Innocent Blood by Graham Masterton Page A

unless it really, really hurts.’
    Afterwards, they walked along the beach together. Frank looked out at the ocean and said, ‘I think this has done me some good.’
    â€˜Me too.’
    A young boy turned cartwheels all around them, just like Danny used to. Frank watched him as he ran laughing into the surf, and then he turned to see that Astrid was watching him, too.
    â€˜You’re crying,’ she said, and he hadn’t even realized.
    They walked a little further and then Frank checked his watch. It was almost two thirty. ‘I guess I’d better be getting back. I have a wife to face, funeral arrangements to think about.’
    â€˜Do you want to see me again?’
    The wind blew his hair into his eyes. He was trying to read her expression, but he couldn’t. ‘Of course I want to see you again.’
    â€˜Tomorrow? Is that too soon?’
    â€˜No! Well, no – tomorrow would be fine. Where do you want to meet? Do you live around here?’
    â€˜I used to, but not now. We can meet wherever you like.’
    â€˜I live in Burbank, but let’s think. Do you know the Garden restaurant, on Sunset? A couple of blocks west of the Chateau Marmont.’
    â€˜No, but I’m sure I can find it.’
    â€˜OK then, the Garden at twelve o’clock, how’s that?’
    â€˜Good,’ she said. Then, ‘Sing it for me.’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜â€œThe Girl With The Left-Footed Limp.” Sing it for me.’
    Frank shook his head. ‘Not today. Maybe one day. But not today.’

Four
    W hen he arrived home, Ruth’s red Jeep was parked in the driveway. Margot and Ruth were sitting together in the conservatory, drinking green Chinese tea and smoking cigarettes. Ruth was wearing a black dress, which made her look even more like Morticia than usual, and Margot was wearing a white cotton pajama suit. They both looked up at him with undisguised disgust.
    â€˜So where were you?’ Margot demanded.
    â€˜Out, that’s all. I went to the beach.’
    â€˜Oh, you went to the beach. How nice for you. The hospital called and asked which funeral home we wanted Danny taken to.’
    â€˜Funeral home?’
    â€˜Yes, Frank. He’s dead, remember?’
    Frank covered his mouth with his hand. This was going to be harder than he had ever imagined. At last he took his hand away. ‘Which . . . um . . . what did you say?’
    â€˜I said Kennedy and Lester’s, on Olive. They handled my grandfather’s funeral.’
    â€˜Good, yes. That’s fine.’
    â€˜I called Kennedy and Lester’s and John Lester said they’re going to arrange it all. We can go see Danny tomorrow afternoon.’
    â€˜OK. OK, good.’
    He didn’t know what else to say. It was no use asking Margot how she was feeling because it was obvious how she was feeling. Looking around, he saw that she had taken down the painting that he had scrawled on, and replaced it with another Impression In White . He had no idea how many Impressions In White she had painted, because he could never tell one from the other. All he knew is that every time he came home she was standing in front of her easel, surrounded by dozens of squeezed-out tubes of titanium white. It looked like the massacre of the maggots.
    â€˜Are you staying for a while, Ruth?’ he asked.
    â€˜So long as Margot needs me,’ Ruth challenged him.
    â€˜Well, that’s good. I’d say she needs you a whole lot just at the moment, considering the circumstances. I’m just going to . . .’ He hesitated, because he didn’t know what he was going to do or where he was going to go. ‘Make a few phone calls,’ he added lamely.
    He couldn’t sleep that night. He tried watching television in his study but on the first channel he flicked on to they were showing Boys’ Town and on the next one Batman Forever , which had been one of