But today he wasn’t wondering about any of that, or worried that she’d opened her own door while he was putting her bike in the back. Right now his lunch was coming back on him and he thought he might vomit, he was that nervous. Would she like the house? What if she hated it? Well, he just wouldn’t buy it then! he told himself.
‘So where are we going?’ Holly asked once he was in the driver’s seat.
‘Close to downtown,’ he said, and started the car. His hands were shaking so bad he hoped he didn’t have an accident on the short ride to the house.
He pulled up in front of the house. He’d asked June, the realtor, to leave the door unlocked for him, and he got out on his side and walked around. Holly was actually sitting in her seat, not waiting for him but staring at the house. When he opened the door, she startled. ‘What’s this?’ she said, getting out.
‘It’s a house,’ he said, grinning.
‘Well, I can see that! I mean, why are we here?’
‘I’m thinking about buying it,’ he said.
She turned and quickly hugged him. ‘Oh, Dalton, that’s wonderful. You need your own place!’
She ran up the sidewalk to the front porch. Pointing at the same spot on the porch that he’d thought about earlier, she said, ‘Oh, God, you need a porch swing right there! And paint it some really cool color, like puce!’
He opened the door and she rushed in, running circles around the rooms. ‘Oh my God!’ she said about seeing the extra room with the French doors. ‘This is incredible! And look at this dining room!’
‘Wait till you see the kitchen,’ he said, and led her in there.
‘Oh my God!’ She fell to her knees. ‘This is the kitchen of the gods!’ Rushing back to her feet she grabbed Dalton by the shoulders. ‘Please, please let me cook in here! Please!’
‘About that—’ he started.
‘Oh my God! There’s room for anything in here—’
‘Holly!’
She stopped for a moment and turned around. By the time she did, Dalton was down on one knee and holding out a box. He opened the lid and she saw the most fabulous ring ever. ‘Holly Humphries,’ Dalton said, ‘will you marry me?’
Holly looked from the ring to Dalton to back at the ring. Slowly she closed the lid and pulled on Dalton’s arm for him to stand up.
‘Way too soon, sweetie,’ she said, pulling his face down to kiss him. ‘We don’t know each other well enough yet.’
‘I know you’re all I wanna—’ Dalton started.
‘You know,’ she said, smiling, stroking his face with her hand, ‘we haven’t even had sex yet.’
Dalton put his head down as he turned purple. And he said, ‘Ah.’ And that was about it.
Holly leaned down to look up at his lowered face. ‘Sweetie, are you a virgin?’
‘You mean have I done it with someone else?’
‘Right,’ she said.
‘Well, then, yes,’ he said.
‘Don’t you think we should find out if we’re compatible there first?’
‘But if I’ve never done it, how can I be any good?’ he asked, looking at Holly as she straightened up.
‘Well, you might not be at first,’ she said. She smiled as she pulled him down to the kitchen floor, ‘but I think I can be a real good teacher.’ Once she got him down, she leaned over and began to kiss him. Straightening for a second, she said, ‘And, ah, don’t take that ring back. You never know what’s going to happen!’
Milt – Day Seven
I went and picked up the boys from the children’s pavilion where Mike and Lucy had stashed them. Jean was saving us seats at the main theater, where there was an end-of-cruise extravaganza going on. Mike and Lucy were sitting right outside the pavilion, their faces to the glass in front of it, watching the kids play.
‘You’re off the hook for mine,’ I said. ‘Thanks for watching them. Guess what I had for dinner?’
Mike said, ‘What?’
‘Squab.’
‘What’s that?’ he asked.
‘Baby pigeon,’ I told him.
Mike made the same face I’d made earlier. ‘Gross,’ he said.
Lucy laughed.
I nodded my head in agreement. ‘That’s what I thought when I found out what I’d ordered, but truth be told, it was mighty fine eating.’
‘Yes, I had it once,’ Lucy said. ‘Little bit richer than chicken.’
‘I’ll never know,’ Mike said. ‘Next thing y’all be telling me you ate a mouse or something.’
I laughed and went in to get the boys. But if I wanted to tell the whole truth, I think that little bird was sneaking up on me. I was getting a bad case of indigestion.
‘Come on guys, we’re gonna meet your mom at the big theatre. They’re doing a song and dance thing for the whole family.’
