Chapter 39

"And the condition is?" "Condition?" He repeated the word as if it grated against him. He rested the envelope on his knee, holding it down with one hand while the other fished a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He pulled one out and clamped it between his lips without lighting it. "That's not what I'm talking about. I'll tell you something else first—I have a daughter." The sentence came without warning. I froze for a half-second. "The year I retired, she had just turned three....