Tonight You're Mine

by Carlene Thompson

  An affair, obviously, Nicole thought. Paul had once told Nicole his mother was deeply religious. She must have suffered over the affair for years. Maybe guilt was responsible for the chronic bad health, the premature aging.

  “God made me pay,” Alicia began again, tears running down her face. “I tried to make amends, but it didn’t work because I was still lying, still hiding. He hates me, you know.”

  “I thought God didn’t hate anyone,” Nicole said.

  “Not God. He doesn’t hate me. But He does punish, you know. I’ve been punished. He doesn’t let you get away with things.”

  Nicole stroked her hand. “Mrs. Dominic, I’m sorry about Paul being charged with murder and then…going away.”

  “That wasn’t the beginning. I’ve been punished ever since Javier. I tried to do the right thing. No, no, that’s not honest. I tried to eat my cake and have it, too. So I was doubly punished. The other one…” She shook her head. “Could I have done something for him to change things?”

  “Mrs. Dominic, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nicole said gently. “Who’s ‘the other one’? Javier?”

  “I can’t talk about him. No, no, I can’t talk about him except with my priest.” She looked at Nicole who saw clarity come back into the woman’s fogged eyes. “Rosa won’t like it if she finds you here. She never did like you. I did.” She reached up and delicately touched Nicole’s face. “So perfect for my Paul.”

  Nicole swallowed hard, trying to control her sorrow, her guilt. “Mrs. Dominic, I came here to talk about Paul. Is he alive?”

  The woman’s gaze shifted and she chanted, “My son died in a car wreck a long time ago.”

  “I know a lot of people believe that, but it seems to me I’ve seen him. He’s always with a dog.”

  Alicia smiled slightly. “The dog? The big black…” Her eyes widened and the parrot tone returned. “My son died in a car wreck a long time ago.”

  “Please, Mrs. Dominic,” Nicole begged. “I need some answers. Your son comes to see you, doesn’t he?”

  “Why, just last night—” The woman caught herself again. Her head turned and the eyes looked directly into Nicole’s. “Did the police send you?”

  “No. They don’t even believe Paul’s alive. I only came for myself. Anything you tell me is just between us. Believe me, Mrs. Dominic, you can trust me, even though you might hate me.”

  Alicia’s face twisted into that unrecognizable expression. “I don’t hate you. I don’t understand what happened—it’s not clear anymore. My memory, you know…But I remember that you’re good. I see goodness in your eyes. I always have.”

  Nicole smiled weakly. “Thank you, Mrs. Dominic. You don’t know what that means to me. All these years I’ve thought you must blame me for what happened to Paul. I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt him. I would have died before I intentionally hurt him. The situation spiraled out of my control. But I must know the truth about Paul now.”

  “My son died in a car wreck—”

  “Please stop saying that! I haven’t believed for quite a while that Paul is dead. I know he has a big black Doberman named Jordan. He’s been to see you, you can’t deny it. I just need to know how he feels about me. Does he hate me?”

  Alicia looked away. “If I’d just owned up to what I’d done, maybe everything would have been different. We must own up to our sins, you know. And upbringing is so important. I failed him, and I was punished.”

  “You failed Paul?”

  “Everyone,” Alicia said irritably. “The other one. He was involved—I know it. I’ve always known it.”

  “Mrs. Dominic, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please explain.”

  She looked at Nicole. “You have a little girl with the name of a poet.”

  “Yes. Shelley.” She paused. “How did you know that?”

  Alicia’s eyes circled the room lazily. “For a long time I didn’t know about Paul.” Her eyes filled with tears. “They told me he was dead.”

  “But now you know that’s not true, don’t you?” Nicole asked eagerly.

  “My son died—”

  “Mrs. Dominic, please!”

  The woman looked cowed. “It’s what I’m supposed to say.”

  “I understand,” Nicole said gently, angry with herself for speaking harshly to Alicia.

  “What are you doing in here?”

  Nicole and Mrs. Dominic both jumped as Rosa tromped in, heavy browed, unsmiling, her eyes brimming with hostility.

  Nicole stood up. “I told you yesterday I needed to see Mrs. Dominic.”

