by Galen Rose
I sat down and took a nice long drink of Coke. I got the feeling this wasn’t a social call.
“How was your day today, Laney?” Yep, I was right. Not a social call. “Just fine, sir.”
“I already asked you once to stop calling me sir. Now you want to tell me how your day was?”
“You want to kiss my ass?” He looked at me long and hard and then ran his hands over his face.
“Sorry. I’ve been a bit curt with you since last night. I got a call today from one Steven Ray. He said you were rude to him.”
I snorted and got up to get my soup. I sat down and ate a few bites of my sandwich before telling Chase how the day went.
“I wasn’t rude, and he touched me. I never laid a hand on him. His only concern is making her look good, not her safety.”
“I figured as much but I had to come and talk to you anyway.” Chase sat back and looked at me. “Laney, I ran a check on your cousin last night. I heard what he said to you through the wireless and I saw how you reacted. You look like you didn’t sleep well either.”
“Is that what you guys were talking about last night?”
“Yes.”
“You should have just asked me.”
“You’re right, but I was too pissed after reading the nice little file on him. I can imagine that you had it pretty rough if the file is any indication.”
I sat still and said nothing. No direct question. No indirect lie. I also knew that if anyone could ask the right question it would be Chase. I didn’t want to lie to him but I wasn’t about to retell it one more time. One sleepless night was enough. He studied me for a few minutes and then got up.
“Get some sleep. You look like hell.”
“Yes sir.”
He shook his head and left. I finished my food and headed to the couch to watch a movie. I have no idea what was in the DVD player since I fell asleep pretty quick and found myself right back the previous night’s dream. Helpless again, I could only scream as strong hands grabbed me.
“Laney, wake up honey. It’s only a dream.”
I had to get away. I had to make it stop. I heard a voice I recognized calling me.
“Laney! Wake up!”
I snapped awake and found myself staring into Tommy’s wide eyes. The fear still so intense I couldn’t breathe.
“Honey, it was a dream. You’re safe, little girl, you’re safe.”
His hands held my arms tightly, probably because I had tried to hit him. I slowly sat up and looked around me, making sure I was not in that closet with James. No, I was on the couch at Tommy and Molly’s house. I drew in a deep shuddering breath.
“I’m okay.”
Tommy’s look of concern almost undid me. This had to stop! I would not let the past live in the here and now anymore. He let go of my arms and disappeared into the kitchen, returning moments later with a glass of water. Handing it to me he asked, “Can I hazard that this has something to do with your cousin making an appearance?”
My teeth rattled against the glass as I drank the water. I nodded, not looking at Tommy.
“Laney, if you want to talk about it I’m here. I know you’re not one to open up to people. Molly said you had talked to her about William, and I’m glad you did, but I want you to know that if you want to talk about anything, anything at all, I am here for you. You don’t have to hold it back for fear of how I’ll feel about you or those who raised you.”
I heard something in his voice, some vehemence whenever he spoke about my family. I set the glass down on a table and looked at Tommy. “What is it that you haven’t told me? I’ve had that feeling from you, Molly, and even Chase. Just tell me, please.”
Tommy stood up with a sigh, went to the shelves that housed the many photo albums, and took one out and handed it to me. The first few pages were devoted to a baby Tommy and his parents. The photos were old and yellowed along with the album pages. Each page chronicled the growth of Tommy and his many siblings. It was on the sixth page of the album that my life turned on its ear again. He cleared his throat and I stood up, spinning around quickly and dumping the album on the floor.
“I know I should have told you sooner, Laney. I wanted to, but I wasn’t sure how.” Tommy’s hands tightened along the back of a high-backed chair.
I stood there while several pictures fluttered to the floor. Tommy didn’t move. He probably knew if he did I would have bolted. I think it was shock that kept me rooted to the floor. “You knew my mom and dad?” My voice sounded small even to me, as my ability to form clear sentences seemed to be on the fritz. How had Fate orchestrated this? Of all the people in the world I whose homes I could have stumbled into, I get the one who had known my parents?
