5 Highball Exit

by Phyllis Smallman

  “I’m sure,” I said.

  I nodded to her and hugged Tully. “We’ll talk in the morning.” When the door closed behind them, Brian said, “Well, that wassure disappointing. I thought the two of you would give a better show than that.” And then he added, “Bernice was pretty happy to have Tully to herself, wasn’t she?”

  “Yup.”

  “She didn’t like Tully rushing to your side, did she?”

  “Nope.” I headed for the kitchen and another glass of wine. Brian followed me. “Is it because in a cat fight over Tully sheknows she’d lose?”

  “I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m too tired for a brawl or to even think about fighting.”

  Brian shook his head sadly. “Those are words I never thought I’d hear you say.”

  CHAPTER 43

  The next morning Tully called while I was in Brian’s kitchen pouring my first coffee. He seemed to think Bernice and I had turned a corner and were on the verge of being best friends. I was struck by an incredible vision of the future. “You don’t expect me to be spending family time with her, do you . . . like sitting across the table from her at Thanksgiving dinner?”

  “I’ll get back to you on that,” he said.

  I didn’t tell him in how many ways that wasn’t going to happen. But Tully was wise enough to change the subject. “You think they’ll let Kay out today?”

  “God, I hope not. She’s depressed, doesn’t seem to have any reason to live.”

  “Then give her one.”

  I didn’t waste my breath asking how to do that because I already knew what Aunt Kay needed.

  I went into Brian’s office and found a magnifying glass, a cute little thing with a light, and examined the print from behind the fridge. The woman’s face was still hidden by her hair but that didn’t matter. It was her sleeve I was interested in. I could only read a bit.

  It said “Gor . . .” before the cloth folded. This was followed by the word “Studio.”

  Then I had it. I knew where Angel was. Ashley Gordon and I played volleyball together in high school and stayed friends. Josh and Ashley were going through in vitro fertilization while Holly was working at the Sunset. Holly knew all about the situation, everybody did. Ashley was in the Sunset a lot back then, drinking orange juice in case she might be pregnant, and hanging out because she and Josh were getting on each other’s nerves. The in vitro had failed but Ashley still wanted a baby.

  Ashley would be a terrific mom. Did I want to interfere in her life? If I got rid of the picture, no one would ever know where Angel was. But Josh and Ashley had to know about Holly’s illness, to know that Holly was dead. I waffled back and forth trying to decide on the right thing. If I did nothing and Angel had the virus, the consequences could be enormous.

  I tried to argue myself out of it. The bottom line, though, was they had to be told Holly wasn’t coming back.

  I asked Tully to drive me to the Sunset before it opened so I could do the payroll and pay the bills. He drove by twice, checking the vehicles. The only cars in the parking lot were the familiar cars of staff, doing prep work and getting ready for the day.

  Tully came up the stairs with me and I pretended I didn’t know what he was hiding under the cowboy shirt he had pulled out of his jeans. No way was I going to get picky about Tully carrying a concealed weapon with Ryan on the loose.

  I checked invoices, including a wine bill I was sure had to be wrong but which I had a strong suspicion was accounted for by my own drinking habits. I finished what was necessary in the way of bookwork to keep things functioning, shuffling bills around and lying to a few people about when their checks would arrive. Then I talked menus with Miguel over coffee and muffins. When the door closed behind him my cell rang.

  I picked it up and checked the name.

  “Hey, babe,” Clay said.

  That’s all it took for me to know what was coming. “Tell me,” I said.

  “Don’t rush it.”

  “Screw the foreplay, Adams, and tell me.” He laughed, crazy, mad and delighted.

  “I’ve got an offer—more than that, a signed contract, and there’s even enough left on the table for us to have a new start.”

  “Oh god. Is it really done?”

  “I’ve got their names on the dotted line and a check in my pocket. I’m almost on my way home.”

  “Well, you hurry on down here so we can start celebrating.”

  “Aah,” he said.

  “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “I can’t make it until later in the week. I’ve got some things to clean up. I don’t want to come home and then turn around and come back—Sunday for sure. And I’ve got a plan. I’m going to be the new tenant on the ground floor of the Sunset. I’m going to open my real estate office again. You are going to be so sick of seeing my face.” He laughed. “I’ll tell you all about it when I get there.”

  “Okay, I can wait that long. But you better get here before dinner on Sunday or come wearing armor.”

  “Honey, I’m already packing. There’s something else . . .” He cleared his throat. “I’m not very good at this. For now, I just want you to know that I love you more than my very breath.”

  Tears pricked my eyes and my voice went husky. “I think you’re doing just fine.”

  CHAPTER 44

  I put Aunt Kay’s check in the bank and then I went to see her. She looked better, but her spirits hadn’t improved.

  “What do you want me to do today?”

  Aunt Kay’s lips pursed. “Maybe it’s time we minded our own business.”

  “Well, that’s up to you, but I don’t give rebates.” She almost smiled. “You’re giving up?” She turned her face away from me. “After all we’ve done, you’re calling it quits?”

  “It’s better that way,” she told the wall.

