After a second of silence, Elise said in a quiet, but firm voice, “Leilani, you’re quite upset. Are you home now? Listen, I want you to come stay with us this evening. I’ll ask Justin to go and pick you up and bring you here. He should be there in about fifteen minutes.”
“I don’t want him to know.”
“Okay, I won’t tell him. I’ll say that I invited you here this evening, that your car broke down, so you couldn’t drive yourself.”
“Okay,” Leilani said, softly.
“Now, go and pack a change of dress, your pajamas, your toothbrush, and anything else you need for a day away. When you’re done, call me back unless Justin is already there.”
*****
More than an hour later, Greg opened the door to Justin and Leilani.
Greg said, “Hello, you two. Come in.”
Justin nodded at his brother-in-law to acknowledge his greeting. Leilani smiled. Justin led her by the hand into the living room, a small carry-on case in his other hand.
Elise was in the living room, seated on a couch, waiting for them. She rose as they approached and took the case from Justin.
She said, “You made good time. Thank you for bringing Leilani, Justin. I’ll show her the guest room. She’ll be staying here for the night, like I told you. You guys entertain yourselves while Leilani’s getting settled.”
As soon as Elise and Leilani were out of hearing range, Justin said, “What’s going on here that you all are trying to hide from me?”
Greg said, “I don’t know, actually. Leilani called Elise and from the sound of it, she was quite upset. Then, I heard my wife telling her to come over.”
“You know what the call was about, but you’re not telling me.”
Greg shrugged. “Sorry, Justin. I promised. Anyway, I only have a vague idea of what’s going on.”
“I’m not sure what to think. I guess I expected that, if Leilani had a problem she needed to tell someone, she’d come to me instead of Elise.”
“One of those things women are more comfortable telling each other.”
Justin scowled. “Doesn’t she have other women friends to tell it to? She’s only known Elise a short time.”
“My wife has a way of inviting confidences. Lawyers, you know.”
“Only if she’s on your side. But it’s more than that. Leilani came to my apartment, fairly late Saturday night, looking very upset. I ended up spending the night at her place. I didn’t want to leave her alone. But she never said anything to me, except that she’d tell me later.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s related to what she told Elise over the phone. Well, she said she’d tell you. You’ve got no choice but to wait until she does.”
Justin said, thoughtfully, “I was going to, but I don’t know how long I can hold out if she keeps acting like this. It pains me to see her in such distress.”
“From my experience, you can’t help unless they ask for it.”
“But it’s hard not to interfere.”
Greg smiled. “It’s that way, is it?”
Justin nodded. “It’s that way.”
“And you don’t think you’re rushing into it?”
Justin scowled. He was getting more irritated. “Why does everyone ask me that? I think I’m mature enough to know what I’m doing.”
“C’mon, Justin. You know why.”
Elise came out of the guest room alone. She interrupted the retort at the tip of Justin’s tongue.
She said, “I’m afraid you two have to settle for talking with me. Leilani’s too tired and decided to go to bed.”
Justin said, “I’m going home. You know where to find me if you need me.”
Elise said, “Oh, all right. Drive safely.”
Greg got up to follow Justin. “I’ll show you to the door.”
“I know where the door is.” He walked toward it without looking back.
Greg and Elise exchanged glances and stayed where they stood.
When the door closed on Justin, Elise said, “Let’s go and talk to Leilani.”
Greg nodded in understanding. “She wanted him to leave.”
“I’m afraid so. She also wanted you to hear what she has to say.”
Elise knocked on the door, before she and Greg went into the room. Leilani was sitting on the bed, clasping her hands on her lap, her face sad and brooding. She looked up and gave them a tremulous smile.
Elise said, “Shall we go into the sitting room? It’ll be more comfortable for us there.”
Leilani stood wearily. She dragged herself after Elise into an adjacent room furnished with a loveseat, two armchairs, and a coffee table. Greg walked behind them.
Elise sat on the loveseat and patted the space next to her. “Leilani, come, sit with me.”
Greg sat on one of the chairs, crossed his legs, and leaned back. Elise knew he meant to listen and not say a word.
Leilani’s gaze darted between Greg and Elise; then, with downcast eyes and a tremulous voice, she said, “There was so much I was not allowed to see while I was growing up in my old country. I guess my parents were trying to protect us and give us as normal a childhood as they could manage.
It worked at least until that day my mother came to my school, drove me and my sister to an airport where my brother was already waiting, and brought us to this country without so much as a word why. My father couldn’t leave with us that day, but my mother continued to reassure us that he would soon join us. But years passed, and we built a life without him.”
Leilani rushed through her story, from how they settled, first in Hawaii, then in California, up until General Huang arrived and told them he had seen Dr. Torres, a few months before he escaped from prison for political dissidents. Her father was in a hospital which treated military prisoners. The General was certain he was still alive.
Convinced, the Torres family resolved to find him. They didn’t know exactly where to start. General Huang couldn’t tell them which prison their father might be, because he had been in one himself, cut off from what was going on in the country.
