A Question of Fire
Page 28
Peter whistled. "Well, well. This should be interesting." He closed the book and handed it to Norfolk. "Have fun, Lieutenant. This should get you a captain's job if you handle it right."
"Yeah," he agreed, but his tone suggested less enthusiasm than Peter. "It's going to be a mess."
"Meanwhile, I'm going to make my client home. I'm assuming the charges against him will be dropped?"
"I guess so, but we need a statement from him. From all of you. Maybe he'd better come downtown with us."
"No," Peter said. "You can't question him without me, and I'm going to be tied up with another client for the next few hours. Let me take him home and I'll bring him down as soon as I'm free."
"All right," the lieutenant sighed heavily.
"I'm going to take Miss Bennett to the hospital. Will you send someone there to take her statement?"
"Right. Let me get this down." Norfolk pulled a pad and pencil out of his pocket and started making notes.
Peter shuffled Cathy and Danny out of the trailer, then out of the junkyard, stopping to say goodbye to Ike and promising to come back to see him soon. They got in the car, and Peter drove to Danny's home. He recommended the young man try to get some sleep, as it could turn into a long night. Cathy got out of the car when Danny did, hugged him again and thanked him. Peter disappeared with him into the house, presumably to explain the situation to Danny's mother, and Cathy got back into the car to await his return. She was dreading the trip to the hospital; she was dead tired and longed for a hot bath and a comfortable bed. But first, she knew, she'd have to be checked out medically and talk to the police at some length.
Peter came back and slid into the driver's seat. He must have seen some of her tension and fear; he pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest for a few minutes. Then he released her and started the car. She missed the support when he let go, but she moved back across the seat. The car rode quietly and smoothly; the soft chug of the motor lulled and soothed. Outside the sun set in a blaze of red and orange glory. Cathy wished the drive would never end.
Inevitably, they arrived at the hospital, and Peter found a space in the parking lot close to the emergency room entrance. He didn't get right out, though, but turned to face her. "The police called ahead to let them know you're coming. It should help smooth things." He stopped and seemed momentarily at a loss. "Cathy, I told the police you were my client, but it's not technically true, and if you want somebody else to stay with you, I'll get whoever you want."
"I—"
"Wait, hear me out," he asked, and the look in his eyes was serious and pained. She nodded. "I'll get someone else to stay with you if you want, but it'll tear me apart. I want to be the person with you."
She tried to answer but he forestalled her again. "A few nights ago, you told me the truth about myself and, because I wasn't ready to listen, I lashed out." He drew a deep breath and seemed to brace himself. "I hurt you, and I meant to, and I've regretted it ever since. Cathy, you said then that, when this was over, you'd get out of my life. If I were to ask you, plead with you to reconsider that decision, do you think you might?"
"I think I—"
"Wait, don't answer yet." He gave her a sort of twisted grin. "I'm not finished, and this is the hardest part." He stared out the windshield at the parking lot. "I don't know exactly what I have to offer you. I could say I love you, and I think it's the truth, but I'm not very confident I know what the word means anymore. I know this, though; if you go out of my life, there will be a hole left behind. A very large, aching, empty hole, right in the middle of my life." He drew a quick breath. "I probably deserve it, but I don't want to face it. It's going to hurt—a lot."
He shrugged and turned serious, pained eyes on her. "I don't know what kind of future I'm offering you. I'll marry you if you want, but I'm scared to death of it. I'd rather wait and take our time, see what kind of relationship we can build. We're pretty different, you and I, but we do have some basic things in common. Maybe that's something we can build on." He laughed without any real humor. "So all I'm really offering is the chance to take a big risk."
She was crying, tears rolling down her cheeks in large streaks. She wasn't even sure what she was emotional about. Peter saw it and couldn't figure out what it meant, either. He reached for her and, when she didn't resist, pulled her close and cradled her head against his shoulder.
"Are you feeling sorry for me?" she asked.
"Oh, Lord," he said, then calmed himself down. "If I'm feeling sorry for anyone, it's myself. I've been such a blind, self-centered idiot, I may have lost the only thing in my life worth having, and through my own stupidity." He brushed his fingers through her rumpled hair. "I know you've had a bad time. I still wish I could make like a barbarian and go beat the hell out of him." He shifted and laughed uncomfortably.
"Actually you didn't do too bad a job," she said. "When you hit him with that hot dog cooker, I felt like standing up and cheering."
"Is that what the damn thing was? I never could figure it out. At any rate..." He sighed deeply. "As you told Danny earlier, you're only damaged if you let yourself be, and you're too strong, too intelligent, and too courageous to allow that to happen. I'm not offering myself out of guilt for what you've suffered. I'm presenting myself as a friend who thinks you're a remarkable and admirable person, and a man who finds you the most attractive woman he's ever had the good fortune to hold in his arms. It's not much, I'm afraid, maybe not enough, it certainly wouldn't be for most women, but you're not most women. Will you take a chance with me?"
Cathy drew back a little so she could look him in the eye. "Are you going to let me answer this time?"
He nodded.
"Did you mean it? All of it?"
He rolled his eyes. "I didn't make this speech because I like the sound of my own voice."
She laughed and wiped the tears off her face. His serious expression softened, then he pulled her close again, bending his head to meet her lips. After a while, he pulled back and she saw a shadow of worry lingering in his eyes.
"Was that a yes?" he asked. "You'll risk it?"
"Life's a crapshoot," she answered. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."