Pieces of You by Mary Campisi

flitted over the vibrant plumage covering her ample, middle-aged figure and settled on Danielle. She looked stunning and untouchable in black with long silver earrings and a matching stone pendant. Her design? A half-smile shadowed her face as she nodded at Mrs. Wintkowski. Okay, so she really was beautiful. He still didn’t trust her. She turned and caught him watching her. The smile vanished and she looked away.
    “Like I said, too bad she’s married. You guys would make a perfect pair.” With that, she stepped away and sifted into the crowd, disappearing behind an Asian giant in black leather.
    He needed another drink and a gulp of fresh air. Unfortunately, the path to the bar was blocked by three men and a woman, all wearing pony tails and earrings, all engaged in a very animated discussion with Arianna. Forget the drink, he’d opt for the fresh air and grab a double later. Quinn worked his way through the kitchen, snatched a bottle of water and slipped out the back door.
    The sounds of Boccelli flitted over the drone of air conditioners, distant cars, and crickets. Arianna lived on the fringe of the city in a renovated twelve unit condo that boasted patios and miniature gardens, the city’s attempt to bring the suburbs to its doors. A trellis with purple flowers and green vines crept in tangled clumps from end to end, six wooden planters lined side by side on the deck, two with roses, two with herbs and two, tomatoes. The scent of rosemary and oregano filled the air, reminding him of the garden in Corville.
    Quinn uncapped the water and took a long drink. He was miles away from Corville, years, too. Yesterday had been a surprise. The gall of Evie Burnes to come to him because she needed a name, the same one she’d shunned years ago. The woman had guts, he’d give her that. She hadn’t been like that before, not that he remembered anyway, but fifteen year olds weren’t usually required to commit their parents to memory, one day here, the next gone. Now draw the picture and write everything you remember about your mother.
    She’d threatened to blackmail him if he didn’t help her. I love you, too, Mom . The woman wasn’t getting anywhere near Annie, even if Quinn had to threaten to turn her over to the police for identity theft. And by God, if she pushed him, he’d do it. She was coming to the office Monday afternoon and that’s when he’d tell her to go back to wherever it was she’d come from and forget about him and Annie.
    He didn’t hear the back door open or the footsteps on the wooden deck. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone was out here.”
    Danielle. He refused to think of her by that other name. Quinn wiped the memory of his mother away and turned to face her. “It’s too damn stifling in there.”
    “When Arianna said small gathering, I thought she meant five people, not thirty-five.” Danielle moved next to the rose bushes and her perfume mixed with their scent, drifting toward him.
    “And not the ordinary off the street kind of people, either.”
    That made her smile. “No, definitely not.”
    They fell silent as night sounds smothered the gaps of quiet. For the first time tonight, Quinn relaxed.
    “I want to thank you for what you’ve done for me.” Danielle’s voice was soft, hesitant. “I know you didn’t really want to, but I appreciate it.”
    Now he felt like a jerk. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do it, it’s just that it’s not my specialty.” When she didn’t respond, he shrugged and admitted, “Okay, I didn’t want to do it, but it’s over now, right? You’re free. Nobody’s going to come after you, okay?”
    “Right. It’s over.”
    “You don’t sound very convinced. Your husband’s dead. And the rest of them, well, they’re just chalking your absence up to instability.”
    “They think I’m crazy.”
    “I wouldn’t go that far.”
    “There’s a small piece of me that misses my niece and wants to go back and hold her in my arms, let her