Warshawski 09 - Hard Time (39 page)

When I reached the city I drove to Morrell’s place in Evanston. I tried to tell him what I’d been thinking as I drove home.

He cupped my face in his long fingers. “Vic, look at me. You set an impossibly high bar for yourself to jump. When you run into it, you bruise yourself and then blame yourself for the injury. You have to live in the world. It’s the unfortunate reality of being alive. Even a monk who abjures the world and the flesh gets his clothes and food provided by someone who’s willing to do the dirty work for him.

“You can’t save everyone or fix every broken part of this planet. But you do more than most. If Lacey’s money comes in part from sweatshops, you still brought some relief to women in prison here in Illinois. And that bastard Hartigan, who kicked you—he’s likely to go to prison himself. Even if it’s not for the murder of Nicola Aguinaldo, there’s a measure of justice there. It’s true Trant and Baladine are walking around, but Trant lost his marriage and it looks as though the studio is demoting him in a serious way. You said Lacey told you they’re sending him to Chile.

“And look at Robbie Baladine following Father Lou around like a duckling. Share some of his joy in life. You’ve earned it, you brought it to him. Okay?”

“Okay,” I whispered.

I spent that night with him and a number of nights after. And if my sleep was still disturbed, if the images of terror still sometimes woke me, at least I had the comfort of a friend to share my journey.

Also by Sara Paretsky

Ghost Country
Windy City Blues
Tunnel Vision
Guardian Angel
Burn Marks
Blood Shot
Bitter Medicine
Killing Orders
Deadlock
Indemnity Only

Published by
Delacorte Press
Random House, Inc.
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New York, New York 10036

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1999 by Sara Paretsky

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

Delacorte Press® is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

Paretsky, Sara.
Hard time: a V. I. Warshawski novel / by Sara Paretsky.
p. cm.
I. Title.
PS3566.A647H37 1999
813h.54--dc21 99-22214
CIP

eISBN: 978-0-440-60951-3

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