No Perfect Secret

by Weger, Jackie

  “—Is it legal?”

  “It’s everything any other restaurant is, except the food is better, the owners are friendly—”

  “How did you find it? Who told you?”

  “My boss, Albert, brought me here the first time. Are you angry with me for some reason? What did I do or not do that I don’t know I did, or didn’t do?”

  Anna laughed. “Could you repeat that three times in a row? I’m just hungry. I get cranky when I’m hungry. I saved my appetite for tonight and you were late picking me up.” And I was wondering if you had changed your mind.

  “I’m sorry. I really am. I was in the shower and trying to get some of this tape off my chest. I think that surgeon used Gorilla Glue.”

  “That must have been painful.”

  It was excruciating. “Not too bad. Some of hairs came out by their roots.”

  Anna was not going to smile. After all, she often waxed her legs; before her honeymoon, she’d had a bikini wax at Elizabeth Arden’s. The pain was worse than a toothache. “Well, if you’re going to feed me—”

  The aroma of tomatoes, anise, rising dough, and warm bubbling cheeses engulfed Anna as Caburn ushered her into the small café. “Oh, my mouth is watering,” she exclaimed.

  The restaurant was small, no more than a dozen tables draped in red-checked cloths. Wall sconces on the brick walls cast a soft glow; every table flickering with a candle in a tiny red bowl—and none vacant. They were no more than a few feet inside the door when the owner swooped down upon them. He was very short, his round belly wrapped twice around in a green apron; he was bald but his bushy black eyebrows compensated and defined twinkling, raisin-dark eyes.

  After hugs and introductions, he poked Caburn in the chest. “Saint Rosalia have mercy! Frankie! Why you stay away so long? Why you keep you lady a secret?” He kissed his fingertips. “Beautiful, beautiful.” He took Anna’s hand, leading them to a table where a young couple was sipping wine. “You guys eat?”

  “We’re just having wine, thank you,” said the young man.

  “Well, you finished here. No charge. Go to wine bar.”

  The couple laughed good naturedly, and pushed their chairs back.

  After Anna and Caburn were seated, Vincenzo hurried back toward the kitchen. “Gina! Gina! Come see. Frankie here with a lady.”

  Anna smiled at Caburn. “They call you Frankie, and you don’t complain?”

  “He’s Sicilian. He can call me anything he wants to.”

  A moment later, Gina came bustling up to the table. Vincenzo trailed her carrying a bowl with a towering cone of crushed ice filled with artfully arranged antipasto. Gina was as short and round as her husband. Her dark hair was pulled into a netted bun at the back of her neck. She had the most exquisite complexion Anna had ever seen. Her eyes were dark, thick-lashed and surrounded with laugh lines. She hugged Caburn, and welcomed Anna. “I cook special for you,” she told them. “You don’t like, send it back with waiter. I fix somethin’ else.”

  “I’m going to eat whatever you put in front of me,” Anna told her. “I’m starving, and everything smells so good.”

  Caburn was waiting for just the right moment to talk to Anna about Cancun. Between the braised Sambuca shrimp and the veal parmesan, he asked. “Do you feel better now, with a little food in you?”

  “I am so relaxed.” She smoothed the huge napkin in her lap. “This is a great place. The food is fabulous. If I don’t take lessons in Italian cooking, I may just have to dine here two or three times a week. I’m already hung up on the bread. Do you think Vincenzo would sell me a loaf to take home?”

  “I think he would be delighted.” Caburn fiddled with the stem of his wine glass. “I have something I want to discuss with you.”

  “You do? Oh. That reminds me. Did you ever solve the mystery of Kevin’s notebooks?”

  Oh, Lord help him. That was supposed to be Dr Neal’s bailiwick. It wasn’t within his psyche to talk about sex with a woman—especially Anna. He could dream about it, imagine it, hope for it, and if the stars were aligned—even do it. It wasn’t discussed in his family and he’d never liked locker-room talk. He felt uneasy thinking about Anna’s body. But, not that uneasy. He just did not want to talk about it.

  Anna watched Caburn’s hands try to explain what he seemed unable to. They opened and closed helplessly. Finally, his open palms lay flat on the table.

  “You’re not trying to tell me you did find treason?” she whispered.

