"Don't do that. You have enough problems."
Mark laughed.
"Tell me about it. We're down to our last five dollars."
"You won't be for much longer."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean we're going to give you some money. We still have nearly half the money we won in Las Vegas," Piper said. "We think you'll need it. We want you to put it to good use."
"That's Mary Beth's money, not ours. We can't take it."
"She wants you to have it, Mark. I want you to have it. You'll need it."
Mark could not disagree. He and Ben would need every cent if their stay in 2017 turned out to be a long one. He tried not to think about that possibility.
"Is Mary Beth free?" Mark asked. "Can she talk now?"
"She can't. She's in her room. She's with my folks."
"Will they be there all day?"
"No," Piper said. "That's the good news. Mom and Dad are leaving at one. They are going to lunch and then to a store. Mary Beth and I gave them a long list to things to buy. If we're lucky, they will be gone at least two hours. You can see us after they leave."
"What about the nurses? Will they let us in?"
"They will if you identify yourselves as cousins. They let a cousin see the patient in the next room, but they refused a group of friends. For some reason, they draw the line at family."
"Then I guess we're cousins today."
"You can even say you're kissing cousins. Mary Beth would like that."
Mark laughed. He would miss Piper almost as much as her sister. He digested all that she had told him and then turned his attention to another matter.
"Has Mary Beth spoken to the police?" Mark asked.
"She has," Piper said. "She talked to a detective on Saturday."
"Does he believe your story about a burglar?"
"I don't think so. He pressed us hard for a description of the assailant and rolled his eyes when we gave him Zorro. He also questioned our timeline, the sequence of events, and our general attention to detail."
"He's suspicious," Mark said.
"He's very suspicious. The only thing he doesn't suspect is that I shot my own sister."
"That's comforting."
"It's unnerving," Piper said. "I've lied more times to the police than Al Capone. If they ever find out I'm lying, I'll have bigger things to worry about."
"It won't come to that."
"I hope not. I want to spend the next year in a dorm and not a prison."
Mark laughed and shook his head as he held the tiny phone to his ear. He appreciated Piper's humor almost as much as her courage. She had taken some big risks in the past few days and had come through for at least three people.
"What do your parents think of all this?" Mark asked.
"They haven't said much," Piper said. "They were in shock, like the rest of us, most of Friday and didn't say anything substantive until Saturday afternoon."
"What did they say then?"
"They asked me if I was lying."
"Are you kidding?" Mark asked.
"No. I'm not. One reason they doubt my version of events is because it's at odds with a recording of my call to the dispatcher. The recording apparently picked up a second voice when I attended to Mary Beth. The detective asked me about it twice. I told him both times that I was alone with Mary Beth from the time I called to the time the ambulance arrived."
Mark's admiration for Piper increased again. He wondered how many times he could thank someone who had made so many tough decisions in the span of a few days.
"What do your parents think now?" Mark asked.
"I don't know. They haven't said much more about the case. They are almost completely focused on Mary Beth's recovery and returning to Alabama."
"What about the Bells? Have you talked to either of them?"
Piper paused before answering.
"I have. I spoke to Professor Bell briefly, by phone, on Saturday."
"What did he say?" Mark asked.
"He didn't say much," Piper said. "He asked me how I was doing. Then he asked me, point blank, if Mary Beth and I had entertained any male visitors Friday morning."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him we hadn't. I didn't know what else to say. I can only imagine his reaction had I told him the truth."
"You did the right thing," Mark said.
"I hope so. I just can't figure out why he asked the question. It's not like Mary Beth or I know any guys we could have called over at eight in the morning."
"Did he let the matter drop?"
"That's the thing," Piper said. "I don't know."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean Professor Bell wants to speak with me again later today."
"Will he be there when we're there?" Mark asked.
"He shouldn't. He said he would visit the hospital around three."
"Then we will definitely be there by one. What do you want us to do when we arrive?"
"Go to the large waiting room on the second floor," Piper said. "Keep a low profile and don't tell anyone you know Mary Beth or me. I'll come for you as soon as I can."
"OK."
"There's one more thing."
"What's that?" Mark asked.
"The Bells will leave their house around two thirty and not return until at least six. They plan to take my parents and me out to dinner after they see Mary Beth. Give some thought to going back to the mansion then. It may be your best chance to enter the property unseen."
"I understand."
"Mark?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell Ben I miss him," Piper said.
"I will."
"I'll see you at one."
CHAPTER 55: BEN
Ben sipped bitter coffee from a paper cup, gathered his thoughts, and then gazed across an outdoor picnic table at a brother who had the answers to his questions. He continued with the questions as soon as a noisy garbage truck pulled away from the La Brea Avenue Mission.
"Did Piper say more about the shooting?" Ben asked.
Mark shook his head.
"She won't either. She's tired of talking about it. She just wants to go home."
"Did she say that?"
"She did in so many words.
"I refuse to accept this," Ben said.