  “Well, I’m not quitting until I find Angel or run out of places to look.”

  “Why do you care?” She turned to look at me now. “You’re only doing it for the money and I don’t want it back.”

  “I’m not ready to give up. So you just lie there and forget Angel if you want, but I’m not going to.”

  She frowned.

  I went to the bed and bent over her, my lips up close to her ear. I whispered, “I know where Angel is.”

  “Where?”

  I grinned and said, “I thought you weren’t interested.” I headed for the door. Ashley’s studio was on Palmetto. Even before I got to the door and read the paper taped to the glass, I knew the dance studio was out of business. There was no suggestion as to when, or even whether, it might open again.

  Ashley lived within walking distance, only a few blocks away in a small Spanish house built in the twenties, but it was just too damn hot to walk.

  When I pulled into the driveway the first of my questions was answered. A stroller sat beside the little stoop of the pretty house with a FOR SALE sign on the lawn.

  I bent over and picked up a small white lamb from the front step. The little toy was silky in my hand, soft and yielding as I ran my palm over it. Birds sang and screams of delight came from kids enjoying a pool somewhere close. Nothing bad could ever happen here. All I had to do was drive away.

  I pressed the doorbell.

  Ashley opened the door and her face lit up. “Sherri!” She stepped back and held the door wide. “Come in.” A little cherub, with auburn curls, rode her left hip.

  I’d been a serious underachiever in high school while Ashley was the girl who did it all. Student council, cheerleader and A student, Ashley worked hard at everything and was always perfect. Today, her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore no makeup, unheard of for the Ash I knew.

  The child reached out for me with both hands. My heart fluttered and I res
ponded by opening my arms, but it was the toy she wanted, not me. She grabbed it in her hands and drew it to her mouth with a yelp of delight.

  “It was on the ground,” I said, ready to take it away from her. “No worries.” Ashley laughed. “Lily is immune to dirt.” She pivoted back into the room, moving with the grace of the dancer she’d been since childhood. “Come on in and ignore the mess. I’ve learned to.”

  She was right, the place was a disaster. Toys and baby equipment were everywhere and you could no longer see the beautiful arched plaster fireplace Ashley had been so proud to own. Two upholstered chairs had been pushed together in front of the fireplace to protect a curious toddler from the danger of falling on the raised marble hearth. All the wrought-iron furniture was gone and the white sectional was covered with old limp quilts, collapsing down the back onto the seat cushions.

  From house proud to home disaster, all in one small bundle but Ashley was happier than I’d ever seen her. She didn’t question why I was there, just nattered nonstop about feeding and diapers and all sorts of things, events that seemed world-shatteringly important to her, pleased to see an old friend and have a little relief from her routine. Most of all she talked about how much she loved Lily.

  Ashley handed Lily to me while she went to make coffee. Lily’s soft reddish curls brushed against my face. The eyes she turned up to me were blue, just like Holly’s. And Sunny was right, Lily’s mouth was a perfect rosebud.

  She took being hugged by a stranger as a normal occurrence, alternating between chewing on the lamb and pounding it on her lap. Once in a while she stopped to tug on the gold chain I was wearing.

  I couldn’t bring myself to mention my reason for visiting in front of Lily. She wouldn’t know what we were saying but it just wouldn’t be right.

  “How come you’re moving?” I asked as Ashley sank onto a chair across the table from me.

  “Josh has a great job offer in Tallahassee but the house hasn’t sold.” She gave a wry little laugh. “Don’t know why. We’ve got it in showroom condition.”

  “It must be impossible to show a house with a baby.” I laid my cheek against the silky curls.

  “Yeah, the minute the realtor calls and says he’s bringing someone by I start running around cleaning. Lily comes right behind me and it’s undone as fast as I fix it. And of course, every three seconds you have to pull her away from something.”

  “Maybe I could come over and take Lily for a walk while you get ready for the showing.” The offer popped out of my mouth before I even thought about it.

  “Oh, Sherri, would you really?”

  “Sure.” Lily yawned.

  “About time too,” Ashley said and plucked Lily out of my arms. “Be right back.”

  Lily watched me over her mother’s shoulder, one plump little arm bouncing up and down almost as if she were waving goodbye.

  “I have something to tell you,” I said when Ashley returned.

  She went to the coffee pot. “What’s up?”

  “Holly Mitchell is dead.”

  The carafe slammed back into its holder. The face she turned to me was full of alarm but she didn’t ask why I was telling her this. “What happened to her?”

  “She committed suicide last Sunday.” She gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.

  I went to her and led her back to the table. I picked up the coffee pot and filled our cups. She sat across from me in total shock.

  “Lily is Holly’s baby, Angel, isn’t she?” She nodded.

  “There is something you have to know.” I reached out for her hands and took them in mine. “Holly was HIV-positive.”

  It hurt to see her face. “Listen to me, listen. From what I read online, the prenatal testing Holly got before Lily was born would have shown if Holly was HIV-positive. Holly would never have kept that from you. I don’t think Holly contracted the virus until after Lily was born.”

  There was no need for me to tell Ashley to get Lily tested. She’d be on to the pediatrician before I was out of the drive.