“I swear, Laney had we known where you were. Where he was. I would have come for you. We would have taken you in after your mom died. We tried to find you.” Tommy moved from behind the chair to sit down. In reflex I backed up. I know he wanted to reach out and comfort me but I wouldn’t let him.
He reached down and picked up the pictures and album that had fallen to the floor. “Your Father met Carolyn, your mother, here in San Francisco. I swear from the moment he laid eyes on her he was a lost man. To be sure, she loved him as much. But her family wanted none of it. She was to marry a man more suited to her upbringing, a man of class. Not an Irishman and certainly not a laborer. But married they were and Molly and I stood for them. I had not seen two people more in love than those two. They left San Francisco soon after and I never saw him again. Michael sent me postcards every so often but he wouldn’t allow us to know where they were living. He knew that her family would come for her if they knew. Her family had clout and would have used any means to bring her back.”
Tommy sighed as he replaced the photos back in their weathered slots. He held up one of he and Molly standing with my parents on their wedding day. He set it back in the album and closed it.
Tommy looked up at me, his eyes shimmering, “Your mother called me when Michael died. I begged her to tell me where she was. To let us … let me help her. But it was too late. She had called her sister Katherine first and that bitch had already gotten her hooks into Carolyn.” Tommy pounded the arm of the chair with his fist. “Your Aunt Katherine hated us with a passion born of the devil himself. She took the phone away from Carolyn and told me Michael’s body was being shipped to us here. She told me that they would have nothing to do with paying for the funeral. Hell, she didn’t even have the decency to tell me how Michael died.” Tommy sat there quietly for a moment. I could tell this hurt him to talk about it. His fist clenched, eyes flashing with rage and then sadness.
“Your father was my best friend. Laney, I know your mother was devastated. I am sure Katherine used it to her advantage. I hired detectives but nothing ever panned out. One detective did find you, but they paid him off. At least he told us you were alive and well. Money was always at the heart of it with them. I am sorry, Laney. I wish I could have had some influence in your life. All of us do. Your father has three surviving sisters and two brothers, living in Ireland. You have a family, Laney. More aunts, uncles, and cousins than you could imagine.”
I didn’t even know that I was crying until I tasted the tears on my lips. I wanted to say something. My mouth opened but nothing came out. I stood there staring at the floor. I didn’t know whether to run and hide away from this or stand there and finally start laying the demons to rest.
“I remember my Mom telling me that Dad had been in a car accident. But she wouldn’t speak of it anymore after that and Aunt Mary forbade me to speak of him.”
“Was it terrible living with them?” he asked watching me.
I struggled with what to say. To tell him the truth required dredging up painful, anger-filled memories for myself. To tell him the truth would only cause him pain and concern. I was torn between not wanting to cause him pain and not wanting his concern. But my struggle was obvious to him.
“I see.”
“No, you don’t see,” I said.
The rage starting to rise upward, but I bit it off with a curse. Tommy calmly looked at me. “You’re right, Laney, I don’t know and I won’t know unless you tell me. You either don’t trust me enough to tell me or you don’t want to burden me with what obviously are some very painful memories. I can appreciate both. But it doesn’t change the fact that I am sorry. Sorry for the years I was denied my best friend and sorry for the love you didn’t get. I promise, though, I am nothing if not patient.”
He stood up and walked by me, lightly setting his large hand on my shoulder. “I am very patient,” and he walked out. I slowly sat down on the couch and wept bitter, bitter tears.
