Firefly Cove

by Davis Bunn

  Luke answered when she buzzed the gate. He was standing on the bottom step when she approached what was quite possibly the biggest and whitest house she had ever seen. He opened her door and said, “Thank you so much for coming.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I have no idea.” He appeared to dance in place even when he stood utterly still. “Jessica wants to speak with you. Urgently. She’s said nothing more.”

  But as they started up the massive front steps, she said, “Wait.”

  “We really need—”

  “Give me just one minute, please.” Asha inspected him carefully. She had no idea what she was looking for, but she knew precisely what she had found.

  The man standing between her and the house was moving further from the patient he had once been with each passing day. To deny this was to lie to herself. Worse still, it was to ignore all the evidence that pointed toward . . .

  She might as well say it.

  Asha took a long breath, then spoke the words that had echoed through her mind the entire journey north. “Should I call you Luke or Lucius?”

  His features crumpled slightly, and for an instant Asha thought he might weep. Which granted her a remarkable sense of joining with him on this, the hardest of days.

  “Whichever you prefer,” he replied quietly. “And thank you so much for asking.”

  * * *

  The bedroom was as vastly oversized as everything Asha had seen of this strange pale house. She crossed an acre of white carpet, beneath a white ceiling that curved twenty feet above her, perhaps more. The woman seated in the white silk chaise longue wore a cream-colored robe, as though she intended to allow the room to frame her.

  Asha said, “Good afternoon, Ms. Wright.”

  “Call me Jessica, dear. Thank you for coming.” She shifted her attention to where Lucius hovered in the doorway. “I owe you an apology.”

  “You owe me nothing,” he replied. “Not now, not ever.”

  “As we were talking this morning, I realized I had convicted myself with everything that had confounded me about my young man.”

  Asha waited for Lucius to say something, but he remained mute, intensely focused upon Jessica Wright.

  “I accused him of retreating from me because solitude suited him. But the fact is, I have done the exact same thing. I took the power of my money and built for myself precisely the same sort of solitary life.” She held him with a brilliant gaze that defied her years. “I confess I never really got over losing my young man. Not a day has passed that I haven’t thought of him.”

  Lucius opened his mouth, but no sound emerged. Asha thought she had never seen a more tragic expression, filled with impossible longing.

  But Jessica seemed to find what she sought in his countenance, for she smiled and said, “Be a dear and grant me a moment of privacy with this young lady.” She then turned to the two women standing by the nearest window and said, “I would like to speak with Ms. Meisel in private.”

  When the door clicked shut, Jessica said, “Forgive me for coming straight to the point, my dear. But time is not my friend these days.”

  “Of course.”

  “This may be the only chance you and I have to speak without observers, you see. From this point forward it will be important that there are witnesses to everything I do and say with you. These others must confirm that I am in my right mind, in control of what faculties I have left, and am very clear in my purpose.” Jessica stared thoughtfully at the door. “It would probably be best for them to observe this exchange as well. But I need to ask you something that might easily be misconstrued.”

  Asha pointed to her briefcase. “I brought a video recorder with me. If you like, I can set it up before we talk.”

  “Splendid.” Jessica observed everything with a keen eye, but did not speak again until the video camera was set on its tripod and hooked up to Asha’s laptop. Then she announced, “I am dying.”

  Asha did not respond. To say she was sorry was just too feeble. The woman was unlike anyone she had ever met before. Jessica Wright looked fragile as spun glass, and yet she was also fiercely alive. She gave the impression of an ancient bird of prey, perched upon her chair, fierce even to the last dip of her wings, the final flight through her last sunset.

  “The doctors change their minds every time I allow them near,” Jessica went on. “Some say it’s a matter of days. Others, weeks. But none of them speak in terms of months anymore. My day nurse claims she’s just hanging around to catch me when I keel over.”

  Asha asked, “How can I help?”

  “It’s not about my impending departure, if that’s what you’re thinking. Oh, I admit the prospect of facing that final portal terrifies me.” Jessica’s eyes tracked over to the closed door. “But having this young man enter my life has changed everything.”

  Asha found the breath catch in her throat.

  Jessica’s smile carried the weight of illness and age. “You’ve noticed it, too, then.”

  Asha had to work through several breaths before she managed, “I have. Yes.”

  “I am so very glad to hear it. I thought, well, I’m on so much medication these days, it would be easy to blame it on an addled mental state.”

  “You strike me as many things,” Asha said. “Addled is not one of them.”

  “I am certain of very little these days. But I entered the Miramar showroom several days back and there he was—the loneliest man on earth. That was what I called him, you know, before. It applies even more now.”

  Asha found it necessary to wipe her eyes. “I’ve spent years training as a professional observer. And everything I see about this man tells me . . .”

  “That either the young man out there has succeeded in deluding himself and us, or we are confronting the impossible.”

  Asha breathed more easily now. “Everything about the near-death experiences is under fierce debate. If these are indeed real events, it may force the entire medical profession to reshape their boundaries. That young man is the embodiment of everything they most fear.”

