Chapter 27

“Shit!” Sonny muttered. Things were getting back to normal.

He ran almost daintily across the slippery grass to where Reed lay on his stomach, one arm extended as if to have broken his fall. Sonny said something to him and shook his shoulder, getting no response I could see. Then Sonny squatted beside him and shined a flashlight on his neck and head. At that, Reed began to jerk his arm in small movements, and I thought I saw his lips move.

“Medic! Over here, please. Now!”

The medic grabbed his bag and ran, sliding to a halt at Sonny’s side. First, he looked at Sonny with a tired man’s disbelief. Then he donned plastic gloves and knelt beside Reed, ruffling through his hair. He stopped, pointed with his other hand, and Sonny nodded and stood, stretching. The medic yelled back to his cohort for a stretcher, and Sonny returned to us.

“He’s alive . . . barely. He’s got some really bad burns on his neck and back. But what will probably do him in is a gunshot wound.” He flashed a sardonic smile. “You might say that Reed shot himself, or at least his own gun shot him. What’s the saying—you can run, but you can’t hide?”

“How ironic.” I shook my head. “He didn’t give a damn if his own daughter died, much less me, and then he’s hit by a totally random shot from his own gun. I don’t know whether to hope he lives or dies.” I suddenly felt very tired.

“If you’re feeling kindly, you’ll hope he dies,” the medic said, approaching Sonny with a pen and some form that required his signature. “That is a large caliber bullet rolling around his brain, fired at fairly low velocity I would guess. God knows what a merry mix-up has gone on in there. Much easier on his family to go to one funeral than to have Reed sitting around the house for years, a confabulating turnip. Thanks, Sonny. Can you spare one of your cars to take these ladies to the clinic? I really don’t want them to ride with Reed.”

“Sure, very thoughtful of you. Cindy can take them, or Trish.”

“We’ll each take one,” Trish said. “I need your car anyway, Sonny. I need it to get home.”

“Okay. One of the firemen will carry Zoe down. See you all later. I have a little matter to take up with the manager of Econo Car Rentals, if I can track him down, bloody idiot!”

“What did he do wrong? The blue Toyota was parked right by the gate when we came in.” A small rainbow of hope began to shimmer in the back of my mind.

“So it was, and is, and ever shall be until Econo comes and gets it.”

“I don’t understand. When we came in Mitch and Pino we’re lolling around two cars away, like they were just catching a smoke, all decked out in tuxedos. They couldn’t have missed the Tweedles getting in the Toyota. Anyway, didn’t Mitch take the keys out from under the fender?”

“Oh, yes.” Sonny sighed. “What none of us thought about was that your Tweedle-not-so-Dumbs never intended to go near the blue Toyota. They went out the back door where they had parked a car they rented earlier from Econo and drove sedately out the back gate. The security guy back there says he remembers a car going out around seven thirty, but nobody had told him to stop cars using that gate, so he didn’t. And all he remembers is a large, light-colored car. Wouldn’t you think Econo might at least have mentioned bringing two cars instead of one?”

I managed not to cheer. Cindy and Trish also seemed to have developed coughs.

“Maybe you can stop them at the bridge,” I said helpfully.

Sonny flashed an acid grin. “By now they’re over the bridge and hell-bent for grandmother’s house. If they’re smart, they’ll ditch the car at some all-night diner and go to Logan Airport where one of them will rent a car and drive to Toronto or Montreal for a flight to Europe. Or maybe Tokyo. The other will fly to Nova Scotia or maybe Pittsburgh and get an overseas flight from there. They won’t go anywhere near their original itinerary.”

“What about getting all that money out of the country?” Cindy asked.

Sonny shrugged. “Each one will have fifty thousand in large bills. A lot of it will fit in a wallet. The rest will roll up in dirty socks and underwear and shirts. Or in various folders in an attaché case. It doesn’t take up that much room.”

The ambulance passed us slowly, trying to avoid the worst of the ruts. We four managed to walk down, at least now able to see where we were going. Zoe was groggy, but able to walk with Cindy on one side and Trish on the other. I managed.