I woke up on the couch in the wee hours of the morning with a blanket draped over me. I folded up the blanket and then stumbled out of the house, across the yard, and up the steps into my apartment before collapsing into bed. But now sleep eluded me. “Well, hell,” I muttered and got up and put on my sweats and running shoes, slipping out the back door into the pre-dawn light. The only sounds were a far off foghorn and the dripping rain. I spent a few minutes stretching and then started at an easy jog up the street. Since I had spent several mornings exploring the surrounding neighborhood, I had a route already in mind. I set my pace on the low, flat streets before heading up the steep hills San Francisco is famous for. The air was cool and damp but it felt really good to be out. I was beginning to realize how long I had lain in a stupor, languishing in heartache.
William’s untimely death had sent me in a tailspin. My own apathy had landed me at the bottom of a canyon. Maybe. — just maybe — I was finally climbing back up toward the top again. Maybe I even felt like climbing back up. As I see it, if you hit rock bottom you have two choices. One, you go the extra step and end your life. Two, you look upward because for once it cannot get any worse and Murphy’s Law has done all it can to apply itself to your life. I figured I could only go up. I didn’t think about the aberrations of a sidestep here and there.
That day’s book signing was in south San Francisco. I got the use of a company car so I arrived early to check things out. It seemed Steven had arrived early as well to set things up his way. Thankfully, the manager was the daughter of a Woo alarm technician so she was open to any of my suggestions and overrode Steven’s comments on how to arrange the signing. I truly tried not to gloat. I doubt I succeeded, but I did try.
The crowd was heavy for this signing as well. Four hours into it, a rather pushy lady finally got her turn at the table. She had so much perfume on I nearly smelled her before seeing her, but the glow from her bright pink, skintight jumpsuit got there first. She had also brought her Pomeranian, a little dog that wore bows in his fur and emitted a constant yipping. She set him on the table as she handed her book to Miss Heart.
“I loved your Love’s Journey so much I bought a Pomeranian, as well. His name is Clancy, too.” She gushed while Miss Heart signed her book. Thankfully my sunglasses hid the fact that I was rolling my eyes. Poor Clancy had to wear pink bows — no wonder he barked so much. Miss Heart never missed a beat. She treated the whole thing like it was the most original idea in the world. I had to give her credit. She gave her fans one hundred percent. They were important to her and she took the time to let them know that. I understood why she didn’t leave the table until the last book was signed. It was her way of saying “thanks for reading my story.” I guess when you’re a writer you hang a part of yourself out to the four winds and hope that someone out there appreciates your gut-wrenching work.
I happened to look up at a man steadily making his way toward the table, giving the impression he was looking for someone. An area in front of the tables had been roped off but there were still people at the rope, taking pictures and watching the author meet and greet her fans as they filed by. But this man was heading toward us with a purpose. He wasn’t dressed like most of the people around him; he looked about a week past a good shave and a Laundromat. Far be it from me to judge people on their looks, but my warning bells went off as I slowly stepped closer to Miss Heart. It was then he seemed to see what he was looking for as he moved forward.
Just like in the movies, it all really does happen in slow motion. The man moved forward at a run. The ropes in front fell down as someone tripped over them. I moved to block his path to Miss Heart, but in an instant I realized his intent wasn’t for her, but for me. He was looking dead at me as he pulled a knife from under his jacket and leapt over the table.
I managed to shove Miss Heart off her chair to the floor, offering only my right side to the knife wielder, but that was enough. He hit me like a linebacker and we tumbled backward. I tried to get my body turned right to stop the knife’s descent but I only managed to deflect it upward before he plunged the blade into the flesh of my right shoulder. I have no idea how I managed to flip him off me.
Divert the pain! Divert the pain, I told myself. How? There was so damn much of it! I popped back up, adrenaline racing through me like a freight train. My attacker was already off and running through the dispersing crowd and shelves of books. I gave a fleeting thought to going after him but mentally kicked myself to remember what my job was. I started to kneel down to check Miss Heart but she had already gotten to her feet and was issuing orders like a general. She took one look at the knife sticking out of me and demanded an ambulance be called. I tried telling her I was just fine but she would have none of it. Thankfully the store manager was on her toes, clearing out the crowd and calling the police. I leaned against a wooden pillar and called Woo for back up. I looked around the room as Steven walked in from the back. He took one look at me and I knew he was not happy to see me upright. Now that was interesting.
