Eve's Men Read Online Free Page A

of reds and purples burning above the ridge of the mountains.
    “Great view,” he said.
    She smiled. “Yes—great view, lousy everything else. I hope your heater works better than ours.”
    “That’s right. It gets pretty cold here at night, doesn’t it?”
    “ Very cold. Even in June.”
    Having hung up his suit bag, he went out onto the balcony. “Before it gets dark, I’ve got to see more of this.”
    She followed him out. “Yes, it’s really breathtaking, if you overlook the foreground.”
    “Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “At night, even a freeway can look okay.”
    “Brian said you’re an optimist.”
    “You sure he didn’t say a Pollyanna?”
    “I’m sure.”
    Beyond the freeway, up in the foothills, it was still light enough so Charley could make out the Garden of the Gods, as it was called, steepled rock formations that looked at that hour, and at that distance, like a village of monstrous teepees, a home of the gods. Next to him, Eve was lighting a cigarette.
    “How’s he doing?” he asked.
    “I’m not sure. All I did was talk on the phone with him this afternoon. We can’t see him until the arraignment tomorrow at ten.” She shook her head in amazement. “Did you know it was on the network news tonight? The bulldozing? CBS, with Bob Shieffer.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    “No, I’m not. But Brian wasn’t the real news—he was just the crackpot, the villain. The big story’s the movie—the filming being interrupted. And of course ‘Miss Colorado,’ how even in death she’s vulnerable to this particular crackpot.”
    Charley shook his head. “Brian must’ve loved that.”
    “I don’t know if he even saw it. Unless his lawyer told him.”
    “Who’d he get? Someone good, I hope.”
    “A public defender, that’s all. Brian says the more expensive the lawyer, the higher his bail will be.”
    Though he knew that was nonsense, Charley didn’t quite say so. “I’m not sure he’s right about that. Maybe we can get him someone else in the morning. Some old courthouse hand, a crony of the judge. Maybe that’s the way to go.”
    Eve smiled ruefully. “I don’t know. Brian says the case is open and shut. He did it. He waited right there to be arrested. There’s no question of his guilt.”
    “He’s not going to plead guilty, is he?”
    “No, he says he wants his day in court. He wants everyone to know why he did it.”
    “Well, that’s something anyway. If he pleads guilty, he goes straight to prison.”
    “Yes, he knows that.” Eve’s eyes suddenly filled. Then she shook her head, as if to wake herself up, snap herself out of her unhappiness. “Listen, you must be starved,” she said. “There’s a nice little place across from the parking lot. We could walk there.”
    “Well, I am a little hungry,” Charley admitted. “For that matter, I could probably use a martini.”
    “Fine. Why don’t you get settled in here, then just come by. We’re two-oh-three, two doors down.”
    After she was gone, Charley unpacked a few things and washed up, but he stayed in the clothes he had on, an old herringbone jacket, gray slacks, and an open blue shirt. Idly he found himself speculating as to whether Eve would go as she was or would change into something different: say, a light, short dress. He couldn’t help wondering if her legs were as beautiful as the rest of her.
    The restaurant was a cozy place with wagon wheels at the entrance, Remington prints on the walls, and tiny wood tables lit with candles burning in red glass jars. Charley ordered a steak sandwich that proved to be both generous and tasty. Even better, the bartender was not stingy with the Swedish vodka, which was what Charley called a martini: straight Absolut on ice, with an olive. He had two of them before the food came and a Bailey’s coffee afterwards, while Eve made do with a single Scotch and water.
    Like him, she had not changed clothes, and he wondered on the walk over to the cafe why he had