At the foot of the hill we got Mitch to run interference for us and drafted Pino to find my mom and tell her Sonny and I were fine.

The first person I saw in the clinic’s emergency room was Dr. Gloetzner. It didn’t surprise me. I seemed to encounter him anytime I needed medical aid or information, or was accompanying someone who did, especially under unusual circumstances. My mom said he and I had a love-hate relationship. I think it was simpler. We had the same sense of humor, which was sometimes, under stress, quite out of the realm of proper behavior.

“Ah, Ms. Peres, I was afraid you weren’t going to stop by. Yet I knew it was a night just made for us to meet.”

“Sorry to be late, Doctor, but I like to be early at a fire sale.”

He looked at my ruined and filthy finery, sniffed my obvious reek of smoke and nodded. “I hate fires. They are the most frightening kind of crisis—with the possible exception of a tsunami—which I’ve never experienced.”

“I know. I guess it’s that both of them are so inexorable. I was scared out of my wits tonight, I can tell you.”

“I doubt it.” He actually patted my back. “Scared, yes, witless, no. I understand you were the one who rescued young Zoe.”

“Had plenty of help.” I stopped short, coughing again, which inspired the good doctor to listen to my chest and back and pronounce minor smoke inhalation. I resisted an urge to inform him there had been nothing minor about it.

He called a nurse over and pointed to my arm and ankle, muttering something I didn’t understand. It resulted in her spraying my arm and ankle with something that felt wonderful, and placing a light bandage on both areas.

“They may be a little sore tomorrow, but they aren’t deep. Are you in some kind of minstrel show?” The nurse grinned.

“Bunch of wannabe comedians,” I muttered. “I was practicing my Santa Claus act and somebody lit a fire in the fireplace. Any news on Zoe or Reed?”

“Zoe is sleeping it off. Her doctor thinks she was given a mild overdose of one of those sleeping pills they advertise with butterflies and soft music all over the TV. She’ll be okay by tomorrow. Maybe hung-over, but okay.”

The nurse turned to Dr. Gloetzner. “Dr. Baylor said to tell you the swelling in Mr. Catlett’s brain is slowing. He is still with us, and the medevac chopper should be here in ten minutes.”

Gloetzner nodded. “Thank you, nurse. I’ll be right there.” He turned to me. “I think you are basically okay, Ms. Peres, having come through still another of your perilous adventures. Your middle name isn’t Pauline by any chance, is it?”

“No. It’s bad enough, but not that bad. Can I go now?”

“In peace, my child, in peace. Sleep with an open window and none of those white, tube-like things until tomorrow soonest. Preferably never.”

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks”

“Good night, Charlie Chaplin. I hear you done good.”

I grinned. He always got the last word. Escaping into the waiting room, I spotted Cindy, holding hands with someone I really did not want to see. Marie Catlett sat upright and dry-eyed, her face gray with fatigue and grief.

“Alex!” She tried desperately to smile. “I am so glad you seem to have come through this terrible night with only minor wounds. I will thank you properly for my granddaughter’s life in a day or so, when I get my wits about me.”

“Please, Marie, don’t even think of it.” I spread my hands and moved them in a negating motion. “Anyway, Cindy and Trish did as much or more than I did.”

“Then I shall thank them also. Alex, is there any news of Reed?”

The last thing I wanted to do was give her false hope. The other last thing I wanted to do was take away the hope she still nourished. Finally, I said, “He’s definitely still with us, and one of the doctor’s said the medevac chopper is now only about five minutes out.”

“Thank God.” For the first time, her voice sounded old. “They are letting me ride over and go to the Boston hospital with him, in case he should regain consciousness.”

Fat chance, I figured. “Oh, fine. Should I fetch Rob or Merrilou to go with you?”

“No, I think this is a time for me alone. He is my only child, you know.”

Before I could burst into tears, a nurse appeared in the door, motioning toward Marie. “Mrs. Catlett. We’re ready to go now.”