The police showed up as well as Chase and Mike. How did those two get here so fast? Did they have a transporter somewhere in the bowels of the company?
Steven tried to convince Miss Heart to sit down and rest but she ignored him and went head to head with the police who were taking statements.
Steven noticed Chase walk in and made a beeline right for him demanding an explanation at my lack of ability to have stopped such an attack. I wanted to point at the knife and say I thought I stopped it pretty damn good but Mike stepped in front of Steven and with one look managed to silence him. Way to go, Mike. Their staring contest was interrupted by the arrival of the paramedics. Great. I really just wanted to go home to bed but everyone was making a big deal about the damn knife. I didn’t see the big deal. It hardly hurt now. Not unless I moved.
“Come on, tough guy,” said Mike gently while Chase was talking with the police. “Let’s let them take you to the hospital and get that toothpick out.”
“Oh, sure. I bet you’re going to regale me about the time you had a bigger knife stuck in you, huh? What about Miss Heart?”
Mike just shook his head, laughing. “She’s fine and Jason is here to take over for you for now. I’ll ride with you to the hospital so I can regale you with just such a story.” I allowed them to cart me off to the hospital where we were met by Dr. Peter. “So you not only make house calls, you’re the company doctor too?”
“Let’s just say that I could probably retire a happy man on what I make from patching you Woo folks up.” The process of removing the knife was not as difficult as I thought it would be. Perhaps because by the time he was working on it, I was feeling the effects of whatever they had given me for the pain. Dr. Peter said that leaving the knife in the wound had actually kept me from losing too much blood and had missed the most vital veins and arteries. I certainly didn’t like the tetanus shot, though, and yelped when the sadistic nurse stuck the needle in.
“Oh, good grief. Don’t be such a baby,” said Mike, who had not left my side. I just glared at him and the nurse. I made my statement to the police and finally found myself alone with Chase and Mike.
“No sign of him, huh?” I knew the answer before I even asked the question.
“No. He got away through the back.”
“Not surprising. I bet it was through a door that just ha
ppened to be unlocked when it wasn’t supposed to be.” Chase and Mike looked at each other.
“Why do you say that?” asked Mike.
“Because the asshole was gunning for me. I saw him heading to the table, looking for someone. He spotted me and came right at me. I moved to protect Miss Heart but his eyes were only for me. Maybe his MO was to take out the hired gun first but I doubt it.”
“You piss off anyone lately?”
“Is it day time? I don’t know. I’ve gone head to head with Mr. Ray twice now. Maybe he wants me gone?” I started to get out of the bed, but Mike placed his hand on my head and firmly pushed me back. “If she’s back to book signing tomorrow, then so am I.” Chase only arched an eyebrow at me. “You can put someone in the crowd as back up but I am not backing down from this.” I was quite adamant. Chase nodded, but didn’t agree with me. He didn’t disagree, either, so I figured I still had a chance of winning this round.
Before I could say anything else, Miss Heart came bustling in and walked right up to Chase. “You make sure this woman gets a commendation for her bravery today. Damn fine work. Don’t be surprised if this ends up in one of my books.” I looked at Mike who had turned away to keep from laughing. Good grief.
“Miss Heart, are you all right?” I tried to get up again but she placed herself next to my good side and patted my arm.
“Laney, you are not to worry about me. I’m fine. Now anything you need, you just ask. I’m paying for this as well. I will be back in the morning to see you.”
“Umm, ma’am, I’m not staying the night.”
“You most certainly are!”
I wasn’t about to argue with her. My head was spinning a bit and all I really wanted was to close my eyes and sleep. The lack of any solid, uninterrupted sleep over the last few days had finally hit me. Maybe that was why I got knifed. I was too tired to move fast enough.