  “He simply can’t be left to cope with this on his own. If indeed we are right in our suspicions.” This time when she dabbed at her mouth, her fingers trembled. “They are bound to come after him.”

  “Whoever he is,” Asha finished for her. Understanding now. “They are already on their way.”

  “Precisely. I don’t need to see them to know the vultures are hovering just beyond the horizon.”

  “The university views his presence as a threat to their intentions.”

  “What utter nonsense. I have supported them ever since they took care of my parents in their final days.”

  “Whoever he is, he’s a threat to the status quo,” Asha said. “A complete and total unknown factor suddenly thrown into the mix.”

  “Then we understand each other.” Her gaze drifted back to the closed door. “It would be so much easier not to believe him.”

  “And safer,” Asha agreed.

  * * *

  Asha knew what she had to do long before she disconnected her equipment and carried it back downstairs. Luke wanted to speak with her, of course. But she put him off. When he tried to object, she had to grow firmer than she wanted. She could see he was still wounded by whatever had transpired between him and Jessica, whatever argument they had had prior to her arrival. But there was no time for that now. Any delay, and she would lose her nerve.

  She carried her phone outside. She paced up and down the forecourt, her footsteps marking small craters in the otherwise perfectly groomed white stones. She wished there were some way to know what was going to happen. She wished she could stop her heart from hammering so hard it was difficult to draw breath. She wished she could know the right words to say. But her mind remained frantically blank.

  Asha forced her trembling fingers to press in the number.

  When Dino answered, she had to swallow hard. Twice.

  “Asha?”

  Just hearing him
speak her name gave her the strength to say, “I need your help.”

  CHAPTER 61

  Dino could not get away until late because of a hospitalized patient and yet another meeting with the university president and trustees. Then Dino called from the road, and again an hour later from the front gate. Asha descended the steps and turned to inspect the house. It looked even more imposing at night. Emblazoned by the countless spotlights, the residence shone like a pearl-white fortress.

  Dino rose hesitantly from the car. He gave the house a brief inspection, then asked, “Why am I here?”

  “Thank you for coming,” she replied, glad for the calm note to her voice.

  He followed her up the front steps like an old man. “Why are you here?”

  “This way.” She led him across the foyer and up the sweeping central staircase.

  The upstairs corridor was thirty feet wide and carpeted in a white silk and wool blend that swallowed every sound. It seemed as though every light in the entire house was on. Asha reached the last door and knocked softly, then opened it and entered. She told the woman on the chaise longue, “He’s here.” Then she realized Dino was not following her. She turned back and said, “Either come in or leave, Dino. Those are your choices.”

  * * *

  “Jessica, allow me to introduce Dr. Dino Barbieri. He is, or was, my graduate supervisor.” Asha gave Dino an opportunity to correct her, to say the sun and planets still maintained their proper orbit. His silence tore another fragment from her heart.

  Asha forced herself to walk over and seat herself in the high-backed chair. She turned on the equipment and ensured the video camera was feeding properly into the laptop’s memory. She could do nothing about the tremor to her voice as she said, “Everything from this point on must be recorded.”

  Dino remained planted in the middle of the room. “Ms. Wright . . .”

  “You may call me Jessica.”

  “It’s just . . . I’m not certain I should be here.”

  Jessica merely turned to her and said, “Asha?”

  “Come sit down, Dino.” When he was seated in the chair drawn up next to her own, Asha went on, “I am going to show you two videos. The first will be of my most recent interview with Luke Benoit. It was shot two hours ago. In it he discusses his initial assessment of the Wright empire’s current financial status. This extends far beyond Quarterfield Motors. Jessica has invested in a number of other ventures, but they are all held within the same financial structure as her dealerships. Something Luke is adamantly opposed to, as are her other advisers.”

  “I don’t see—”

  “The other video was shot of my initial conversation with Jessica Wright. Because of her health, I don’t want to force her to go through what is clearly a distressing issue a second time.” She sat there, studying this man from a very great distance. Wishing there were some way to reach across the divide separating them, and enfold him into an embrace strong enough to last, well, forever. Swallowing down the yearning regret was very hard indeed. When she was ready, she continued. “Jessica will then answer any questions you might have. Then you can decide.”

  “Decide what?”

  Jessica addressed him for the very first time. “You know precisely what the issue is, young man. Asha claims you are highly intelligent and a trained professional. Don’t prove her wrong with such inane queries. We want you to add your weight to what I intend.” She waved a hand. “Show him.”

  When the two recordings were finished, it was well after midnight and Jessica was showing clear signs of fatigue. Dino stared at the laptop’s cover and did not speak. Asha realized he was not going to ask for her assessment. Which hurt terribly.

  “Jessica Wright is fully in charge of her faculties. She is no more certain of what has happened to Luke Benoit than you or I. But she has decided that she wants Luke to serve as adviser during the . . .”