  Caburn shook his head. “No—no. Nothing like that. Treachery. I would say: Treachery. But that might not be the right word. You need to get with Helen. She’s the one who figured it out. I’ve been busy with other things. Can we pass on this topic for the time being?”

  “Sure, if it’s going to upset you.”

  “I’m not upset. What makes you think I’m upset?”

  “There’s a table full of food in front of us and you’ve stopped eating.”

  He picked up a slice of pizza. “I didn’t want to embarrass myself by eating too fast.”

  “Oh. My mistake.” Anna took a sip of the very good Chianti Vincenzo had pressed upon them. She was having a painfully difficult time keeping herself above the depression that threatened to swamp her very essence. Kevin had wholly undone life as she knew it, as she lived it. She didn’t trust that Frank Caburn seemed to fill the void so easily. She felt happy and safe in his company. She felt guilty because she felt no guilt when thinking about him, when fantasizing about him, or sitting across from him in this warm, cozy restaurant. He was selfless and caring and funny—exactly what she thought she was getting with Kevin—and didn’t. She sighed inwardly and cast a plea to heaven: Mom, help me. Just give me a sign—anything—so that I know I’m going in the right direction.

  “I want to take you someplace else,” said Caburn.

  “I don’t think you can top tonight.”

  “Would you consider a Christmas vacation? Five days in Cancun?” Watching her face, Caburn smiled. Her eyes went wide and her luscious lips formed a surprised ‘O’. Then she was shaking her head, no. Caburn felt his heart drop into his stomach.

  “I couldn’t,” she said, almost inaudible. “I would feel guilty the entire time. I mean, Kevin is in a morgue in France, Clara-Alice is in the hospital...”

  “That’s true and you can’t change it. You’ve spent the past eight or nine years living for them, not yourself. It’s not just me offering this trip, Anna. My boss and Helen both think it’s a good thing. I’ll bet if you discussed it with Dr Neal, she’d agree.” He told her about Clara-Alice trying to leave the hospital. About the obits Albert was going to put in newspapers: That Thursday was a sort of D-Day—when Janie and her parents and Clara-Alice would be informed of Kevin’s death and the circumstances. “Janie is going to learn that you are not Kevin’s sister, but in fact, his wife. We just don’t know what kind of drama is going to unfold. We want you out of the mix.”

  “But, I could just go to a hotel.”

  A wave of dismay washed over Caburn. “You could. But, I’ve watched you tonight. You blossomed. The worry disappeared from your eyes. I—I like you, Anna,” he blurted. “I understand it’s not the best time.” She was so suddenly quiet, Caburn was fused with alarm. Damn... Damn... Damn...

  “I like you, too.”

  Oh, babe. He felt a ‘but’ coming.

  “The thing is, I thought I recognized character in a man. Kevin fooled me. I’m not certain about my choices right now.”

  “Nesmith fooled everybody. He was a master at deceiving people. Not just you and his mother—but his bosses, the people he worked with—an entire family in Ellicott City. Think about it—not just the girl, but her parents. How slick is that? And, there’s no telling what or who will come out of the woodwork once those obits are published.”

  “If we go to Cancun we’d end up in bed together.”

  Yes! “No...no...no... Don’t even think like that.”

  “You don’t find me desirable?�
�

  Uh, oh. Mantrap.

  Anna’s cell phone rang. She held up her hand to keep him from answering.

  Reprieve. Caburn wanted to hug whoever was calling.

  She reached into her slender purse for the phone. “I don’t know who would be calling this late at night.” She looked at the phone face. “Oh. It’s Lila. Hey, Lila. Are you all right? It’s way past your bedtime.” As Anna listened, her face became pale in the candlelight. “Oh, no,” she breathed. “I’m with Frank. We’ll be right there.” She closed the phone. “Pay the check, please. We have to leave right now.”

  Caburn did not stop to ask questions. The look on Anna’s face was enough. They were in the car and well on their way in less than two minutes. “Seat belt,” he half-yelled as he took a sharp turn, and out the corner of his eye watched Anna’s trembling fingers fumble the seatbelt latch. “Is Miss Lila all right? What happened?”