"You have to accept it. I have to accept it. Piper and Mary Beth have lives here. They have friends and family here. They have a future here. We don't. We live in 1959."
"We could live here. I know we could."
"We could," Mark said. "We could live the rest of our lives without a mother too. Do you want to give up Mom and all our friends and relatives for Piper?"
"No."
"We don't have a choice, Ben. We have to go back."
Ben couldn't disagree. He knew deep down the gig was up. He lived in the age of Sputnik, Edsels, and I Love Lucy. Piper lived in the age of Voyager, Teslas, and Game of Thrones. He had seen the program advertised on the sides of buses all weekend.
"So what's next?" Ben asked.
"We go to the hospital at one. We see the girls for an hour or two, say our goodbyes, and then return to the house as fast as we can."
"Why the hurry?"
"The Bells will be gone from two thirty to six," Mark said. "Piper said the professor and his wife plan to visit the hospital around three and then take the McIntires to dinner. That means we'll have a few hours to access the property, enter the tunnel, and go home."
"That's plenty of time."
"It is."
"It seems so simple," Ben said.
"It won't be."
"What do you mean?"
Mark looked away and stared at the street for a moment. When he finally looked again at his brother, he did so with eyes that revealed fear, worry, and sadness.
"Think about it, Ben. What did we leave three days ago?"
"We left a house full of mobsters."
"What will we return to?"
Ben sighed.
"I g
et it."
"Piper is going to give us the rest of the Vegas money. She wants us to put it to good use. I think the only we way can do that is to buy a gun this afternoon."
"You think we'll need one?"
Mark nodded.
"We may need two. When we go back through the tunnel, we will go back to the house as we left it. It will be nine thirty on May 2, 1959. One man with a gun will be trying to kick in our door. A second will be trying to break through a window. A third will be roving the grounds. We may have to shoot our way out of our own home."
"Did you lock the door in the hallway?"
Mark shook his head.
"The men will have unrestricted access to the entire house. We may walk into an ambush the second we open the door from the tunnel to the basement."
"We can't win a gunfight with mobsters," Ben said.
"We probably can't," Mark said. "If it comes to that, we'll be dead within a minute."
Ben pondered that cheery prospect as two police cars sped by on La Brea Avenue. Suddenly he had more to think about than a hospital visit, a painful goodbye, and a broken heart.
"What are the alternatives?"
"There are none," Mark said. "There are none if we want to see Mom again. We have to go back. If we can find a place to hide in the house, even for a few minutes, we might have a chance. The men will have only minutes to find us before the police arrive. I'm sure our neighbors called the cops when they heard the first shot."
"We're in a mess, aren't we?"
Mark chuckled.
"Think of it as a challenge."
"I prefer challenges on the tennis court," Ben said.
"I'm sure you do."
"Did Piper say anything else to you?"
"She did," Mark said.
"What?"
"She said, 'Tell Ben I miss him.'"
Ben smiled sadly.
"I guess that's something."
"It is. I know it doesn't seem like much, but it is. Piper will never forget you. She'll think of you and your time together for the rest of her life."
"You seem sure of that."
"I am."
Ben gazed at his brother.
"Mark?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you have any regrets?"
"What do you mean?" Mark asked.
Ben sighed.
"Do you regret opening that drawer?"
"No," Mark said. "That's the funny thing. I don't."
Ben smiled.
"I believe you."
"I wouldn't trade the last six weeks for anything, Ben. I'm happy for the first time in years. I have a purpose. I'm alive," Mark said. He put his hand on his brother's arm and laughed. "Now I just have to find a way to stay that way."
CHAPTER 56: MARY BETH
Mary Beth gazed at her "kissing cousin" through glistening eyes, gently squeezed his hand, and laughed when her nose began twitch. Even in a hospital room filled with the odors of cafeteria food, bodily fluids, and disinfectants, she could pick up a whiff of La Brea Avenue.
"You smell," Mary Beth said.
Mark chuckled.
"I haven't had a shower since yesterday."
"That's all right. You look like a dream. That's all that matters."
Mary Beth soaked up a sight she hadn't seen in more than three days. She didn't care that Mark Ryan hadn't had a shower. She didn't care that he hadn't changed his clothes. She cared only that he was here, at her side, on what would likely be a difficult day.
"How are you feeling?" Mark asked.
"I'm feeling pretty good," Mary Beth said. "It's amazing what painkillers can do."
Mark smiled.
"Are you going to be able to walk out of here tomorrow?"
"I hope so. I took a few steps this morning without falling."
"That's good."
Mary Beth smiled and shifted her attention to the far side of her room. She saw Ben and Piper sitting in facing chairs, holding hands, and gazing at each other with sad eyes. They had done little else since Mark and Ben had entered the semi-private chamber at a quarter past one.
Mary Beth studied the teens for a moment and then returned to Mark. She noticed that he seemed happy but physically spent. She wondered how he had survived the weekend.
"Did you walk here?" Mary Beth asked.
Mark shook his head.
"We took the Metro. It was kind of nice."