  When Asha could not say it, Jessica offered, “‘Transition’ works as well as anything else, I suppose.”

  She glanced over to the far corner, where Sarah sat with the night nurse. Neither had uttered a single word since all this began. Nor had there been any softening to Sarah’s stony gaze.

  Finally Dino sighed and said, “I need some time to think this through.”

  CHAPTER 62

  A little after one, Lucius left the main residence and walked back to the pool house. He knew something was going on and he hated not being a part of it. He was exhausted and yet not the least bit sleepy. He sat by the pool and watched the lights deep inside the blue waters, and wished he knew why he was being excluded.

  Then he heard a familiar voice. “Mind if I join you?”

  Lucius wanted to send Dino away. He had never much cared for the man. He disliked intensely that Dino now knew something he did not. But there was a slim chance Lucius might gain much-needed information, so he said, “If you like.”

  “Thank you.” Dino made a great show of selecting a chair and drawing it over. Then he said, “I suppose you know Asha asked me up here to gain my support.”

  “For what?”

  Dino seated himself and watched the bugs flitter about the lights for a time. “Jessica wants to include you in the planning of her estate. For me to even consider backing this is ludicrous.”

  “So why are you here?”

  Dino took his time answering. “Because of Asha.”

  Lucius nodded. “She is a remarkable woman.”

  “That, she is.” Dino stared glumly at the night. “I’m supposed to be out here asking the sort of questions that would penetrate the fog and make me believe in what you’ve claimed. What I want to do is get in my car and drive as fast as I can back to, well, sanity. But I can’t leave.”

  Lucius repeated, “Because of Asha.”

  “Because of her.”

  “Do you know, for the first time ever, you remind me a little of your grandfather.” Lucius glanced over, expecting to see the same look of suspicion and hostility. Instead, the man merely looked sad. Lucius went on, “I miss him. Especially now.”

  From somewhere in the distance a night bird called. Then Dino asked, “What would you do in my position?”

  That he had not expected. Lucius gave that the time it deserved. “I can’t speak to you about my situation. A young man attempts suicide, wakes up in the morgue, and then claims to be somebody who died forty-nine years ago.”

  “It’s ludicrous. Totally off-the-wall. It breaks every conceivable facet of medical protocol.” He sighed again. “And yet Asha . . .”

  “She challenges your position.”

  “She threatens me.”

  “Maybe that’s what you need,” Lucius said. “To be threatened.”

  Lucius half expected the man to rise and carry his secret tasks back up to the main house. Instead, Dino spoke with the tone of a man recently bereaved. “I lost my first wife to my job. I swore I would never let it happen again. So I shut myself away from all relationships for four years.”

  “Then you fell in love,” Lucius offered. “With Asha.”

  “There’s so much hanging in the balance,” Dino said. “The risk I take even being up here . . .”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Lucius said. “You have a chance at love. Hope for a tomorrow shared with the one you care for with all your heart.”

  “No, I mean . . .”

  When Lucius was certain Dino could not continue, he said quietly, “I know what you mean.”

  Dino’s voice cracked. “What about my job? What about my professional standing? Even sitting here talking with you risks everything I’ve spent a lifetime building.”

  “That’s not the question and you know it. If you were held by that dilemma, you wouldn’t be here at all.” Lucius gave him a moment to object. Then he spoke the words he wished somebody had said to him. Back when he had an opportunity for at least a few months of joy. Back before he had left the only woman he’d ever loved weeping in her mother’s arms and driven away. “Asha is not
asking you for perfection. She is asking that you trust her to know what she’s doing. Even when it doesn’t make sense. Especially then. She is asking you to give your love a chance.”

  Dino rose from his chair with the slow effort of a very old man. “Now you’re the counselor and I’m the patient.”

  Lucius shook his head. “No. We’re just two friends trying to find our way down an unmarked road.”

  Dino looked at him. In some respects Lucius felt as though it was the first time he saw Lucius at all. He started to speak, then turned and headed inside.

  The word hung there in the dark after he was gone. Friends.

  CHAPTER 63

  Asha was making tea when Dino came in from the garden. “How did it go?”

  “All right, I suppose.” He rubbed his face. “What a day.”

  She was happy to see her hand remained steady as she lifted the brass kettle. “Like some?”

  “I suppose it would be a good idea. Asha, come sit down.”

  But she felt too vulnerable, too afraid to accept whatever he had to say. “Let me fill the pot, then we can talk before we go back upstairs.”

  Dino pulled back a chair. “One moment. Please.”

  “Jessica is waiting.”

  “She’ll just have to wait a little longer.” When she was seated, he drew a chair up close to hers, and sat so their knees almost touched. “I am so very, very sorry.”

  It was ridiculous that a man could cause her to weep like this. She was forced to cradle her face with both hands and then settle down upon her thighs. She had told herself repeatedly that she was going to be strong. No matter what. And now here she was, sobbing so hard she feared she would not be able to hear what he said.