The Contessa excerpt

“Damn it. I thought I was going to close this case.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not like there are relatives waiting to find out what happened.” Leo closed the folder and dropped it back inside his desk drawer. “Damn it.”

“Leo, stop worrying. I can pop back and see what happened, if you like.”

“I thought you didn’t like to meddle in your own timeline?”

“I don’t want you angry over this. Plus, I want to find out what happened to Helen and how this could happen to her sister. I need to know. It seems I was too selfish to wait to make sure the two of them were safely on their way home before I ditched them. All I cared about was myself.” She wiped her hand over her eyes. “If there is anyone to blame, it’s me. I should have stayed there and stuck it out. Told my father and brother that I wasn’t going to be put in an institution, just because they were ashamed of me.”

“Don’t. It’s not your fault. Everyone has their own timeline to follow. Some end sooner than others. And some, like yours, are all over the place. If it was her time, there was nothing you could do to stop this.”

“Yes, I could have stopped it. I can do that.”

“Do what?” Leo looked puzzled. “I can manipulate time, change history, and with no bad aftereffects. I’m one of the few who can do that, which makes me kind of popular.”

“You mean people want to use you and your abilities to change history and alter timelines with no repercussions.”

“That’s about the gist of it.”

“Wow. I had no idea.” She could see the wheels turning in his head. She knew his wife had died a couple of years earlier. She was waiting for the inevitable. But no request came. “Don’t you want me to go back in time and keep your wife alive?”

“No.”

“Why not? I would do it for you.”

“I know you would. That’s why I’m not going to ask.”

“I’m confused.”

“I loved my wife. Make no mistake about that. After a rocky start, we got along really well, until the cancer took her away. But when I married her, I did so for one reason only.”

“What was it, if I may ask?”

“She looked like you.” He looked at her. “I inherited the painting, remember. And there, in life size glory, was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Since I believed, at that time, you were long dead, or should have been, I found myself comparing every girl I dated to that painting and none of them lived up to the person I had built up in my head. So I put the painting in storage and started looking again. I finally met Leslie on a blind date. I was originally drawn to her because she reminded me of the painting. But I eventually fell in love with the woman behind the face. I can’t go through losing her again. So, I think you for your offer, but I will leave her in peace and my heart in pieces.”