I vaguely remember the ride home, the shower and soft pajamas, the mug of tea lashed with rum and sugar. The chunk of chocolate cake. I finally realized Cindy was stoking me with sugar to counteract delayed shock. I felt dreamy and removed from all the chaos and danger and grief. Wells was in my lap, Fargo balanced with front paws on my leg and cheek against my arm. It was so sweet, I squeezed them both and told them I loved them. They didn’t like being squeezed and moved away, and I cried a little at their departure.

The phone rang and Cindy picked up. She said “yes” and “oh” several times, added, “I guess I’ll tell her,” and hung up.

“Tell me what?”

“Reed died in the chopper. They turned around and came back.”

“Did he regain consciousness?” I cried a little at the thought he might not have.

Cindy nodded. “Probably more or less. He took his mother’s hand and said, ‘You were always a wonderful woman.’ Who knows whether he was talking to her or to Frances or a hooker in Boston?”

“Come on, it’s bedtime,” I was suddenly sleepy and assumed everyone else was.

“No lobster, no caviar.” I noticed Cindy looked concerned as she tucked the quilt up around my chin. “I mean,” she said, “The Tellmans were going to serve a buffet with cold lobster and deviled eggs with caviar. We didn’t get any.”

I must have looked bereft, for she laughed. “Maybe we can cadge some leftovers. At least you are getting back to normal.” She kissed me and turned out the light.

I cried a little that she was so thoughtful.

The next day was a day of soreness . . . of body, of mind, of heart. I was finished with my crying jag, but it seemed to me that half the people I knew had suffered serious losses in the last few weeks.

I thought of the old adage: Finders keepers, losers weepers. But that implied some sort of balance. At least some people found, even if others had to lose. The events of the recent past didn’t seem to be working that way.

Marie Catlett had to be the worst hit. To lose a child—an only child—had to be the lowest blow you could get. It went against all the rules of nature. Parents died after a gentle old age, comforted and loved by their children. Marie would not.

Along with leaving a demolished mother, Reed had left three children in emotional and financial limbo, having not yet recovered from the loss of their mother. Now dealing with a stepmother about as different from Frances as she could get. And the stepmother was now widowed herself, however much that may have affected her. And I wasn’t halfway through my list.

If I kept this up, I’d be weeping again.

Cindy was out with Fargo, getting the papers. I grabbed my jacket and coffee and went out to trim the hydrangea. It was one of those misleading, summerish September days that fools you into thinking winter isn’t coming this year. I rapidly shed the jacket, and the hydrangea rapidly shed it branches. I was stuffing them into a plastic bag when Mom and Aunt Mae arrived. With food, bless ’em.

Fargo arrived next. He probably smelled Mom’s meatloaf three blocks away, but Cindy wasn’t far behind with papers and croissants. We had just sat down to what would probably be our last outdoor breakfast of the year, when the Tellman sisters arrived. Between them, they lugged a cooler filled with lobster, caviar and three bottles of wine, all together, worth about what I make in a week.

Fortunately, Cindy had shopped generously, and after fresh coffee and goodies all around, one of those sudden silences settled over our group. A couple of us laughed softly. Several throats were cleared, and finally Jan spoke up.

“First of all, I’m grateful we are all here in good health. Secondly, Betsy and I need some advice. Jeanne, Mae, I know you can help us with this. We were supposed to leave tomorrow, but things keep changing and we keep needing to be here a bit longer.”

“Like certain people making your lovely old barn burn down,” I said bitterly.

“And certain other people keeping it an unfortunate occurrence, rather than a tragic death scene!” Betsy added with asperity. “But I admit, the old stone chimney just wouldn’t let us go. We decided to keep the property around the barn and build a cottage to use in the summers. We can’t use the stones again in a chimney, but we can put them elsewhere. A façade or perhaps a patio or garden. We’ll see.”

Mom took a sip of her coffee and laughed. “Betsy, you don’t seem to need advice, you seem to need a little time without high drama.”

“That, too.” Betsy smiled. “But here’s where the advice comes in. We, or the business, actually, had a hundred thousand dollar insurance policy on Charlie as a highly valued employee. We plan to keep half of it to reimburse us for actual expenses we will incur due to her . . . absence. We could legally keep the other fifty. We do still maintain the corporation and have certain other interests, but we would rather it went someplace where it’s needed, preferably local.”