  “And I told you she doesn’t receive visitors.” Her eyes narrowed. “You broke in here! You always were a sneaky little tramp who thought she could do what she pleased. Well, not this time. I’m calling the police and having you arrested for breaking and entering!”

  “No.” Rosa turned back and looked at Mrs. Dominic who was struggling to sit up in bed. “You will not call the police.”

  “This woman, this slut who ruined your son’s life, has broken into your house—”

  “Yes, my house,” Mrs. Dominic said forcefully, sounding much the way she had fifteen years ago even though Nicole could see the effort it was taking. “A judge hasn’t declared me incompetent and you are not my guardian. I give the orders here, and I’m telling you no police will be called.”

  Rosa glowered at her, then at Nicole, who put her hand on Alicia’s arm. “I’m leaving now, Mrs. Dominic. Thank you for speaking with me.”

  She started toward the door, the heavy, bull-like Rosa breathing loudly behind her when Alicia called, “Nicole?” She turned. “Remember, some loves are forever.”

  2

  As Nicole drove home, she thought about her talk with Mrs. Dominic. The woman had been visited probably as recently as last night by her son. Her love for Paul was clearly unqualified. But who was “the other one” to whom she disdainfully referred? The mysterious Javier, the man she’d loved and maybe spurned?

  Nicole shook her head. The visit had answered two important questions. Paul was definitely in San Antonio and still cared for her. But it had also raised more questions than it had answered.

  When Nicole reached home, she was dismayed to see Carmen’s car in her driveway and Carmen sitting on her front porch. Normally she was always glad to see her friend, but today she had a lot of disturbing questions to ask Carmen and she already felt drained by her visit to Alicia Dominic.

  She took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Good morning, Carmen.”

  “I’ve had warmer greetings.” Carmen studied Nicole’s face. “And you’re not looking up to par.”

  “No makeup and a rough couple of weeks.” She withdrew her keys from her purse. “Why are you here so early?”

  “Your mother tried to reach you several times earlier. When she couldn’t, she called me.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No. She said Shelley wanted to say hello to you, but when they couldn’t reach you, your mother got alarmed. After the last gory disaster here, she didn’t want to come by with Shelley, so she asked me to come.”

  “I’m sorry, Carmen. What a millstone I’ve become to everyone.”

  “No you’re not. And it was no trouble for me to come this morning. Bobby took Jill to church. By the way, your mother told me about Roger’s wreck.”

  “Which he claims I caused.” Carmen looked blank and Nicole knew her mother hadn’t given her the details. She opened the door and motioned for Carmen to enter. “He thinks I cut his brake line.”

  “That’s crazy!” Carmen exploded. “He was probably drunk.”

  “No he wasn’t. Ray came by last night and said the front line was cut.”

  Carmen’s face sagged. “You’re kidding.”

  “Hardly.”

  “Well, the police can’t believe you had anything to do with cutting it.”

  “Ray doesn’t. I don’t know what everyone else thinks. I’m beginning not to care. Have a seat. I�
�ll put on some coffee, then call the hospital. Lisa said she’d call last night with word on Roger’s condition, but she didn’t.”

  “Big surprise,” Carmen muttered, sitting down on the couch. “She’s so reliable and considerate.”

  While the coffee brewed, Nicole called the hospital and was told Roger was in stable condition although he remained extremely agitated. Next she called her mother and gave the excuse of going for a drive for her absence early in the morning. “My, you’ve been going for a lot of drives lately,” Phyllis said dryly, and Nicole immediately remembered she’d used that excuse before. Quickly changing the subject, she described Roger’s condition, spoke to Shelley, reassuring her that her father would be fine, and promised to call back later.

  When she hung up the phone, the coffee was ready. She placed cups along with cream and sugar on a tray. At the last minute, she added a few cookies on a saucer. She hadn’t eaten any breakfast and her stomach was growling.

  “So, how is the charming Roger?” Carmen asked as Nicole carried a tray into the living room.

  “Stable.”

  “I assume you mean physically, not mentally. I suppose Lisa’s sticking to him like glue.”