‘Whoopee,’ my son said with less enthusiasm than I thought was merited.
We made our way through the food court, down the corridor to the pool area, which was uncharacteristically empty, and were halfway through it when it hit me.
An elephant was dancing on my chest, and my left arm felt like it was on fire. I sat/fell on the nearest lounge chair.
‘John, get your mother! My phone!’
‘Daddy!’ Johnny Mac yelled.
That was the last sound I heard.
Johnny Mac – Day Seven
Johnny Mac grabbed his dad as he fell backwards on the lounge chair. ‘Daddy, daddy!’ he screamed, shaking his father.
Early moved Johnny Mac out of the way and went through the sheriff’s pockets until he found his cell phone. ‘What number for your mom?’ Johnny Mac just stood there, in shock. Early punched him. ‘What number for your mom?’
Johnny Mac took the phone, found his mom’s name and hit it. She came on after only one ring. ‘Hey, honey, what’s taking so long?’
‘Daddy – daddy—’ Johnny Mac tried to get out.
Early grabbed the phone. ‘I think he’s having a heart attack! Just like my grandpa. He’s passed out but he’s still breathing!’
‘I’m on my way. I’ll call the medical team,’ Johnny Mac’s mom said and hung up.
The two boys just stood there, staring down at the sheriff.
Meanwhile, Back In Prophesy County
Emmett got to the Longbranch Inn before Beth Atkins, so he ordered an appetizer of chili-cheese fries and some sweet tea. He was sitting by a window overlooking the street and saw one of those new Volkswagens, bright yellow, pull up and park. Beth Atkins got out and came in, wearing men’s blue jeans, a short-sleeved checked shirt and the same shoes. If she wasn’t a lesbian, someone needed to teach her how to dress, Emmett thought.
He stood up and stretched out his hand when she got to the table. ‘Miss Atkins, good to see you again.’
She shook his hand and sat down. Loretta was on her like white on rice. ‘Getja something, honey?’
‘Diet Coke?’ Beth said.
‘You got it,’ Loretta said and moved away.
‘What was it we needed to talk about?’ Emmett asked her.
‘It’s this whole idea of Reba Sinclair being Darby Hunt’s girlfriend.’ No ‘dad’ or ‘father’ or even ‘that son-of-a-bitch.’ Just ‘Darby Hunt,’ like he was someone she read about in the papers.
Emmett started to say something, but Loretta was back with Beth Atkins’ Diet Coke, so he just smiled and waited while Beth thanked her for the soda. Once Loretta had gone, Emmett said, ‘OK. What about it?’
Beth was silent for a moment, then sighed real big. ‘OK, I hope this is confidential?’
‘Unless it bears on the case, then yeah,’ Emmett said.
‘I don’t really care at this point. I don’t want my family persecuted by that old woman for something I know none of them did.’ Again with the sigh. ‘Look, I’m gay.’
Emmett nodded his head. Jeez, he thought, I have gaydar! He was quite proud of himself.
‘My family doesn’t know, or if they do, they’re not talking a
bout it. Anyway, two summers ago I met Reba Sinclair at a women’s bar in Dallas. We went out once, but she was very persistent and very aggressive. I told her I didn’t want to see her again. I came back here, where I’ve lived my whole life, except for four years at OU in Norman, and she called me so incessantly I had to have my number changed. Six months later there she is at that new Christian school! And she starts calling me again, harassing me.’
‘Why didn’t you tell us about it? Or the police?’ Emmett asked. She tilted her head and gave him the stink-eye. ‘OK,’ he said. ‘I get it. But what kind of harassing?’
‘I came home from work one night and she was in my bath! Asked me to join her! I told her to get the . . . you know what out of my house. “Only if you dry me off,” she said, and giggled, for Christ’s sake.’ Beth shook her head. ‘It’s been awful. She’s waited outside my school twice after work. No one at school knows I’m gay, and I’d rather it stayed that way.’
‘How did she find out about your— About Darby Hunt being your birth father?’
‘I have no idea! But I know that she knew because she mentioned it once. I was pumping gas and she pulled in and got out of her car and came over to me. I’d already paid cash and was right in the middle of pumping, so I couldn’t run away. And she says something to the effect that she knew what happened with my parents, and that because she was a woman she’d never treat me that way. She’d treat me like a princess.’
