'Connor."
    They talked for a time about O'Connor's day at school and the stories Jack was working on. Jack drank another cup of coffee, then suggested they go for a long walk together. "Not quite ready to call it a night, are you?" he asked.
    No, O'Connor wasn't.
    The double bill at the downtown movie house was letting out just as they neared the theater, and Jack took O'Connor's hand as they made their way across that crowded section of sidewalk. Perhaps because Jack was recognized or perhaps because there were no other children nearby, some of the men and women leaving the theater watched Jack and O'Connor. The women usually smiled at them--Jack would nod or touch his hat brim.
    For those moments, O'Connor ignored the fact that Jack was not much older than his oldest brother and fantasized that he was Jack Corrigan's son; that his father, Jack Corrigan, had taken him to see The Texas Rangers and China Clipper, that he was the son of the best reporter in the world and everyone knew it, that his father was proud of him and thought him the finest of young men, and then... and then they had walked beyond the edge of the crowd and Jack released his hand.
    As his hand dropped free of Corrigan's, O'Connor thought of his real father, Kieran O'Connor, and felt ashamed of himself. The small pleasure of the fantasy was forgotten.
    Corrigan was asking him something. "I'm sorry," O'Connor said, "I was thinking so loud, I didn't hear you."
    "I was asking if anyone had ever taught you how to box."
    "No, sir. Dermot tried once, but it didn't take. If I did the right thing with my hands, I did the wrong thing with my feet."
    "A common problem," Corrigan said, "even among the pros."
    They had reached the shore by then and Corrigan stopped to take off his shoes. "C'mon," he said, "take yours off, too. Easier to learn on the sand."
    O'Connor followed suit, then shivered as his bare feet hit the cold beach.
    "You'll be warmed up in a minute,"