  “Probably.” She braced herself and decided if she didn’t bring up the subject of Lisa abruptly, she might lose her nerve and not get around to it at all. “Carmen, speaking of Lisa, we sat in the hospital waiting room yesterday while Roger was in surgery. We talked.”

  “That must have been interesting.”

  “It was. She told me you’ve known her since she was little.”

  Carmen had been stirring sugar in her coffee. The spoon abruptly stopped spinning. “What?”

  “She said Bobby’s mother baby-sat for her. That’s how the Vegas and the Mervins became friends. According to her, she was around all the time when you were dating Bobby and after you were married and living with the Vegas. Carmen, you said you didn’t know her.”

  “I don’t. I mean, maybe Bobby’s mother did baby-sit for her, but she would have been a child. Besides, she baby-sat for several children. I never paid much attention to them. First I was a teenager all wrapped up in Bobby. After we were married, I was pregnant, then the baby died. I honestly don’t remember her or any of the other kids. They were just a mass of little anonymous faces to me.”

  Nicole reached for a cookie, thinking about what Carmen had said. Hadn’t she told Lisa the same thing—that she was only a child when Carmen was around her? No doubt Lisa’s appearance had changed radically during adolescence. And when they were teenagers and Carmen was seeing Bobby, she’d never mentioned by name any of the kids for whom Mrs. Vega baby-sat.

  Carmen was staring at her. “What’s the matter? Don’t you believe me?”

  “Yes, I believe you, Carmen.”

  “You sound strange. What else is wrong?”

  Nicole took a bite of cookie although her hunger was gone, her stomach churning with tension. Should she even mention the other thing? She didn’t want to offend Carmen, but she had to have an answer to Lisa’s accusations. She took a deep breath. “Lisa also said she never bought a wolf mask. You told me she did.”

  Carmen’s eyes widened. “But she did! Bobby said so.”

  “He told me she didn’t.”

  “But he told me she did. You misunderstood him.”

  Nicole sighed. “No, I didn’t. Someone is lying.”

  Carmen set down her mug with a crash. “Nicole Sloan, how dare you! First you accuse me of lying about knowing Lisa, then you accuse either me or Bobby of lying about her buying the wolf mask—”

  “I said someone is lying.”

  “Well, you certainly didn’t sound like you thought it was Lisa, even after all she’s done to you and the kind of person you know she is!” Carmen’s dark eyes blazed. “What the hell is wrong with you? You’re doubting me, your best friend of nearly thirty years. You’re romantically obsessing about Paul Dominic, a known murderer. You’ve never even cried over your own father, the man who doted on you and you professed to adore.”

  “Carmen—”

  “Save it!” Carmen rose. “I think you’re losing it, Nicole. You don’t trust me? Well, I don’t trust you anymore, either.”

  “Carmen!”

  “I mean it!” Carmen shouted, stalking toward the front door. “Maybe you killed the cop and Dooley. Maybe you even killed Magaro and Zand.”

  “Carmen, I know I’ve hurt your feelings, but how can you say such cruel things?” Nicole cried.

  “Easy. You’re acting so weird, just like you did back then, after your attack. Maybe that’s because you killed Magaro and Zand on one of your midnight walks.”

  “My midnight walks?”

  “Your sleepwalking. Or are you going to claim you don’t know anything about it? That would be convenient.” Carmen snatched her purse off an end table. “Oh, hell, what does it matter now?”

  Nicole grabbed her arm. “It does matter! Tell me what you’re talking about, Carmen, please.”

  “Why bother? You think I’m a liar. You wouldn’t believe me.” She jerked her arm from Nicole’s grasp, opened the door, and stormed out onto the front porch. “Don’t call me until you’re ready to apologize. Better yet, don’t ever call me again!”

  As Nicole watched Carmen’s car shoot out of the driveway and head down the street, her eyes filled with tears. How many more people were going to walk out of her life? How many more could she stand to lose?

  3

  Nicole lay on the couch, listening to music, when someone knocked on the door. She jumped up, hoping it was Carmen returning to patch up their earlier falling-out. Instead, Lisa Mervin stood on her porch. Nicole was so surprised, she said nothing.