‘Exactly the thing an abuser would say,’ Emmett said.
Beth shuddered. ‘Don’t I know it. I remember the way my father talked to my mother when she got out of the hospital after he’d beaten her. I was only four when he killed her, but I remember. It was sickening. All sweetness and light. “Do anything for you, baby. You’re the love of my life, I can’t live without you.” Crap like that. But the day my mother finally left him, she said to me, “Lizzie,” – that’s what she called me – “Lizzie, be careful of men, you can’t trust them.” And then here’s a woman saying just the kind of things Darby Hunt said. And believe me, Deputy, it wasn’t just that – I was not the least bit attracted to the witch.’
‘It seems like I need to have another talk with Miss Sinclair,’ Emmett said.
‘Do you think she killed Darby?’ Beth asked.
‘I dunno, but I’d sure like to check out her skill on a hunting rifle.’
Emmett got back in his squad car, thinking about how to get into Reba Sinclair’s house without a warrant, because he had damn little to go on to get a warrant. ‘Hey, Judge, we got this woman who says she’s the dead guy’s girlfriend, except turns out she’s a lesbian who’s been hitting on the dead guy’s daughter, and we think maybe she killed the guy as a way to win favor with the daughter.’ And then the judge laughs. ‘Har-de-har-har.’
Emmett thought maybe he should just go home and sleep on it. Not likely that she was going to kill anybody else tonight. Then his cell phone rang. He saw that it was the shop calling, and not on the radio.
‘Holly? What’s up?’
‘Emmett, it’s me, Anthony. Here’s the thing. Mrs Hunt mentioned that Darby said his girlfriend almost made it to the Olympics one year, so I Googled her, and she did almost make it. Emmett, she was up for the biathlon team for the winter games in 2002, in Salt Lake City.’
‘Biathlon? Shit! That’s the skiing and shooting one, right?’
‘Right. Cross-country skiing and rifle shooting!’ Anthony said.
‘Damn skippy!’ Emmett all but shouted.
Milt – Day Seven
I woke up in a sterile, white room. When I turned my head to the right, I saw my wife.
‘Hey,’ I said.
She’d been resting her head on her arm, propped on the back of a straight back chair. She startled, then looked at me and smiled. ‘Hey, yourself,’ she said, leaning forward to kiss me.
‘What happened?’ I asked.
‘You had a mild heart attack,’ Jean said.
‘Did I die?’
‘No, you’re very much alive,’ she said, caressing my arm.
‘No, I mean for a minute or something. I want to scan my brain for any afterlife experiences.’
Jean laughed. ‘No, baby, you didn’t die, not even for a minute.’
‘Where am I?’ I asked.
‘In the ship’s infirmary. Their doctor checked you out, gave you some meds, and you’ll be fine until we hit Galveston.’
‘Where are the boys?’ I asked.
‘Lucy and Mike took them. They came out of the food court area right after Early called me.’
‘Early called you?’
Jean nodded her head. ‘Yes. John’s crestfallen that he panicked and didn’t save your life. Early is quite proud that he did.’
‘Yeah? No kidding? Go Early,’ I said. ‘What time is it?’
Jean looked at her watch. ‘Twelve-thirty,’ she said.
‘Baby, go on back to the cabin and get some sleep,’ I told her.
‘Absolutely not,’ she said.
‘What? You’re gonna sleep in that straight-back chair? You know you need to get your brace off and rest your legs. If you don’t, you won’t be walking tomorrow, no-way, no-how.’
‘I’ll be fine—’ she started, but I interrupted.
‘Uh uh,’ I said. ‘Go!’ I pointed at the door, a scowl on my face. ‘Now!’ Then I motioned to her with an index finger. ‘But come here first and give us a kiss!’
She laughed and leaned over, giving me a kiss that, had my heart been all that weak, woulda killed me. ‘Um,’ I said, ‘this bed is bigger than it looks.’ I wiggled my eyebrows at her.
‘OK,’ she said, laughing. ‘I think you’re on the mend. But call me if you need anything, OK?’
‘Will do,’ I said and watched her walk out the door. She hadn’t been gone more than ten minutes when I realized I needed to pee like a racehorse. I was in a fairly small room, with two regulation hospital beds, a gurney and assorted medical supplies. The only door was the one Jean had taken to get out. So, unless I wanted to pee where I was lying, I was going to have to go find a bathroom.