On Justin’s suggestion, she persuaded her mother to tell her and her brother, Rudy, about events she had been very reluctant to reveal.
“Justin!” Elise said, unable to keep silent on hearing her brother’s name. “So he knows about what you’re telling us now.”
Leilani said, “Only up to the point where he told me to talk to Mamá about the past. He doesn’t know exactly what Mamá told us about my father.”
Elise said, “The part you don’t want him to know.”
“Yes. The painful part, the part I’m struggling with.”
Elise knitted her brow. “About you being an assassin’s daughter.”
Leilani lowered her eyes and said, “Yes.”
Elise said, “Who was the president your father was alleged to have killed?”
“I don’t know. Papá never got the chance. The plot was discovered.” She looked up again at Elise.
Elise peered into her eyes. “Oh! So you’re not an assassin’s daughter, but a would-be assassin’s daughter.”
“In my mind, there’s no difference.”
“But there is,” Elise said.
“The intent was there. Thinking or wishing to kill is one thing. I’m not so naïve to think that’s bad, much less a sin. But he did plan, and he was ready to carry it out.”
Elise nodded. “I see, but, can you tell us what your mother said?”
“This is extremely hard for me, but it’s something I must get off my chest or it’ll drive me crazy.”
Leilani repeated her mother’s story in as detailed a way as she could. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she related how the killing was to happen and that her father was supposed to carry it out. She stopped, buried her face in her hands, and cried, her body in convulsions.
Elise put an arm around Leilani and let her cry on her shoulders. She turned to Greg who had not said a word, b
ut was watching them intently. With a gesture of her hand, she asked him to get Leilani something to drink.
Greg nodded, got up to go to the kitchen, and returned within a couple of minutes, bottle of water and glass in hand. He put them on the coffee table and sat down again on his chair.
He watched Elise and Leilani for a minute before he said, “I would have done what your father did under the conditions your mother described.”
Elise looked at her husband and smiled. She knew where he was going with that remark.
Leilani raised her head slowly and turned to face Greg. She said, “You would?”
“Yes. I think many men would. Ask Justin. I’m sure he’ll say the same thing,” he said.
Her gaze shifted from Greg to focus on Elise, as if she was trying to read her reaction to what Greg said.
Elise poured water into the glass. As she handed it to Leilani, she said, “In this country, if you plan a murder, you can be convicted of premeditated murder and the court can give you the utmost punishment. But if a person kills another in self-defense, he’s usually acquitted. Your father’s case is more complex. He planned, so there’s premeditation, but you could also think of the plotting to assassinate as a form of self-defense. He meant to preserve the lives of people who could’ve been killed.”
Leilani gulped the glass of water until it was empty. “I guess you’re saying he’s not to blame.”
“In an American court of law, quite likely, yes, if self-defense is proven. But between you and your father, it’s your own particular judgment that counts. A matter of individual conscience, you could say. More water?”
Leilani nodded. “A matter of conscience, yes. Mine.”
“The court can never legislate what you think and feel. But it does tell you what reasonable men would do, because many times, we’re so emotionally involved.” Elise emptied the contents of the bottle into the glass in Leilani’s hand.
This time, lost in thought, Leilani drank the water slowly. Greg and Elise waited in silence as she finished it.
She put the glass down and said, “Thank you both so much for being so understanding and spending all this time with me. I do feel better telling you about it.”
Elise smiled. “I’m glad telling us helped you. I’m sure that, in due time, you’ll be more at peace with what you now know about your father.”
“I hope so. I know that tonight, at least, I can sleep better. I’m exhausted.”
Greg said, “Call Justin. He’s extremely concerned about you.”
Later that night, as Elise and Greg were going to bed, Elise said, “You were magnificent. Smooth, sure, and right on target.”
“Well, we’ll see. She looks quite tortured.”
“I can understand how she feels. What if it were your father?”
Greg thought for a moment. “Take the whole affair into context. It’s a moral choice her father had to make.”
“Or, a matter of survival.”
“Either way, from how Leilani described him, Dr. Torres might have felt he had no other choice.”
XII. Doubts
Leilani awoke to the sounds of breakfast. Elise and Greg were probably about to leave for work. She only had an hour to shower, dress, and be in her office for her first client of the day. She got up, put on the robe Elise lent her the night before, and hurried to the door. She wanted to greet the couple and thank them again for what they did for her last night.
They saw her as she approached, and greeted her with bright morning smiles.
Elise said, “Come and have some coffee. I’m afraid you’ll have to finish it by yourself because we’re off to work in the next few minutes.”
“I overslept and don’t have time for breakfast. I have to be at work for a nine o’clock client. But I didn’t want to leave here without seeing you and thanking you again.”
“Well, you’re welcome again. I asked Bob to take you to work. He’s in the backyard with Goyo. Greg is driving me to my office. Be sure to call us soon. Tell us how you’re doing.”
“Thank you. I will.”
Greg said, “Let’s go, Elise, before traffic gets worse.”
Elise said, “Take me to the train station. I’ll be okay. Then, you don’t have to fight traffic.”