  “I knew you’d be overjoyed to see me,” Lisa quipped tartly. “Roger wants me to bring Shelley to visit him.”

  “He does, does he?” Nicole returned, finding her voice. “She’s not here.”

  Lisa shrugged. “I told him you wouldn’t let her come.”

  “Lisa, she really isn’t here. But even if she were, I would take her to see her father. I wouldn’t turn her over to you.”

  “Look, I don’t care one way or the other,” Lisa snapped. “I’m just doing what Roger asked.”

  She turned to go. “Lisa, wait. If you’ll come in, I’d like to talk to you.”

  Lisa looked back. “You want to talk to me? About what? Cutting Roger’s brake line?”

  “I didn’t cut his brake line,” Nicole said tiredly. “I don’t know why, but I have a feeling you believe me.” Lisa merely stared at her, but she knew she was right. Nicole held the door open wider. “Please come in.”

  Lisa took a deep breath, her large breasts straining against her skintight sweater, and walked inside. “Nice house,” she muttered.

  “Thank you. Have a seat. The couch and chair are Roger’s.”

  Lisa looked at the brown monstrosities, and for the first time a ghost of a smile crossed her face. “Wow. Talk about ugly. I can’t imagine him buying furniture like that.”

  “I think it must have been during an LSD flashback,” Nicole said dryly.

  Lisa laughed out loud. “Miguel said you were funny.”

  “You’re friends with Miguel?”

  “He dates my friend Susan.” She looked edgy. “Why are you asking about Miguel?”

  “No particular reason,” Nicole lied. Lisa’s nervousness spoke volumes. She was attracted to Miguel at the least.

  “What did you want to talk to me about?”

  “Carmen. She was here earlier. She swears she didn’t know you—that when her mother-in-law baby-sat for you, she never even knew your name. She also swears Bobby told her you bought the wolf mask from him.”

  “Have you asked Bobby about the mask?”

  “Yes.”

  “And he says I didn’t buy it, doesn’t he?”

  “Well, yes,” Nicole said reluctantly.

  Lisa tucked her long hair behind her ears, looking bored. “Nicole, I told
you I didn’t buy that mask. I also told you Carmen’s a liar. I think she’s nuts. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was looking in your windows wearing that mask.”

  “Lisa, that’s ridiculous! Why would she do that?”

  “I don’t know. To make you look crazy.”

  “That’s exactly what she said about Roger.”

  “Well, he sure didn’t cut his own brake line. And what about those murders a long time ago? You know, those guys who raped you.”

  Nicole looked at her in shock. “Magaro and Zand?”

  “Yeah. Bobby’s mother said if the band hadn’t broken up, Bobby probably wouldn’t have married Carmen, even though she was pregnant. Without Ritchie Zand, there wasn’t a band anymore. Zand’s death was pretty convenient timing for Carmen, wouldn’t you say?”

  Nicole drew back, horrified. “Lisa, my God, you think Carmen killed Magaro and Zand?”

  Lisa stood. “It’s just a theory, one I’m sure you won’t give a second thought because it came from me. But she’s jealous as hell of you. She always has been.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Nicole said staunchly.

  “Believe what you want. Roger says you never see what’s right in front of you. So what do I tell him about Shelley?”

  “What about her?” Nicole asked blankly.

  Lisa sighed in exasperation. “Will you take her to visit him? That’s what I came here for, remember?”

  “Yes, I remember. Tell him I’ll bring her tomorrow.”

  “Okay, but he’ll be mad.”

  Lisa didn’t say good-bye and neither did Nicole. She sat motionless on the couch after Lisa left, replaying Lisa’s words: Zand’s death was pretty good timing for Carmen, wouldn’t you say?

  Twenty-Two

  1

  Nicole was furiously vacuuming the living room. She let out a little shriek when the front door opened and she saw a man’s face before she realized it was Ray.

  Switching off the vacuum, she yelled, “Have you ever heard of knocking? You nearly scared the life out of me!”

  Ray held up both hands. “Sorry! I knocked about five times.”

  “No, I’m sorry,” Nicole said, regaining her composure.