  “How on earth did you end up with Lily?”

  She pulled her hands away from mine and took a deep breath. “I met Holly up at a mall in Sarasota. She had Lily with her. She asked if the in vitro had worked. It hadn’t and I told her we were waiting to hear about getting a baby from China. It’s such a long process. I told her I had everything, a crib, changing table, diapers, but no baby. She called a few days later and asked if I could keep Angel for her. I said yes. I thought it would be like a practice run but right away it got serious. Josh and I both fell in love with Lily and every time the phone rang we thought it was Holly wanting her back.”

  Tears ran down her face, silently and unheeded. “Last week Holly called and told us we could keep Lily forever.”

  “Did she tell you why?”

  “She said she was sick and wouldn’t be able to look after Lily. She asked if we would go to a lawyer and have legal papers for Lily’s adoption drawn up for her to sign. We went up to Sarasota last Friday and met her in a coffee shop.”

  Her voice broke. “She signed the papers and gave us a letter to give to Lily when she grew up.”

  “Did she tell you anything else?”

  “She told us Dan Raines was the father. She said he didn’t know about the baby, said Dan had a baby the same age. She didn’t want him to know about Lily right now, said Lily could tell him when she was ready.”

  CHAPTER 45

  My cell rang as I walked to the truck. “Hi,” Dan said. “You got good news.” He laughed. “I had the antibody test. It was negative.”

  “Does that mean you’re safe?”

  “Yup, I’d have it by now.”

  “I’m glad, Dan. Now you can get on with your life.”

  “I intend to. I was scared shitless. I’m going to be the most faithful husband in the world.”

  I opened the door and threw my bag in. “I still don’t get how you came to be the one who found Holly.”

  He sighed. “She kept calling my cell that day. Told me she had to talk to me, insisted I call her. I ignored her calls. She called again, around suppertime, sounding pretty desperate, said she had something important to tell me. I was afraid if I didn’t talk to her she’d call the house. When I took a break I was at a gas station and there was a public phone outside the washroom. I just wanted to tell her to stop calling me. I called her but she didn’t answer. I called the station, made an anonymous call, knowing that, as the car in place, I’d be the one sent to check it out. She was dead when I got there. I checked the apartment to make sure there was nothing to tie me to her. There wasn’t. It was really clean, everything packed up. She used to keep a journal but I couldn’t find it. What do you suppose happened to that? Maybe she put it in the garbage.”

  “Or maybe someone else did.”

  “Whatever. She’d cleaned everything out, looked like she was moving or something. Doesn’t matter now. She sure didn’t leave anything behind. I’m safe.”

  And that’s all that mattered to him—he was safe. Angel, Holly, well, they were just by-products of his happiness. His world was fine. “Dan, can you find out about a guy named Ryan Vachess for me?”

  “No.” The volume of his response had me holding the phone away from my ear.

  Silence stretched between us as we both got control of our anger. Finally, he said, “What about the baby, did you find her?”

  “No. Apparently Holly gave her baby up for adoption. It probably was a private arrangement. It doesn’t look like Holly told anyone who the baby went to. Everything to do with Angel is a deep dark secret. Even her own mother didn’t know Holly had a child.”

  I dug my keys out of my pocket. “Seems Holly could keep things quiet when she wanted to, so you’re off the hook.” I didn’t even try to hide my bitterness.
r />   “I’d do the right thing if the child is alone.”

  “Forget it. Holly already did the right thing. Get on with your life. You have a family to look after.”

  “Does this guy, Vachess, have anything to do with the baby?”

  I was surprised he remembered the name. “No, he’s just someone Holly knew.”

  “Okay, but there’s something else from the autopsy.” He sounded reluctant and unsure, like maybe he would regret telling me.

  “I hate to think what else could’ve happened to Holly.”

  “Holly was using crystal meth.”

  “It’s too damn depressing. Addiction, giving up her child, and HIV? She sure had enough reasons to head for the door.”

  “There’s one more.” I waited.

  “Sherri . . .” He sounded like he was about to say more than he wanted to, more than he should. “The name of the guy who was paying for Holly’s apartment is Dusty Harrison.”

  I’d forgotten about Dusty. “Why are you telling me?”

  “I’ve been wondering if Harrison gave Holly HIV.”

  “Why do you care?”

  “C’mon, I had feelings for Holly, but I was terrified of losing my wife and my job. Maybe even my life.”

  “So now all that’s safe, why don’t you go ask Harrison if he infected Holly?”

  “I can’t afford to. I get caught running around asking about a dead girl . . . well, it wouldn’t do my career any good.”

  “Best not to then.”

  “Still . . . see what you can do, Sherri.”

  “Not much I can do—or want to do.”

  “You can talk to him in a language he’s sure to understand.”

  “What makes this my job?”

  “Holly had been systematically beaten over a long period of time. If he was the one keeping her he probably was the one beating on Holly for fun. If for no other reason, ruining Dusty’s day will make the trip worthwhile.”

  Rage jolted me. “Now that sounds like a good time. Where do I find this bastard?”