I tried sitting up and found that I could do it fairly well. I put my feet over the side and that felt OK. So I tried standing up. I was a little dizzy at first, but I waited and that went away. I walked to the door. So far so good. I saw a sign just down the hall and recognized it as the bathroom, on the other side of which was Heinrich’s security area. I felt good, knowing exactly where on the boat I was, and who I could go to if I needed help. I had no idea where the doctor was or what he or she, for that matter, even looked like.
I opened the bathroom door, made it to the toilet and let loose. It took a while. I must have been holding it in for quite some time. Once I’d finished and flushed, I opened the door just enough to hear voices. Recognizing them, I stayed where I was and listened.
‘I told you not to come down here!’ Heinrich was saying.
And then Crystal Weaver said, ‘But that cop had a heart attack, right? So we’re OK. Nobody’s going to find out anything!’
I heard kissing noises. ‘Lizbet, listen to me,’ he said. Shit, I thought, her name’s not even Crystal. Phony name, phony hair. And I knew the boobs were phony. ‘We’re too close now to blow this. The old geezer can’t get off the ship tomorrow. You need to do the pillow tonight! You should be in there with him right now!’
‘I know, baby, I know, but I wanted to see you! You saved me from Josh, and I still have a lot of thanking to do.’ I heard more kissing noises. Jesus, Heinrich, I thought. I never had a clue. And I’m a real good investigator. But they hadn’t said a word about Lance. The ‘old geezer’ had to be Vern, and the pillow, the ‘do the pillow.’ Was she supposed to suffocate Vern in his sleep? And who would question the death of or do an autopsy on an overweight fifty-something man on his honeymoon with a hot number like Crystal? Or should I say Lizbet. Shit, I remembered seeing my phone on the hospital tray table in my room. I couldn’t even call someone to save Vern.
How did Heinrich save Crystal from Josh? What did she mean by that? Had Heinrich killed Josh? If so, why? How had he ‘saved’ Crystal? What was Josh doing to Crystal that required saving?
‘Go,’ Heinrich said. ‘Call me when it’s over, then try to sleep.’
‘In the same bed?’ she said, alarm in her voice.
‘Yes. You must wake up in the morning to find your husband dead. That’s been the plan all along, Lizbet. Ever since he took out that insurance policy.’
Lizbet giggled. ‘God, what a sweetie! A million dollars!’
‘Yes,’ Heinrich said, his voice getting testy. ‘Now you must go! Do it!’
‘All right, all right!’ she said, her voice fading. ‘I just don’t want to sleep with a corpse, you know?’
I heard the elevator door close, and Heinrich’s voice say, ‘Stupid bitch,’ as his voice faded, too. After another minute, I looked out and the corridor was empty, so I moved as quickly as my broken body would allow back to the infirmary to my phone. I called Mike Tulia’s cell phone.
‘Hey, Milt,’ his sleepy voice said. ‘How you doing, man?’
‘Listen to me closely, Mike. Crystal is on her way to her cabin to kill Vern. She’s going to smother him with a pillow—’
‘Jeez, man, call Heinrich—’
‘Heinrich’s her partner,’ I said.
‘Holy crap!’
‘Exactly,’ I said. ‘Mike, you gotta do it. You’ve got to go to Vern’s cabin and save his fat ass.’
‘Ah, shit, man,’ Mike whined.
‘Hey, it’s a rotten job,’ I said, ‘but somebody’s gotta do it.’
‘Well, fuck,’ he said. ‘OK, I’m going, I’m going.’
He hung up and I sank back on the bed. When I did my eyes went to the door of the infirmary, where Heinrich, chief of security for the Star Line ship, was standing.
THIRTEEN
Meanwhile, Back In Prophesy County
It took less than an hour to find a judge willing to sign a search warrant. Emmett got Nita and Anthony to go with him and they headed to Reba Sinclair’s house. Unfortunately, once there it was hard not to notice Beth Atkins’ new yellow VW parked in the driveway. They came in two cars – Emmett in his, Nita and Anthony in another. Emmett radioed Anthony, who was driving, to go around the corner where his car couldn’t be seen from Sinclair’s front window.
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