“Most?”

“Well, a couple of the casinos in Reno have special-ordered a pair with two layers of glass and acrylic, with twinkling lights between layers, for floor shows.”

“Good God.”

A distant phone rang and Lindy disappeared around a corner.

Nina closed her eyes, basking in the comfort of the warm water. A moment later, she opened them and was so startled to see a sturdy man with round ears peering in at her that she let out a small scream.

She stopped moving and hung there in her transparent bubble. When he didn’t say anything she said, “Hello.”

“You’re Lindy’s new lawyer?” he asked. He took his hands out of the pockets of his dirty overalls and placed them on the spa.

“Yes. And you are?”

“A friend,” he said, examining her body through the plastic. “I’m glad I caught you here.”

She wasn’t. Not at all. She debated getting out, and decided climbing a ladder would make her feel even more vulnerable.

“I want you to know something.” He spoke slowly, running a finger along the wet condensate on the outside of the tank, tracing a circle with a smaller one inside of it.

Like a target, Nina thought.

“I know you’re in it for the money,” he said, all motion suddenly halting. His face was so close to the tank, his breath made a fog on it every time he breathed.

“Who did you say you were?” Nina asked, by now very frightened at his tone and the strange look in his dark eyes.

“I know a few things about you lawyers. And I want you to know, if you dump her or hurt her or accept some kinda under-the-table payoff from that slob Mike to drop this case, I’m going to…”

Lindy came back into the room. “Oh, George, here you are. That was Alice. She’ll be here any second to drop off a set of keys.”

All sense of threat fading from him the minute Lindy entered the room, he ambled off toward the door. “I’ll get started, then.”

“Who’s that?” Nina asked.

“George Demetrios. He works at the plant.”

“Scary guy,” Nina said, beginning to climb a clear acrylic ladder up the side of the tank that led to the steps down.

“What, George?” Lindy laughed. “Yeah, I guess he does come off that way sometimes, but you don’t have to worry about him. He’s devoted to me. George is really just a lovable lunk. He’s helping me move a few boxes over to Alice’s house today.”

At the bottom of the stairs, Lindy handed her a towel and a white robe. Nina dried off. “Lindy, thanks for the demonstration. This is a fantastic product.”

“Only one of many. Our centerpiece. Now, let me show you how we market our spas. It’ll just take a minute and it’s warm in the showroom.” Located down a winding stairway, the showroom turned out not to be the display of pools Nina expected, but an intimate, plushly carpeted space with armchairs for ten, and a five-foot screen.

“This is a quickie selection reel,” Lindy said. “The workout videos last longer.”

They watched as a series of swimsuited bodies in all shapes and sizes and colors, old and young, took to the pool, running through exercises as light-footed as astronauts at zero gravity, moving rhythmically to jaunty music.

“We used to use only young, pretty girls. It was my idea to get all kinds of people on tape. Real people always come off clunky and fake when you try to use them in advertising, so these are all actors. They look great don’t they? Just like real people only just enough better-looking to make you happy to identify with them.”

Nina didn’t answer. The actors did look great, but businesspeople made Nina nervous when they talked so blithely about the subtle forces they wielded to coerce and manipulate her.

After the tape ended, Nina put her clothes on and gathered up her briefcase.

“Thanks for taking the time,” Lindy said. “Before I moved out I wanted to show you a little bit about our business, so you could see that I haven’t spent twenty years living off Mike and just twiddling my thumbs.”

“You have worked hard,” Nina said, “and you obviously know your business.”

A tall woman with streaked hair, wearing a short aquamarine sweater dress appeared in the doorway with a gun in her hand. Amused gray eyes peeked out between uneven bangs that swept the curves of her cheeks.

“Oh, Alice,” Lindy said. “Have you met my attorney, Nina Reilly? Nina, my best friend, Alice Boyd.”

Alice set the gun casually down on a chair and strode rapidly up to Nina, her high heels clicking on the oak floor. She shook her hand. “So Lindy has subjected you to the ritual baptism,” she said, gesturing toward Nina’s wet hair.

Nina touched her head. “I guess that’s true,” she said.

“Now you belong to us.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Lindy said comfortably. “She’s never been the same since that time she spent in the loony bin.”

“That’s such a lie. I’m the same, only much more devious about expressing my feelings,” Alice said.

“Excuse me,” Nina said, “but didn’t you just set a gun down over there on that cushion?”

“Almost forgot,” Alice said. She walked back and picked up the gun. “This is for you, doll,” she said, handing a silver snub-nosed gun to Lindy.

“What for?” Lindy said.

“Meet your new best friend.” She held it up for them to admire. “Isn’t it something? You can kill someone with this adorable, polished-nickel designer special from thirty feet away. No need to get blood all over yourself. You see someone coming to do you harm, and bam. You lay them low.” She walked around, taking aim at various items around the room. “Pow,” she said. “There goes the mirror from France you’re always bragging about. Not to Mike’s taste anyway, was it? Pow,” she said again, pointing toward a vase. “Down goes the Ming.” She stopped and stared at the gun. “What strikes me as strange is that most women have yet to recognize the power of this little equalizer. With guts and a little practice, we have finally been handed just the tool to win that war against our oppressors.”

Lindy looked a little embarrassed. “Alice, I don’t know what Nina will think. Put the gun away.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Alice said. “No, really. Here you are in these gorgeous surroundings for what is probably the last time.” She nodded toward the room. “If I were you, I’d grab the moment. Why leave all these nice things for the king of shit and his sleazy little consort to play with? Know how to operate one of these?” She flicked the safety off.

Lindy took the gun away, and pushed the safety back in place. “I don’t want it.”

“For twenty years you’ve lived in your fortress. Now you’re going to be rubbing shoulders with the peasants. That would be us,” Alice said to Nina. “Lindy, you don’t know how bad us peasants can be. You ought to protect yourself.”

“Take it back, Alice. I mean it.” Lindy handed the gun carefully to her friend.

Alice shrugged and stuck the gun into her handbag. “Suit yourself.” Saying she needed to freshen up, she excused herself.

“Now here we go again. You’re going to get the wrong impression of Alice, too,” said Lindy. “She’s the best person, but I’m afraid this stuff with Mike has reminded her of some bad things in her past. She’ll settle down.”

Nina wondered if Lindy was one of those rare people who could read souls, or if she was simply a blind fool when it came to picking friends and family.

As they approached the foyer, she became aware again of the rain eddying down gutters, drowning the view from the windows. At the sight of the boxes stacked high by the door, Lindy stopped short. Then she composed herself and said good-bye.

Nina was so late leaving Lindy’s that she headed straight to court for the morning criminal calendar without stopping at the office, the Bronco leaking transmission fluid all the way. Her mechanic had already advised her to replace the carburetor. She would need a new truck soon. These thoughts occupied her as she negotiated the puddles at every corner.