“Oh, no way.” Greg shook his head. He glanced at her stomach and added, grinning and arching an eyebrow, “Not while you’re carrying that weight around.”
“Mule,” Elise muttered as she grabbed her briefcase, lying on one of the chairs.
Greg swiped his off another chair and after a quick, “See you, Leilani,” hurried toward the back door. Elise followed.
At the door to the garage, Elise stopped. “Oh, I almost forgot. Leilani, Justin called early this morning, asking about you. Call him back.”
Back in the guest room, Leilani drew the drapes open to let some light through the sliding glass door to the backyard. Out on the lawn, a stocky, swarthy, middle-aged man was watching Goyo as he kicked a ball around. That must be Bob, Leilani thought.
She went to the bathroom, turned on the faucet to the shower, and took off her clothes. She stepped into the cascading water and closed her eyes as water flowed over her gently, enveloping her with liquid warmth. In the shower or in her tub, especially while she lathered, the world always receded, alive only in her mind.
The last thing Elise said to her before she left—Justin called—and Greg’s remark the night before—he and Justin would have done the same thing her father did—made her smile. The couple was trying to bring her and Justin together. The thought was gratifying.
Greg and Elise didn’t seem the type who would engage in matchmaking, as involved as they were in their professions. But, maybe, they took exception in Justin’s case. It was obvious they cared about him very much.
Maybe, they were right. Like them, Justin would not judge anyone for the crimes of the father, no matter how serious. But her apprehension went beyond how he might judge her. The idea of killing was deeply repulsive to her.
Leilani let the water stream over her once more, its flow like a long caress running from her head down to her toes. She turned off the faucet reluctantly, reached for the big thick towel on a bar outside the shower, and dried herself vigorously with it. She wrapped the towel around herself, and went into the bedroom to dress for work.
Glancing at the time on a digital clock by the bed, she rushed to dress, flabbergasted that she only had a little over a half hour to get to her office. Ten minutes was all she allotted herself to shower, but she had taken longer. There was no time to dry her hair. She combed it back and twisted it into a bun at the back of her head.
Ten minutes later, her carry-on case in hand, she walked into the living room to find Bob sitting on a bar stool in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee.
He got up when he saw her. “Hello, Miss Torres. I’m Bob. Elise told you I would be driving you to work this morning.”
“Yes, she did. Thank you so much. I hope I’m not taking you away from your work.”
He led her into the garage and helped her into the passenger seat of one of the two cars parked there. He got into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
“This is part of my work,” Bob said with a smile. “I mean I drive Elise to work most mornings. Today, Greg did that.”
“So, you work for them.”
“Yes, my wife and I do. I take care of things around the house that men usually do, since Greg has no time for them. I’ve done that since Greg took over his father’s company. I’m also everyone’s chauffeur. Elise used to take the train to Alameda County, but Greg insisted I take her when her pregnancy began to show.”
“It’s unusual in this country to have regular help in the house, isn’t it?”
Bob smiled. “It is. But they can afford it and both Greg and Elise have demanding jobs. They often bring work home. For my part, I can’t complain. The job comes with a house in the back for me and my family and
employers who treat us like family.”
“That’s even more unusual, isn’t it?”
“Yes. We often eat together and my two boys are like big brothers to Goyo.”
Leilani said, thoughtfully, “Where I grew up, we had servants who lived with us in the same house, but they ate in the kitchen. It’s weird, now that I think about it. In many ways, they were also like family, but we treated them like they were below us. They knew very personal things about us including our intimate secrets, and sometimes they influenced us more than our own family. I have a friend whose nanny acted more like her mother than her real one. She’s more attached to her nanny.”
“Elise’s family is the democratic one. With Greg, it just happened that I was there when he needed a father figure and we got along very well. Greg thought of me and Elise’s father as his best men friends until he met Elise’s brother Justin.”
Leilani said, “Do you know Justin well?”
“I met him at Greg and Elise’s wedding ceremony in Southern France, but I never got to know him until recently, when he stayed at their house, a few days after he came home from the hospital. Do you know him, Miss Torres?”
“I’ve known him probably as long as you have.”
“You must be the one who rescued him.”
Leilani chuckled. “Oh, you heard about that.”
“We were all impressed about your courage and your being a sharpshooter.”
“I didn’t want that sharpshooter bit known to anyone outside my family, but I had to tell them.”
“I understand. Who’d believe you can handle three goons?”
Leilani said wryly. “Right.”
“A pretty, petite young woman, an ace with a gun, who saves this tall, strong hunk of a man—you have to agree it makes for a great story. Well, here we are.”
Bob slowed down and parked on a yellow zone. He said, “It was a pleasure driving you, Miss Torres.”
“It was an honor getting to know you, Bob.”
Leilani’s client was waiting for her in the reception area by the time she walked into her office. She told him she would see him in five minutes.
In her office, she put her case under her desk and checked her schedule to see who and how many clients she had that day. Her schedule was full, as she had expected. She wouldn’t have time to call Justin until after work.
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