“Charlie’s mother could surely use a portion of it,” Aunt Mae piped up immediately. “Especially now with Charlie gone. She’s not poverty stricken, but she certainly counts every penny. And that’s not just an expression. An extra thousand or so would be a help. But I don’t know how she’d feel about taking it.”

“Don’t tell her,” Cindy said. “Just say it was Charlie’s policy, bought through the company. If the insurance company won’t issue a check to the mother, route it through the bank.”

Jan looked at Betsy. “Well, there’s part of it solved. Next.”

“Could you give me a day or two?” I asked. “I have an idea, but I need to check a couple of things.”

“I don’t see why not,” Jan said. “It seems we will be here. And now, our second question: Do we attend Reed’s funeral or not? We really have no desire to go, but we don’t wish to insult the family, either. What do we do?”

“I imagine half the people in Ptown are asking that question this morning,” I said and lit a cigarette and managed not to cough before I put it out.

“You do not attend,” Aunt Mae said firmly. “It will be in the local paper tomorrow. The funeral is private, for the immediate family only. I stopped by their house this morning to see if I could help in any way.

“God, you’re brave,” Cindy murmured.

“Courage is different in each of us, dear. Actually, they’re holding up well. Marie’s friend arrived this morning. Zoe will be home this afternoon. Rob and Merrilou are real champions.”

I almost choked on my coffee. “Rob and Merrilou are champions? I’m surprised at that. I though she’d be on her way back to Dixie by now, clutching large T-notes.”

“No, Merrilou apparently has taken over, but gently so. She called a conference early this morning. She says she will keep the house, at least until Marvin is ready for college, or the Marines, if that idea lasts. She says the children need an anchor—a headquarters—to call home, and while they may not ever be the ideal family, at least they can be friends. If Zoe wants to live with Marie, fine. If not, which seems more sensible, there will be no controversy about how she leads her life in Provincetown. And she’s going to remodel the master suite so Marie and Barb can have a little private apartment anytime they want to visit or just come to the Cape.”

“Merrilou hasn’t suffered a recent blow to the head, has she?” I couldn’t resist.

“No, and she has not been walking along the road to Damascus lately, either.” Aunt Mae could field a good one when she tried. “No one in this town exactly welcomed her, and she handled it badly, I’m sure she would admit. But she was right about the kidnapping originally being a trick. If Reed hadn’t tried to turn it into a nasty, abusive experience, it would all have fizzled out in a day or so. This entire mess could have been avoided.”

Thoroughly chastised, I was aware of some dim idea circling my own jolted brain. I’d nail it down when I had some quiet time.

Our little impromptu gathering dispersed shortly after that. I supposed all of us—except Aunt Mae—were thinking that we hadn’t exactly cut Merrilou much slack. I personally remembered referring to her as “a money-grabbing sexpot, offset by also managing to be a religious hysteric who would gladly reinstate her own version of the Inquisition.” Somehow, it no longer had the same ring to it as it had at the time I so cleverly said it.

As I cleared the tables, Cindy checked the ice in the cooler and pronounced it adequate. “And we’ve certainly got an entire dinner here.” It seemed that the Tellmans had included a fresh-cut salad, dinner rolls and petit fours with the lobster and deviled eggs with caviar. Mom’s and Aunt Mae’s more pedestrian fare went into the freezer.

“Why don’t you bring in one of those bottles of wine and let’s crack it,” I suggested. “There’s a couple of things I’d like to talk to you about.”

“I wondered how long it would take you to sample the most expensive wine we’ll probably ever drink.”

“Would you prefer we save it for our fiftieth anniversary?” I asked sweetly.

“Actually, I’ve been wracking my brain to think of a reason we ought to open one of them.”

So we got out two of our best wine glasses, put some ice in our best wine cooler, I carefully wielded the corkscrew, and we took them all into the dining room to our little table-for-two by the window.

And we talked.