"Was it nicer than your Edsel?"
"Nothing is nicer than my Edsel."
Mary Beth laughed.
"Your brother might disagree."
"He does," Ben said from twelve feet away.
Mary Beth looked at the tennis ace.
"Are you eavesdropping, Ben?"
"No. I'm gawking at your sister."
Mary Beth giggled. She started to say something to Piper but stopped when she saw her sibling pick up her buzzing cell phone. She watched with interest as Piper stared at the screen.
"Is something up?" Mary Beth asked.
"I don't know," Piper said. "I've been summoned to the waiting room."
"Are Mom and Dad back?"
"No. I have to go though."
"OK."
Piper released Ben's hands and rose from her chair. Then she looked at Mary Beth with eyes that revealed concern, curiosity, and perhaps a trace of anxiety.
"I shouldn't be long," Piper said.
Mary Beth nodded.
"Take your time."
"I just might."
"What about me?" Ben asked.
Piper smiled.
"You're coming with me."
Ben laughed.
"You're the boss."
Piper grabbed Ben's hand and pulled him from his chair. Then she opened the door, motioned for him to walk out first, and glanced again at her sister.
"Don't go anywhere."
Mary Beth smiled.
"I'll do my best.
Piper gazed at Mary Beth and Mark and then followed Ben into a hallway that had become busier and noisier in the past half hour. Then she shut the door and left a college graduate from 2017 and a college senior from 1959 to themselves.
"I wonder what that was about?" Mark asked.
"I don't know," Mary Beth said. "Maybe she wanted privacy."
"I hear that's in short supply."
"You have no idea."
"That will change soon enough," Mark said.
"I imagine it will."
"What are your plans for the next few days?"
"I'll fly back to Huntsville tomorrow, of course. Then I'll probably rest another week on the couch at home," Mary Beth said. "I doubt my parents will let me do more than watch TV, eat ice cream, and play with my cell phone."
"I played with one this morning at the homeless shelter. One of the residents let me borrow his to call Piper and play a few games. It's an addicting device."
"That's the understatement of the century."
"What do you mean?" Mark asked.
"I mean that's all anyone does in this time. They make calls and send texts and play games with their phones, but they don't personally interact. That's the thing I miss most about the fifties. People actually talked face to face. They did stuff together."
"You sound wistful and nostalgic."
"I am," Mary Beth said.
"Would you go back if you could?"
"I might. Depending on the circumstances, I might."
"Would you go back if you could take your parents, your sister, and maybe a half dozen other people?" Mark asked. "Would you go back today?"
"I'd go back in a heartbeat."
"Are you serious?"
"I am," Mary Beth said. "If I could bring my closest relatives and maybe a few other things, like a modern medical guide, a history book, and my grandma's banana cream pie recipe, I would go back this very minute."
Mark looked at her with moist eyes.
"That's what I needed to hear."
"Don't cry. I know it's hard. I've done nothing but cry and mope and feel sorr
y for myself the past two days. I want things to be different. I just don't know how to fix this."
"I know."
"Are you ever going to tell your mom the truth?" Mary Beth asked. "Are you going to tell her that Mary Beth and Piper McIntire were more than just two girls with fashion sense?"
Mark took a deep breath.
"I might. I might break open a bottle of whiskey some Saturday night and tell her everything. I think she would like hearing more about you. She adores both of you."
Mary Beth met his gaze.
"I'm going to miss our conversations."
"You'll find someone to talk to," Mark said.
"I'm sure I will. Whether I find someone who listens is another matter. You're the best listener I have ever known, Mark Ryan."
"I try."
Mary Beth started to respond but paused when her nurse, a young African-American woman, came in the room, picked up her tray, and left. The nurse left the door open.
"What about you?" Mary Beth asked. "What are your immediate plans?"
"I'll finish school. Then I'll look for a job," Mark said. "I would still like to get on at JPL. I think my mom would like that. She would like me close."
Mary Beth clasped his hand.
"What about personally? Are you going to be all right?"
Mark forced a smile.
"Is anyone all right after losing someone like you?"
"That doesn't sound reassuring," Mary Beth said.
"I'll be fine," Mark said with manufactured cheer. "If I can get through the next twenty-four hours, I'll have the best life your Vegas winnings can buy."
Mary Beth smiled.
"Did Piper give you the money?"
Mark nodded.
"She did. Thanks."
Mary Beth paused to consider his words.
"Mark?"
"Yeah?"
"What did you mean when you said, 'If I can get through the next twenty-four hours'?" Mary Beth asked. "Are you expecting some trouble?"
"I don't know," Mark said.
"Those men won't still be there, will they?"
"They might."
"What will you do if they are?"
"You don't want to know."
"Mark, what are you—?"
Mary Beth stopped when her cell phone buzzed. She picked up the device, read a text from her mother, and dropped the phone to the floor.
"What's the matter?" Mark asked.
"My parents are coming back."
"What?"
Class of '59 (American Journey Book 4) Page 25