  “Clara-Alice is in my house. Lila was unplugging her Christmas tree in her front window when she saw her getting out of a cab. Lila thought I was home because my car is parked in front of the house. She was scared for me, so, she went over. Clara-Alice had filled the kitchen sink with water and was dumping my laptop in it. Lila tried to talk her out of doing that, but Clara-Alice started banging the laptop on the counter and screaming imprecations, so she left.”

  “I can’t take my hands off the wheel,” Caburn told her. “Reach into my pocket for my cell phone. Phipps and Helen need to know about this. How the hell did Clara get out of that hospital? She was supposed to be on a secure floor.” He plowed through a red light at an intersection.

  “Maybe you ought to slow down, Frank. I mean, Clara-Alice is there by herself. A computer is just a thing. I can replace it. If we get stopped or wreck—”

  “Just hit the speed dial. Phipps is on one, and Helen is on two.”

  Anna sighed and did as he asked, then handed him the phone. He filled his boss in on the events, his voice urgent. “The police, Albert,” he yelled. “I mean it. Suppose Anna had been there alone with that crazy-ass woman!” He slammed the phone shut with his thumb and tossed it into Anna’s lap. The call to Helen went to voice mail.

  “Do we have to have the police involved?”

  “Yes we do. Damn it. If the woman could be put where she could do no harm—fine. But, this isn’t working.” Caburn parked in front of Mrs Nagi’s house to keep from alerting Clara-Alice. Lila’s front porch light blinked on and off. Caburn tried to keep Anna in the car, but she wouldn’t have it. They kept to the shadows as they approached Lila’s house. She met them on the porch wearing the Colonel’s great coat over her pajamas.

  “She’s lost it,” said Lila. “I stood outside the back door for a minute and she was banging stuff around and caterwauling worse than a pair of tom cats going at it. What’re you going to do?”

  “My boss is getting in touch with the hospital. As long as she isn’t burning down the house, we’ll just wait and see who shows up.”

  Lila touched Anna’s arm. “Do you want to wait inside where it’s warmer.”

  Anna shook her head. “Out here is better.”

  Caburn wasn’t at all cold. He had sweat bullets down the sides of his face as he paced the sidewalk. An ambulance cruised up the street—no sirens blaring, no lights flashing, and stopped in a cone of light cast by a halogen street light. He walked out to meet the EMTs.

  “We can’t go in until after the family or police clear us to,” the driver told him. The pair of them leaned against their vehicle and lit up cigarettes.

  Phipps pulled up next to Caburn’s car and double parked. Caburn went over to meet him.

  Phipps emerged from his car, bent down and spoke to someone in the passenger seat. “Stay in the car, Louise. Things could get dicey.”

  He turned to Caburn. “We were just finishing dinner at that new French restaurant iCi Urban Bistro when you called. I thought I’d better come myself. You’re too damned excitable for your own good—and mine. Dr Neal is coming. We’ll wait for her. So, have you seen the old lady?”

  Louise got out of the car and came around to greet Caburn. She was wearing the ultimate in politically and socially incorrect—a full length fox fur coat, and dangling from her fingertips—a snakeskin clutch. He stood still for her to air-kiss him on both cheeks. “Where is this paragon of a librarian that has you in a meltdown, Frank? I want to meet her.”

  Phipps touched her arm. “Louise, take it down a notch. And, I told you to stay in the car.”

  “So you did, darling. Point me in the right direction. Oh, never mind. That’s her on that porch, isn’t it?” She peered through the dull gray light. “Standing with that little old man?”

  “I’ll walk you over,” Phipps said, swallowing a sigh and tucking her arm into his. “The sidewalks here are all jumbled up.” He looked back over his shoulder. “Stay right there, Frank. Don’t move an inch.”

  Phipps returned to Caburn’s side after introducing Louise to Anna. “Albert, did you call the police—or not?”

  “Not. I will, if things get out of hand.”

  Caburn groaned. “The neighbor says Nesmith’s mother has lost it. I think we ought to be proactive here.”

  “We are being proactive. Dr Neal is coming. As long as we keep the issue medical, we can control it. Make it criminal, and we don’t. How many times do we have to hash this out?”

  “We’re not controlling anything. That old woman is.” Caburn shrugged and felt a twinge of pain in his back.

