Nobody Does It Better

Chapter Four

Lucas situated Phoebe across from the sofa in his den, then sat so that they were eye to eye. With her head slightly bowed and her gaze cast downward, she cleared her throat several times.

'Do you like your room?' Lucas asked.

'Yes, very much. Thank you.'

'Is there a problem with your having Mr Kavuku acting as your bodyguard just for the day?'

She shook her head. 'He seems like a nice man.'

'If you want or need anything, all you have to do is ask.'

'Stanley mentioned that you were making arrangements for Penny's funeral. Is that correct?' She looked at him then, a thousand questions in her misty eyes.

'I took the liberty of contacting Zuma funeral home,' Lucas told her. 'Your sister's body won't be released until after the autopsy, which hopefully will be fairly soon, so there is no real rush. Whatever decisions you wish to make, you may certainly do so. And anything you'd like for me to handle, I will.'

'Thank you. It was difficult enough when Penny and I had to take care of everything when both of our parents died, but I never thought I'd have to---' A sob caught in her throat. 'I'm the older sister, so naturally I thought I'd die first.'

Lucas reached out, engulfed Phoebe's trembling hands in his steady grasp and said, 'Please spare no expense in the funeral arrangements. I'll pay for whatever you want.'

'But why would you ---?'

'Your sister's funeral will be only one of several I've paid for.' And because I have more money than I could spend in ten lifetimes. Blood money.

'That's very kind of you.' She searched Lucas's face, as if suspecting he had a hidden agenda, some dark secret reason he would make such a generous offer.

Lucas squeezed her hands, then released his hold. 'There are no strings attached.'

'I'm sorry if I gave you the impression I didn't trust you. You've been more than kind and generous and ...I can't identify that man. Really, I can't. I barely remember his face and---'

'And we won't mention it again. Not unless you remember something else. No one here at Mutuma's Rest will pressure you, Phoebe. You're here to rest and recuperate from a harrowing experience. And when you're ready to start work, just say the word.'

She took a deep breath, then released it quickly. A heavy sigh of relief. 'I'll go crazy without something to do. Whenever you're ready to put me to work, I'm ready.'

'You don't want to rush yourself. Take all the time you need to deal with what happened to Penny.'

'Working will help me cope. Please, I'd like to start first thing tomorrow.'

Lucas nodded. 'Okay. Then first thing tomorrow, you can give Stanley his instructions.'

Leaning her head to one side in an inquisitive manner, she looked directly at Lucas. 'You've hired me to instruct Stanley in what way?'

'On the computer. He's totally computer illiterate.'

'Oh.'

'You see, Stanley is not a servant in my home. He is my right arm. I need a man in his position to be computer savvy. He has resisted going to school to learn for years now, but I've finally persuaded him that in order to assist me even more than he does now, it is absolutely necessary.'

'Well, I actually studied BBIT and computer programming in the university. So you're in luck. I don't think I'll have any trouble teaching Stanley the basics rather quickly. He seems to be a highly intelligent man.'