  Phipps removed his gloves, took out his pipe, tapped tobacco into the bowl out of an old-fashioned tin, then tamped it, and lit it. “Nectar,” he murmured on the exhale. “By-the-by... Did Mr Charles come through for us? I haven’t had a chance to talk with him.”

  “He came through—and off-budget.”

  “ Bless that man...and you’ve discussed it with Anna?”

  “We were just getting to it when the neighbor called.”

  “Well, she has to go. I am really fearing a mess with the obit, not to mention the girl Janie and her parents. They’re very well-to-do. That loaner from upstairs turned in his report. The parents bought the house in Ellicott City for the couple as a wedding gift. And, of course, Nesmith couldn’t put the girl on his Civil Service health insurance without raising a red flag—so he had to pay cash for her prenatal care, and the hospital and doctors when the baby was born. Louise told me that can run into the thousands. I don’t think Anna is going to be happy when she gets into their bank account.

  “Oh. That’s not all. Louise suggested there might be some backlash from the parents toward Anna. Those people are going to be royally pissed—and why wouldn’t they? Louise says it’s the wives that always get blamed in cases like these—as if they should’ve known what their husbands were up to. Or somehow be clairvoyant, and put a stop to it.”

  “Good Christ, Albert. How was she supposed to know anything? When we get in there, I want you to take a look at her to-do lists. They’re all about Nesmith and his mother—on top of a full time job.”

  “All the more reason to convince her to go out of town while we get all of these people sorted. After this mess is cleared up tonight, you might ask Anna if you could verify the date on her marriage certificate. If she was married like you say, in late August or early September 2001... Well...Helen went on line and checked St Johns County records. That Nesmith woman in St Augustine wasn’t lying. Her divorce from Kevin Nesmith was finalized in October 2004.”

  Caburn felt a stab of pain behind his eyes. He had promised Anna transparency and truth. She was alert to every hesitation and omission of fact, so she had to be told—full disclosure was not an option, but a necessity. Nesmith was a piece of work. It seemed they peeled back one layer of his twisted machinations and lies only to find another layer just as vile, or worse.

  A silver Hummer pulled up and parked behind the ambulance. “There’s Joan Neal,” Phipps observed. “Wow. Psychiatry must really pay.”

  Dr Neal l
ooked stressed as she shook their hands each in turn. “I’m sorry. I got here as fast as I could. I was in the midst of an intake when you called. Too, I wanted to check with the nurses on Clara’s floor. They did give Clara her sedation at eight. I’m thinking she hid it under her tongue and spat it out once the nurse was gone. Otherwise, she would not be functional right now. Apparently she stole her roommate’s clothes. Her purse was bagged and on her shelf in her room. She had access to it. She just walked out when no one was at the nurses’ station.” She cast a glance at the EMTs as she shifted her doctor’s bag from her left to her right hand. “Has anyone been hurt?”

  Caburn shook his head. “Not unless she’s hurt herself. We didn’t attempt to go in. The elderly neighbor who did go in told us Clara was beating up on Anna’s laptop. We haven’t heard anything since we arrived.”

  The three of them joined those standing on Lila Hammond’s porch. Dr Neal gave Anna a hug. “You look like you’re holding up okay.”

  Anna shrugged. “I guess it’s hold up or fall down. I have some good people around me right now. That helps.” Lila had her arm around Anna’s waist; Louise, around her shoulder.

  “Well, let’s see if we can get Clara back to the hospital. Is the front door unlocked? Do we need a key?”

  Anna took out her keys. “All right. I’m ready,” she whispered. And then they were all whispering.

  “No, Anna. No. It’s best if Clara doesn’t see you,” cautioned Dr Neal. She took Anna’s hand. “Let’s talk over here for a minute.” She tugged Anna away from the group. “Mr Phipps tells me he’s trying to get you to go away for a few days, to get you out-of-pocket during some crucial events that might affect you adversely. I’m encouraging you to agree to that.”

  “I just learned about the trip tonight. I really haven’t had time to absorb it at all.” It wasn’t the time to get into the state of her mind or emotions concerning Frank Caburn. “I’ll go, but this feels like one of those interventions you see on television.”